Aug. 28 marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. To commemorate the historic 1963 march, the AFL-CIO, in partnership with Union Plus, announced today a new Dreams of Jobs and Freedom Scholarship program.    

The scholarships will provide $5,000 each to at least 50 talented high school seniors—including those from union families—to help pay for the costs of higher education.

Gregory Cendana, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), warns that the national debate around creating a commonsense immigration process “has largely ignored a disturbing trend in businesses: the modern-day indentured servitude of temporary workers.”

Boston’s taxi system is riddled with “staggering exploitation and abuses,” according to an in-depth exposé in The Boston Globe. Many of the city’s 6,200 drivers are forced to pay nightly bribes for the keys to their cabs, start the shift already more than $100 in the red and are frequently charged with “phantom shortfalls” in the fares they deposit to the cab owners.

Corporate-backed and extremist Missouri lawmakers are continuing their attacks on workers with hearings on a paycheck deception bill. In front of a Senate committee this morning, according to AFSCME Council 72, which is tweeting the hearing, witnesses told lawmakers the bill is part of a nationally driven agenda to “silence workers.”

Clark Brown of @seiu against #sb29: this is nationally driven agenda by corporate CEOs. This is about silencing workers. #moleg

— Missouri AFSCME (@MOAFSCME) April 3, 2013

With reports that comprehensive immigration reform legislation being shaped by the U.S. Senate’s “Gang of Eight” may reduce the number of family visas for aspiring citizens, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and a group of faith leaders today reiterated that family reunification is a core tenet of creating a commonsense immigration process.

Juicy Couture, that hip, L.A.-centric, high-end clothing and apparel chain, is engaging in what can only be described as tragically unhip corporate behavior. It is, workers say, replacing its full-time workforce with part-timers in order to duck its obligations to provide paid leave and health care for the workers.

New York City workers would receive five paid sick days a year under a measure the New York City Council will vote on soon. The New York Times reports the paid sick leave bill is expected to pass with enough votes to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s promised veto.

A powerful coalition of workers, unions and community groups mobilized around the issue that had been bottled up in the City Council. The groups were able to come to an agreement with Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn to bring the paid sick leave measure to a vote.

Harry Kelber, a union activist for nearly 80 years who was never shy about criticizing the union movement’s leadership—constructively, he maintained—died Sunday in New York. He was 98. On his 98th birthday in June, Kelber had announced he planned to run for the AFL-CIO presidency at the federation’s upcoming September convention.

Last year, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) pulled a classic political flip-flop when he proclaimed that "right to work" for less legislation wasn’t on his agenda. But late last year, he spearheaded the drive to ram the anti-work bill through a lame-duck legislative session that shut out the public.

This morning, as the law went into effect, nearly 100 Michigan union and community activists demonstrated outside the Detroit Athletic Club where Snyder was the main speaker at its annual "Pancakes & Politics” breakfast, in an action organized by the coalition We Are Michigan.

Today’s military veterans face one of the toughest job markets in decades, and their unemployment rate is significantly higher than the population at large. But thanks to the Helmets to Hardhats program, which connects veterans with quality career training and employment opportunities within the building and construction industry, many veterans are now on ascending career paths.

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer feature focuses on two U.S. Marine Corps veterans who are putting to work the training and opportunities provided by Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 19 in South Philadelphia.