Chris Savage is a Michigan-based political writer and owner of Eclectablog. You also can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and President Barack Obama spoke out against "right to work" for less legislation yesterday. These types of laws reduce wages and benefits for working families.  

Two days ago, I reported that Michigan Republicans, along with Gov. Rick Snyder, were planning on making Michigan the nation’s 24th “right to work” for Less (RTWFL) state by the end of the year. The timetable was, apparently, far more aggressive than that. The very next day after Snyder announced RTWFL was “on the table,” he held a joint press conference with House Speaker Jase Bolger and Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville saying that he was asking for the legislation to be passed and that he would sign it into law.

While Republicans use deficit hysteria as an excuse to make cuts to earned benefit lifelines like Social Security and Medicare, here's a common sense way to trim the deficit and boost revenue without hurting anyone: Immigration reform with a road map to citizenship. 

Some say the press is the fourth branch of government. It serves as a "check and a balance" to our elected and non-elected leaders and informs the public of news for the greater good. But what if that was compromised by a corporate power grab?

That's exactly what the panel "Should the Koch Brothers Own The Tribune Newspapers?" will examine next Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. 

Worker protections, a road map to citizenship, family unification...these are the priorities of union members and working families this week as the Senate Judiciary Committee continues its markup of the immigration reform bill. 

Today, Republican senators are debating the SAFE Act, which would increase inhumane detentions and harmful policies that tear families apart from each other. 

The U.S. Senate is in the midst of debating the long-awaited comprehensive immigration bill to address the plight of millions of workers in the United States who need resolution to finding them a path to citizenship. Republicans in Congress have been warned by some in their leadership that the Republican Party must be on the right side of history on this bill and help it pass. This sentiment is a light in recent public debates where the Republican Party has preferred the darkness of saying no to progress on America’s journey, like voting rights and workers’ rights.

Capital Bikeshare, operated by Alta Bicycle Share Inc., is a popular bicycle-share program that was piloted as a green alternative to driving. In Washington, D.C., Capital Bikeshare has been so popular that Alta has landed similar contracts in cities all over America. But while Alta claims to be progressive, its employees say the company is refusing to pay them the prevailing wages and benefits that are required by federal law. 

Sign the petition demanding that Alta and Capital Bikeshare pay workers the back pay and benefits they are owed.

Last year, I ran for San Francisco District Supervisor in a crowded field of nine candidates and lost by 132 votes out of 35,351 votes cast. I would be less than truthful if I told you I wasn't disappointed. But my campaign experience also opened my eyes to new possibilities for organized labor to take a more active role in our democracy.

Over the past few weeks, Turkey has been rocked by unrest. The protests were sparked by peaceful resistance to the destruction of Istanbul’s Gezi Park in Taksim Square, the only green public place in central Istanbul, which was to be turned into a shopping mall and historical recreation of Ottoman Artillery Barracks. 

A harsh response from the state, characterized by extreme police brutality, has ensued in response to what have become the largest demonstrations the country has seen for decades. Protests have now spread to 77 cities in Turkey.

The Texas AFL-CIO and Texas AFT partnered this weekend with a Univision station in Houston to promote reading, immigration reform and workers' rights at the Houston edition of the COPA Univision amateur soccer tournament. The event included adult men's and women's and youth teams. During the tournament, several thousand people visited the AFL-CIO/AFT exhibit and volunteers gave out more than 1,800 books to children in attendance. Besides the ice cream truck, the exhibit was the second most popular, said Joe Arabie of the Texas AFL-CIO. 

Clarence Adams from Brooklyn, N.Y., was fired by Cablevision for asking for a fair contract. He explains here why a functioning National Labor Relations Board is important for America's working families.

For the second time in the past few days, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an investigation into a chemical plant explosion in Louisiana. On Thursday, a plant in Geismar, La., exploded, killing one person and injuring 73. On Friday, a blast in Donaldsonville, La., killed one person and injured seven. The plant that exploded on Thursday hadn't been inspected by OSHA in 20 years. It is not yet known when the last inspection was done at the Donaldsonville plant.