Students at the 19 schools in Jefferson Parish, La., are getting more than 50,000 new books and, best of all, those books are free. Last week, the Jefferson Federation of Teachers (an AFT affiliate), union and community volunteers began sorting the 2,000 boxes of books that will be distributed during the next month. The book distribution is part of a nationwide joint project between AFT and First Book, a nonprofit organization that distributes books to children from low-income families

The NFL referee lockout is a complete disaster—something that’s obvious to everyone except (supposedly) the people keeping the referees locked out. Much ink has been spent on decrying the replacement referees and how they’re ruining football (never mind how they’re putting players’ safety at risk). What hasn’t gotten much attention in this lockout is symbolic of a much bigger issue: Training for a high-performing workforce matters.

The union movement is the largest workforce trainer of adults outside the U.S. military.

Laura Bliss-Morris of the Union Sportsmen's Alliance sends us this report.

As part of a Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) Boots on the Ground project, volunteers from Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 30 helped put the finishing touches on a new facility that will host youth educational programs at the Torstenson Family Youth Conservation Education Center.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Electrical Workers (IBEW) have reached a tentative contract agreement with Verizon. The two unions and Verizon had been in federal mediation since July.

If you’re watching NFL football on CBS this Sunday, watch for a new ad from the Electrical Workers (IBEW). The union’s 30-second commercial spotlighting IBEW members will air during the pre- and post-game shows and during the games. Says IBEW President Edwin Hill:

Our ad is a reminder that real people bring their skills to work every day to provide our nation with the power and the electrical and communications infrastructure that are often taken for granted. And in the case of our members, the people behind this success are making a decent living and are part of the fabric of their communities and the backbone of North America.

A cross-post from Metropolitan Washington [D.C.] Council.

Dave McCord, a 25-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), is bringing his passion for riding bicycles and changing lives together. As the director of the IBEW Local 26 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC), McCord joined other electricians and union-organized contractors last April on a bike ride in Southern Maryland to benefit End Hunger in Calvert County.

Emergency medical service professionals, Ikea workers and green energy geothermal technicians are among the latest workers to choose AFL-CIO unions.

More than 150 paramedics, emergency medical technicians, nurses, fleet techs and vehicle supply techs at Rural/Metro of Northern California voted overwhelmingly last week to join AFSCME Local 491/United EMS Workers. They join the more than 400 Rural/Metro EMS professionals in Santa Clara County and the Medic Ambulance EMS workers in Solano County, who earlier this year voted to join AFSCME.

Some 40,000 working people—including Bo McCurry—stood up for working families and a Second Bill of Rights at a huge rally in Philadelphia on Saturday.

McCurry, 58, worked for 25 years at a Sparta, Tenn., manufacturing plant. Earlier this year, the plant closed its doors and shipped the jobs to Mexico. Says McCurry:

This Saturday, Aug. 11, join thousands of working families who are coming together in Philadelphia in the first major action of the Workers Stand for America campaign, the centerpiece of which is America’s Second Bill of Rights:

• Full employment and a living wage.
• Full participation in the political process.
• A voice at work.
• A quality education for all.
• A secure and healthy future.

Union members in the Marietta, Ohio, area are joining with several charitable organizations to raise funds to build a “smart home” for Army Private First Class Kyle Hockenberry who lost both legs in an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan last year.

The Parkersburg-Marietta Building and Construction Trades Council has volunteered the labor to build the house. The group is also working with the Gary Sinise Foundation and the Tunnels to Towers Foundation’sBuilding for America’s Bravest initiative in promoting an Aug. 16 fundraising concert in Marietta featuring Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band. Sinise portrayed double amputee Lt. Dan in the movie “Forrest Gump.”