Last night in Springfield, Mo., while more than 300 Republican insiders were paying up to $25,000 a head to hear a stump speech by Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, more than 100 union and community activists were outside letting passersby know about Ryan’s and Mitt Romney’s plans to cut taxes for the wealthy and gut Medicare. Activists included members of the Springfield Central Labor Council, Missouri Pro-Vote, Communications Workers of America (CWA) Locals 6312 and 6355, Carpenters Local 978, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Locals 453 and 753,  Letter carriers (NALC) Local 203, Missouri AFL-CIO, Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans, MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood, Teamster Local 245 and United Transportation Union  retirees.

This is a cross-post, by Justine Winnie, from The Stand, a project of the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) and its affiliated unions. Winnie of OPEIU Local 8 is the newly elected recording secretary for WA YELL. 

More than 50 young leaders and allies converged Aug. 5 in Wenatchee for the Washington Young Emerging Labor Leaders’ (WA YELL's) first annual convention. Members from diverse corners of the state kicked off their time at the WSLC’s convention with a bang and brought their trademark spark and dedication to movement-building across industries, unions and generations.