USA

This week, leading up to July 4, we're highlighting American products, jobs and stories for our Made in America series. What are your favorite Made in America products? Please comment and share your ideas.

What better way to spend July 4 than barbecuing and hosting a cookout that’s actually Made in America? We’ve made it easy for you this year by compiling a holiday shopping list from Union Plus, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM), the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor's LA Labor 411's website and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) for all your union-made products. Here are some highlights:

USA

This week, leading up to July 4, we're highlighting American products, jobs and stories for our Made in America series. What are your favorite Made in America products? Please comment and share your ideas.

What could be more “Made in America” than a good old USA summer vacation that’s union-made, too? Here are some travel tips from Union Plus. If you are headed for a major theme park, many are staffed by union members, including the 36,000 union workers from 18 unions at the Disney Parks in Anaheim, Calif., and Orlando, Fla. On top of that, several offer discounts through Union Plus, click here.

The AFL-CIO and several individual unions, including the Machinists, the Steelworkers, Mine Workers and Food and Commercial Workers in recent days met with leadership of the new Colombian Labor Inspectorate and Department of Labor officials, to discuss how the inspectorate is working to promote and protect workers' rights in Colombia—and what it is doing to make sure workers who exercise their rights can do so without putting their lives on the line.

WI

This is a cross-post from the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO by Machinists (IAM) member Jerome Schiek, who is supporting Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell in the June 5 recall election.  

Brothers and Sisters:

I am not going to mince any words nor beat around the bush. Here it is. We got caught sleeping. In 2010, we were asleep. No guilt. No shame. We all had a lot on our plates. We were asleep and maybe just a bit complacent. Not anymore.

Passenger service and reservation workers at the new United Airlines voted to join the Machinists (IAM). The 17,000 new members represent the passenger service and reservation workers at United who previously were IAM members before the merger with Continental and the Continental workers who had no union prior to the merger.

It took more than two years, but 220 workers the Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Newport News, Va.—formerly Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding—got their votes counted and won representation with the Machinists (IAM).

Warehouse workers, school bus drivers, teachers, mechanics, telecommunication and manufacturing workers all have recently won a voice at work with AFL-CIO unions.

After months of contention that drew the attention of presidential candidates and members of Congress, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today announced that the Machinists (IAM) District 751 dropped its charge against the Boeing Co. after negotiating agreeable terms with the company.

AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this report.

Until a fire tore through the facility late last week, Janesville Acoustics was one of the world’s largest producers of acoustical and thermal fiber insulation, and a leading producer of automotive decorative trim and molded fiber products.  It took 62 fire fighters  and 26 pieces of equipment to battle the massive blaze.

The 250 members of the Panama Canal Pilots Union recently voted to affiliate with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).  The pilots guide the ships that transit the historic canal.