As previously reported, 60 workers at Belshaw Adamatic Bakery Group in Auburn, Wash., went on strike after they made concessions that would save the company $20,000 per month and the company refused to share a portion of the savings with workers through increased salaries. The workers, members of the Machinists (IAM) Local 79, rejected the last offer from the company on May 10, and the company has hired replacement workers to fill 39 of the 60 jobs.

Update: Earlier we reported Patriot Coal left the negotiation table with UMWA. A new report from BNA says Patriot Coal will return to the talks. The company denies it left the negotiations. UMWA told BNA: “We are glad this odd incident is behind us and that Patriot has changed its mind and is willing to return to the bargaining table.”  

On Tuesday, negotiators from Patriot Coal walked out of talks with the Mine Workers (UMWA), leaving thousands of retirees in danger of losing their health care. The company also canceled talks scheduled through next week, UMWA reports via press release. UMWA President Cecil Roberts reported that the company and the union were only about $30 million to $35 million apart. Meanwhile, hundreds of high-paid executives at the company will be receiving about $25 million in bonuses.

A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), called Corporate Pirates of the Caribbean, details how the CEOs who make up the group Fix the Debt, a group pushing for harsh austerity measures, are set to make even higher profits off of the policies they are pursuing in the name of "balancing the budget." Fix the Debt's members are pushing for cuts to Social Security, Medicare and earned social insurance benefits, while seeking to widen tax haven loopholes by creating a "territorial" tax system, which would earn them as much as $173 billion.

In the latest AFL-CIO Book Club event, longtime racial justice, labor and international activist, scholar and author Bill Fletcher Jr. discussed his new book, “They're Bankrupting Us!" And 20 Other Myths About Unions. The book tracks the history of negative myths about the labor movement along with the movement’s contributions and missteps.

A new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) of the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that there was a decline in April for job openings to a total of 3.8 million, while the number of unemployed workers seeking jobs was around 11.7 million. April's level of job openings is more than 16% below where it was in the months before the recession began.

The U.S. Senate today voted 84-15 to begin debate on the Gang of Eight's immigration bill, The Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, after Republicans failed to muster a filibuster. The legislation provides a road map to citizenship for aspiring Americans.

This week, working families are calling 27 U.S. senators and urging them to vote for an immigration reform bill that provides a reliable road map to citizenship for more than 11 million aspiring Americans. The bill is expected to reach the floor of the Senate this week, and the labor movement is ramping up its national campaign in support of the bill through phone calls, Internet advertisements and by having more than 50 leaders and allies from 24 states fly to Washington, D.C., to lobby elected officials on Wednesday, the first full day of Senate debate.

Does your boss switch your schedule at the last minute without warning? Not ask for your input? Working America, AFL-CIO's community affiliate, launched an interactive web tool for workers who don't have union representation to help them with job-related problems and guidance and solutions for dealing with those concerns. The site, Fix My Job, is part of a collaboration with AFL-CIO's Organizing Department and includes resources from organizers, workplace experts and specialists, as well as more advanced step-by-step instruction, tasks and tactics.

The Letter Carriers' (NALC) annual food drive collected 74.3 million pounds of food and was the second most successful in the program's 21 years. The food was used to restock food banks, pantries and shelters around the country. The total was an increase of 5% over last year and was the highest in a decade.

The Texas AFL-CIO and Texas AFT partnered this weekend with a Univision station in Austin to promote reading and academic success at the Austin edition of the COPA Univision amateur soccer tournament. The event included adult and youth men's and women's teams. During the tournament, more than 2,000 people visited the AFL-CIO/AFT exhibit and volunteers gave out more than 1,500 books to children in attendance.