Thousands rallied Monday outside the Peabody Energy headquarters in St. Louis, and 12 were arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience. The rally protested cuts Patriot Coal is scheduled to make after July 1 to retiree health care benefits of former Peabody workers. The workers' benefits were spun off into Patriot in what Mine Workers (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts says was an intentional plan to get out of obligations made to them.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has signed legislation that prevents local governments in the state from passing ordinances requiring businesses to provide paid sick days to their employees. The bill was supported by business interests, including the the American Legislative Exchange Council, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Walt Disney World and Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster.

Managers at a Finnish-owned maquiladora located in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, producing wire harnesses for the North American auto industry, have obstructed workers’ right to freely join a union and sexually harassed female employees, according to a report released today by Worker Rights Consortium, an independent organization that monitors labor rights abuses around the world.

We need to think differently about trade.

First, let me say that I am 100% in favor of trade. Trade is when we do what we do best, they do what they do best and we trade. Trade, done right, will raise living standards.

While Republicans use deficit hysteria as an excuse to make cuts to earned benefit lifelines like Social Security and Medicare, here's a commonsense 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.