In a time when the globalized economy means that steelworkers in Bahia, Brazil, work for the same multinational as their counterparts in Beaumont, Texas, the AFL-CIO is ramping up efforts to help workers organize around the world and fight against bad international trade deals that strip workers of their rights and give corporations unchecked power. Delegates to the AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles passed two resolutions directly dealing with these important issues.

Lazy. Out of touch. Greedy. Self-serving. Thuggish.

Chances are you’ve heard a union member or leader called one of these things (and in all likelihood, more than once), and it made your blood boil. The unfortunate truth is that misconceptions, stereotypes and all-out lies seem to be dominating the public discussion and perception of labor unions, even among some progressives. We in the labor movement know that unions stand for the working class as the sole and vital counterbalance to corporate greed and excess…but no one else seems to have gotten the memo.

Today, the AFL-CIO reaffirmed its commitment to a comprehensive immigration policy that respects workers' rights, including a road map to citizenship. Delegates at the AFL-CIO Convention called for an immigration policy that protects U.S. workers, reduces exploitation of immigrant workers and reduces employers' incentive to hire undocumented workers rather than U.S. workers. Such a policy, the convention resolution states, will increase shared prosperity, improve productivity and quality, limit wage competition, strengthen labor standards and collective bargaining rights, protect the health and safety of workers and provide a social safety net and quality education and training for working families.

“The labor movement,” Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez told delegates to the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles this morning, “is one of the greatest forces for middle-class economic security."

An economy that grows from the middle out can only be achieved if we continue to have a dynamic and empowered labor movement in America.

No worker is invisible, and that's exactly what AFL-CIO delegates and attendees said as they hit the streets of Los Angeles last night to raise awareness about the value of work. 

Check out the video highlights in this post, and see our blog post from yesterday explaining what these cardboard workers are all about. 

Last night, women of the labor movement came together to talk about creating a movement that matters to women at a "Bread and Rosie" reception. 

Sponsored by Union Plus, the reception featured special guests and speakers, including former Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker and María Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. 

You all know the facts, said economist Joseph Stiglitz, addressing the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention delegates. America's workers productivity has soared, yet wages have stagnated. 

"You've worked hard since 1979, your output per hour has increased 40%, but pay has barely increased," said Stiglitz. "The Great Recession has made things worse....95% of the gains from 2009 to 2012 went to the upper 1%. The rest, the 99%, never recovered."

Welcome to the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention live blog. Comments will appear after moderation. See our comment guidelines here. You can participate in the discussion from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. PDT (11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT).

Check out the live blog after the jump. 

Bankruptcy laws are rigged against working people. Employers, corporations and lenders often exploit these laws to weaken our retirement security, cut health care and leave young workers saddled with student loan debt, without the prospect of a good job or the ability to discharge the debt through bankruptcy. 

Today, the AFL-CIO passed a convention resolution addressing the need to reform our country's bankruptcy laws to better shield workers from harm in the form of broken pension and health care promises and to diminish economic hardship that comes from these bankruptcies. 

Today, the following action sessions are taking place from 12:30–2 p.m. PDT. Check out the schedule after the jump, and don't forget to live-tweet using the hashtag #aflcio13.