Social Security is popular.

It is one of the most, if not the most, popular federal government-run programs. It is social insurance, not welfare. It provides Americans with a reliable source of income when: a senior retires from work, a child loses a working parent or if a worker becomes disabled.

Social Security is an American promise.  We pay into the program during our working lives and we’re entitled to collect benefits. We paid for it. It’s our money.

In Maine, state employees are being forced to pay more in contributions for their pensions, but one isn’t: Gov. Paul LePage. He exempted himself from the new pension formula, reports Mike Tipping in the Kennebec Journal.

Machinists (IAM) members at three Lockheed Martin locations are on strike after voting overwhelmingly to reject a company contract offer that reduced health care benefits and dropped defined-benefit pensions for newly hired workers. Some 3,700 members are on strike in Fort Worth, Texas, Edwards Air Force Base in California and Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney today praised Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s attack on public employees’ collective bargaining rights and singled out Walker’s assault on workers’ retirement security. In an expected move, Romney endorsed Walker in the upcoming recall election.

While the Obama administration has worked closely with unions and other job safety advocates to overcome the eight years of neglect and inaction by the Bush administration on vital workplace safety issues, the AFL-CIO Executive Council says, “There still is much work to be done.” At its annual winter meeting in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., the council also condemned New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) Tier-6 pension proposal.

In February, American Airlines announced plans to eliminate the jobs of 13,000 workers and dump pension plans for nearly 90,000 workers into the federal government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) as part of its bankruptcy plan. Roughly 9,000 Transport Workers (TWU) members are employed at American. But yesterday, following negotiations with the TWU and PBGC, American announced it was abandoning its pension proposal.

Union bashing may the popular sport for Republican presidential candidates (click here for more). But a new report looks at some of the real stories about how unions and union members are having positive impacts on jobs, health care, education and their communities.   

A proposed new pension system puts the retirement security of New York firefighters, teachers, police officers and other public employees at risk, and the New York State AFL-CIO is fighting back.

Earlier this month, American Airlines announced plans to eliminate the jobs of 13,000 workers and dump pension plans for nearly 90,000 workers as part of its bankruptcy plan. Roughly 9,000 Transport Workers (TWU) members are employed at American.

Last week, American Airlines announced plans to eliminate the jobs of 13,000 workers and dump pension plans for nearly 90,000 workers as part of its bankruptcy plan.