Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:

Last night, working families across the country celebrated the re-election of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden—and breathed a sigh of relief that our country will move forward on the path of sanity and shared prosperity. Nothing about the last four years has been easy, from the Great Recession to Hurricane Sandy, from unrelenting partisan obstruction by Republicans to the greatest onslaught of negative ads ever unleashed against an American president.

Working people face a clear contrast of visions for America, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

An economy of, by and for the rich, or an economy built on investing, training, building and innovating, so that it works for all of us. 

Listen to the rest of Trumka's message in this YouTube video and please share with your friends and family. 

Union members and working family activists all over the country are joining phone banks and other get-out-the-vote actions to make sure everyone gets to the polls Nov. 6. AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker traveled this week to Florida, where she joined the Florida AFL-CIO in Miami and made calls to voters. 

Don't forget to check into the AFL-CIO Now blog tonight at www.aflcio.org/debatechat to join our live chat on the second presidential debate with our policy team and Working America. 

Text DEBATE to AFLCIO (235246) to join our text action team. (Standard messaging and data rates may apply.)

The AFL-CIO is calling on women from all over to ask other women—other moms, daughters, sisters, co-workers and friends—to vote in this election. 
Can you host a Women Vote 2012 Party in your neighborhood?

Working America and the AFL-CIO have made it easy to host a party, by providing a step-by-step guide that tells you what to expect and how to make your party successful. Working America has been hosting parties like this for the past five years, and they make a difference. Women who hear about how important it is to vote from other women actually vote at higher rates. 

Watch the video by clicking on the image below or the title of the post:

America’s middle class has been the backbone of our nation’s success. But now the opportunities and education long available to many are open only to a privileged few. In The Betrayal of the American Dream, a New York Times bestseller, Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele show how a prosperous new ruling elite has systematically impoverished our middle class and made it far less certain our children will enjoy a better life than their parents.

Join us at the AFL-CIO for the third event of our fall book series to discuss Barlett and Steele's book, The Betrayal of the American Dream, Friday, Sept. 28, at noon. Bring your lunch; beverages will be available. Books will be available for purchase and authors' signing.

Where: AFL-CIO

815 16th St., N.W.
When: Friday, Sept. 28, noon–2 p.m.

RSVP here. 

Promoting policies that strengthen the working and middle class is a major goal of the labor delegates who represent working people at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, N.C., this week.

Speaking at the DNC CarolinaFest on Labor Day in Charlotte, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker said:

We built this country together. Every one of us lends a hand. We do it every day. All work has value. Our work connects us to each other. And together, we are better….All work is honorable. All work has dignity and is worthy of respect. And decent pay. And good benefits. I’m talking about the work of all of us. Not just some of us. Not just the 1%. All of us. Each and every single one of us.

Juan de Dios Sáenz Rosales, president of the Union of Workers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (SITRAUNAH), was killed on Aug. 22. Late last night, Honduran authorities announced that his son had been arrested for the murder.* The AFL-CIO stands in solidarity with SITRAUNAH as they mourn this loss and urges the government of Honduras to continue to investigate and prosecute this case vigorously until ensure justice has been is achieved for Juan de Dios Sáenz and his loved ones

Meet the faces of Union Summer in our new Innovators website feature. Watch the video in this post or on the website here. 

Union Summer, an educational internship that introduces young people to the labor movement, sent interns across the United States to organize for change. For more information on Union Summer, visit www.aflcio.org/unionsummer. Share the video on Facebook here.