When most people think about union members, they probably picture blue-collar workers in factories. Maybe teachers, police, firefighters and other government employees come to mind.

But workers in many more fields come together in unions to have a voice on the job to improve their lives and the lives of their families—from rocket scientists at NASA (members of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers [IFPTE]) to actors like Alec Baldwin (a member of SAG-AFTRA) and all across the spectrum of work that goes on in the United States.

After two years without a contract, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communications Workers of America (NABET-CWA) has reached a tentative agreement with the American Broadcasting System (ABC) on a four-year contract. The last contract between NABET-CWA and ABC expired on March 31, 2011. James C. Joyce, president of NABET-CWA and head of the bargaining committee, unanimously recommended to union members that they ratify the contract.

In New Orleans this Super Bowl week, there are plenty of fans sporting 49ers' red and gold caps and jerseys and Ravens' purple and black gear. But there also are thousands of union members—including many from unions in the Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO (GNO)—who proudly display their union label and are making the game possible and the fan experience in the Crescent City run smoothly.

Hotel workers, broadcast technicians, TV and theater employees are just some of the workers who’ve recently joined AFL-CIO unions.

The 705 workers at Levy Restaurants at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., the new home of the Brooklyn Nets, won union recognition with UNITE HERE Local 1 through a majority sign-up agreement in which an employer agrees to recognize the worker’s choice of a union when a majority of workers sign union authorization cards. 

About 100 working men and women told congressional Republicans to “Keep Your Hands off Medicare” Monday in front of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., where CBS was hosting a town hall meeting with members of Congress.

The cancellation of the ABC soap operas “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” will not only deprive  millions of viewers of their favorite shows, it will deprive thousands of union members—actors, crew members, writers and production staff—in Los Angeles and New York of a regular paycheck.