Commonsense immigration reform at the national level must “offer a short and direct path to citizenship for all aspiring citizens already in the United States.” That was the first of six broad principles adopted by Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, a new organization of more than a dozen community groups that gathered in Northern Virginia last Saturday. A diverse assembly of more than 100 activists came together to plan for their campaign to convince members of Congress to support “true reform” of our immigration laws that respects the dignity of every individual, strengthens families and builds a stronger economy that protects workers' rights and meets the state’s needs for a trained workforce by providing access to education for all.

An attempt to ram through a partisan redistricting map by Virginia State Senate Republicans has been blocked by the speaker of the state's House of Delegates. 

Here's a look at some of the key battles in the states from the past week.

Do your part in getting friends and family out to vote for pro-working family candidates this Tuesday. Sign up for the Workers' Voice Friends and Neighbors (FAN) online social phone bank tool that is available in key battleground states. 

Start phone banking here: http://go.aflcio.org/Phone-Bank.

AFL-CIO Media Outreach fellow Luis Santoyo sends us this report from the battleground state of Virginia.

People started lining up outside the nTelos Wireless Pavilion in Charlottesville, Va., three hours before the start of the rare concert Monday. By 1:30 p.m., the two lines leading up to the small outdoor concert venue stretched more than two blocks through the city’s historic downtown mall.

The local Obama for America office was giving away tickets for a live performance of Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen—whose band played at the much-larger John Paul Jones Arena later that day. 

Andy Richards on our Field Communications staff describes the eight signs to look for to see if your governor is hooked on the Kochs.