AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka responds to the explosions in Boston:

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones in the Boston explosions, and those who are coping with the aftermath of such senseless violence. We condemn those who carried out these acts and practice such hatred. 

I was honored to be in New York City yesterday supporting Wendy's workers take to the streets for a living wage. They joined hundreds of workers in other fast-food joints across New York City for the largest strike the fast-food industry had ever seen.

I’ll tell you the truth, I watched the PBS documentary, MAKERS: The Women Who Make America, because one of our top staffers at the AFL-CIO and Working America—Karen Nussbaum—was in it.  I’m so glad I did.  I had forgotten what a steep climb it has been for women in this country.  It wasn’t that long ago women had little or no place in sports, culture, public life, or the workplace.

Tom Ward was 13 when his father came home from what would be his last day of work. Ward's father "barely made it through the door, fell to the floor and, between tears, said, 'I can't do it anymore.'"

This is an excerpt of "White House Inaction on Silica Is Deadly for Workers," by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, originally published on The Huffington Post. Read the rest. 

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sent this message to working family activists:

Tom Ward’s hardest memory to live with was the day his father came home from what would be his last day of work. His father barely made it through the door, fell to the floor and, between tears, said, “I can’t do it anymore.”

Trumka sent this message to working family activists on Tuesday:

I’m from Nemacolin, Pa. It’s like a lot of other little towns: close-knit, lots of great families, working together in tough times and good times, just trying to make something of themselves.

This is an excerpt from Listen to the Voters—and Save Yourselves, by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. 

It's time for House Speaker John Boehner and the Republican leadership to stop holding America's middle class hostage and instead join Democrats in saying "No" to another tax cut for the rich.

That's what voters asked for, loud and clear.

Read the rest on The Huffington Post. 

"Giving Thanks for Hostess Workers" is a cross-post from Daily Kos by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. 

 This is the new American story, but someone finally stood up and said, “Stop!”

Pundits should be applauding the Bakery Workers of Hostess Brands for standing up to Wall Street interests and standing for decent working standards and the middle class.

The truth is that the Bain-style vulture capitalists invested in Hostess to profit not by making quality products, but by bleeding the company of every dollar before discarding it.

This is an excerpt from "An Election Message for the Lame Duck Congress: Fair Taxes, No Cuts," by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

After a hard-fought and divisive election year, it's time to rebuild America's middle class—but to do it we need to make sure the lessons from this campaign stick.

Four years ago, the leadership of the Republican Party made a cynical political gamble—and this year they lost because they bet against Ame

This is an excerpt from the Huffington Post, "Game Changer in Ohio: Cars," by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

This election may come down to cars. That’s right, cars. 

Nothing illustrates the choice between the two presidential candidates better than the 2009 rescue of the auto industry.  And, despite Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s efforts to distort the contrast with patently dishonest claims and a new TV ad, the auto rescue may turn out to be the deciding factor in the presidential election.    

Romney can’t seem to Etch-a-Sketch that now-famous op-ed headline—“Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”