Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor’s depiction of Occupy Wall Street protests as “growing mobs” drew an appropriate response from White House spokesman Jay Carney today.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to head to New York where Occupy Wall Street is now entering its third week. I had just flown into New York City from Minneapolis and was coming off the enthusiasm and passion of 800 young workers at the AFL-CIO Next Up Summit.  Young workers at the Summit issued a statement of support for Occupy Wall Street, and I had to see and experience the movement first-hand.

We hope you will share this special AFL-CIO Now feature on the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire with your friends, family and co-workers as a way to recognize America’s workers, past and present, who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice so much to improve the lives of all workers.

Want to build on the momentum in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere by joining the fight for workers’ rights? Now’s the time to sign up for a course in strategic campaign research, writes Charles Taylor, coordinator for the AFL-CIO Center for Strategic Research recruitment program. 

Governors from across the country got a clear message of worker solidarity Sunday morning as more than 1,000 working people and activists demonstrated their support for Wisconsin workers outside the annual conference of the National Governors Association in downtown Washington, D.C. Chanting “Kill the bill!” and “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” the group filled the sidewalk outside the conference hotel. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker had been scheduled to chair a panel at the conference but canceled his appearance.