The Chicago Federation of Labor and various allies have organized a rally to protest the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC's) 40th Anniversary Meeting in Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 8. ALEC is leading conservative efforts to roll back the rights of working families.

Information about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) working in secret to push state-level policy to more extreme levels is coming to light more and more and America's working families are starting to stand up to the group's corporate-driven agenda. While ALEC's agenda is all over the policy map, the organization has a particular focus on pushing new laws that attack working families and undercut the rights of workers, both in the workplace and in retirement.  Here are eight of the most dangerous and most widespread ways that ALEC is targeting workers and their right to a voice on the job.

After budget cuts were put into effect because of the sequester, the Department of Defense began implementing furloughs for 650,000 civilian employees that would cost those workers 11 days of salary at a time when the economy is still struggling to recover from the Great Recession. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has since announced that the number of furlough days will be cut from 11 to six. AFGE applauded the change but said it didn't go far enough.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said on Sunday that Republicans would be open to restoring some of the funding lost in the job-killing sequester if new cuts to social safety net programs were put in place. In effect, Cantor is suggesting replacing one policy that hurts the economy and suppresses job growth with another policy that does the exact same thing.

California's working families, along with immigrant rights leaders, labor unions, faith organizations, student groups, elected officials and other allies, are announcing a series of major mobilizations throughout the state to rally support for a comprehensive immigration policy with a road map to citizenship. Upset at congressional Republicans' refusal to move forward on immigration policy, Californians have decided to take action instead of sitting idly by while legislation stalls in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this year, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its annual report card about the health of the nation's infrastructure, giving the United States an overall grade of "D+" and stating that $3.6 trillion in investment is needed by 2020 to avoid catastrophes that could cost lives and cripple local economies. Not only would this investment protect lives, it also would boost job creation at a time when the economy is still struggling to get back to full employment. Here are 14 of the most critical areas the United States needs to invest in before it becomes too late to prevent needless deaths, according to ASCE.

In late July, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) made widely condemned remarks that disparaged immigrants, saying that "for every one [DREAMer] who’s a valedictorian, there’s another hundred out there who weigh a hundred and thirty pounds—and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling seventy-five pounds of marijuana across the desert.” Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are responding to the comments by making the case for a comprehensive immigration policy with a road map to citizenship in King's home district in Iowa. The two senators will be holding a round-table discussion with DREAMers, farmers, students and small business owners from across the state.

In his speech in Chattanooga, Tenn., yesterday, President Obama rightfully called out for an increase in jobs that pay high wages and offer good benefits, what he called "middle class jobs," and for a focus on creating manufacturing jobs.  While those are laudable goals, Obama chose to give a speech about these topics at the Amazon Chattanooga Fulfillment Center, a location that neither pays those good wages and benefits nor is a place that offers manufacturing jobs.

In the immigration debate, why does citizenship matter?

That was the theme of a series of panels hosted by AFL-CIO at the headquarters today in Washington, D.C. The answers were varied, but took two main directions. The first answer is the concrete benefits that immigration provides, both to the immigrant and to the community they move to and work in. The second is the moral dimension that accompanies the efforts of people seeking work so they can improve the lives of themselves and their families, particularly in a current system that allows for them to be exploited.

The North Carolina legislature has moved to the extreme right in the 2013 session, passing a series of laws that assault the rights of the state's residents. The session comes to an end this week, but the damage from the laws that the Republican-led body has passed, and the governor is likely to sign, will be around for many years to come.