This is a cross-post from The Huffington Post, by Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center.

Although Election Day is behind us, Medicare remains on working people's minds. Medicare ranked third to the economy and federal deficit as an issue of extreme importance in deciding how people voted. For months now, pundits, candidates and policymakers have wrestled one another about Medicare's future. Taking place at town hall meetings and on editorial pages, these battles were mostly waged in fiscal terms. Medicare's sustainability, the fiscal slope and the cost of insuring the Baby Boomers are hot topics for debate. Attention will now turn from the candidates' promises to their actual proposals.

Organizers from the Home Defenders League, Occupy Our Homes and allied organizations estimate that more than 500 people attended a rally at the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday, calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to begin arresting bankers accused of fraud and unscrupulous lending practices. As of Tuesday morning, at least 27 demonstrators had been arrested after an attempt to enter the Justice Department building was prevented by law enforcement.

Oklahoma City-area union members who were impacted by tornadoes and who participate in Union Plus programs may be eligible for financial assistance. 

Union Plus Disaster Relief Grants of $500 are available to help participants in the Union Plus Credit Card, Insurance or Mortgage programs who are facing financial hardship due to this devastating natural disaster. The money does not have to be repaid.

At today’s Mondelēz International's shareholder meeting, the IUF, the international union body representing food workers worldwide, and unions representing the company’s North American employees raised concerns about human rights abuses in the company’s overseas operations. Many Mondelēz-branded cookies and crackers are produced by union members, including Oreo, Chips Ahoy, Ritz and Triscuit.

Thanks to what Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller calls a “historic, robust” bipartisan effort, the Texas Legislature approved on Monday a "Buy American" provision for water projects that establishes a preference for iron, steel and manufactured goods produced in the United States. Says Moeller:

UPDATE: The death toll from the Moore tornado has been revised downward and stands at 24 as of noon today. But officials say they expect it to increase as rescue workers search the wreckage. 

While rescue operations continue in Moore, Okla., after one of the worst and deadliest tornadoes on record that has claimed more than 50 lives, with the toll expected to climb, relief efforts are being organized. The Oklahoma State AFL-CIO and central labor council community service liaisons are working through the United Way. 

While, according to official government statistics, union density declined last year, there were a handful of states that actually saw an increase in membership. California placed at the top of this list.

AFSCME Council 5 sends us this exciting update from Minnesota:

After a debate that took nearly 10 hours over three legislative days, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved historic legislation Monday that extends collective bargaining rights to family child care providers and personal care attendants. The bill passed 68-66 after surviving 20 Republican amendments trying to undermine it. Gov. Mark Dayton promises to sign the bill.

Apple (like many giant, multinational corporations) has been avoiding paying the taxes they owe to the country by setting up foreign “subsidiaries” in tax-haven countries and moving jobs and profit centers out of the country. They have accumulated billions upon billions of dollars in these tax havens. Now they want a special tax break to reward them for doing that.

Memorial Day is the unofficial kickoff to the summer holiday season. While the day honors those who have given their lives defending the nation—and Jimmy Gilbert, director of the AFL-CIO’s Union Veterans Council, will write more on that next Monday—the weekend also marks the start of grilling season. Here's some union-made food and drink to get your barbecue off to a great start.

Wilma Liebman who served 14 years on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—including chairwoman from 2009–2011—says, “Appointments to the NLRB have been a political battleground for decades.” But, in a column today in Politico, she says the current attack on the NLRB is the most vicious since the board was created in the 1930s.