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Nothing Eerie About This Halloween Party

Nothing eerie about this Halloween party.

Ron Oliver, AFL-CIO Community Services liaison in Erie, Pa., tells us last night the local labor movement there worked with community allies to create a safe, fun Halloween party for inner-city children. Some 50 to 60 little goblins and superheroes gathered at a local church and had a great time munching chips and cupcakes. Mmmmmmmmm.

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Six Steps to Protect Your Vote

6 Steps to Protect Your Vote

As unpatriotic as it sounds, some people would deny American citizens the right to vote, even those who are fully entitled to cast their ballot. The only way to make sure to avoid being the victim of such tactics is to know what your rights are and know who to talk to if you have a problem.

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How to Prepare for Hurricane Sandy's Impact and Aftermath

Hurricane Sandy photo courtesy of the County of Dare's Flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/countyofdare/

Hurricane Sandy, one of the largest hurricanes in decades, is slamming into the mid-Atlantic and northeast United States starting late Sunday. Bill Hauenstein, AFL-CIO Community Services liaison for the Northeast region, provides useful links for union leaders, members and families preparing for and dealing with Sandy’s impact and aftermath.

What are you doing to help your union brothers and sisters weather the storm?

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Louisiana Teachers and Union Members to Distribute 50,000 Free Textbooks

Photos  by Emily Mendenhall

Students at the 19 schools in Jefferson Parish, La., are getting more than 50,000 new books and, best of all, those books are free. Last week, the Jefferson Federation of Teachers (an AFT affiliate), union and community volunteers began sorting the 2,000 boxes of books that will be distributed during the next month. The book distribution is part of a nationwide joint project between AFT and First Book, a nonprofit organization that distributes books to children from low-income families

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IUPAT Foundation Partners with United Cerebral Palsy's My Child Without Limits

The Painters and Allied Trades for Children's Hope Foundation (PATCH) has announced a new partnership with United Cerebral Palsy's My Child Without Limits. 

For every new "like" on the PATCH Facebook page (www.facebook.com/PATCHFoundation) or new follower on Twitter (www.twitter.com/PATCHFoundation), PATCH will donate $1 to UCP's My Child Without Limits. 

To learn more about PATCH, please visit www.iupat.org/patch.

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UAW Members Make Louisville, Ky., More Accessible by Building Ramps

UAW Members Make Louisville, Ky., More Accessible by Building Ramps

Larry Snook, vice president of Labor Services at Metro United Way in Louisville, Ky., has an ambitious goal, along with the skilled tradesmen from UAWLocal 862: building 25-30 mobility ramps for people's homes in the next two years.

Volunteers from Local 862 and Metro United Way are volunteering their time to help the Center for Accessible Living coordinate and build mobility ramps for people with disabilities' homes in flood zone areas through a Ford Motor Co. initiative in Louisville. Ford is providing funds for the ramp materials and recruiting employee volunteers from UAW. So far, three ramps have been built. 

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Firefighters Wear Pink to Raise Awareness for Breast Cancer

IAFF rolls up sleeves and lends a hand in battle against breast cancer.

Check out the AFL-CIO's new In Our Communities website feature, "Firefighters Give Back to Their Communities On and Off the Job." 

It’s hard to miss a burly firefighter in a bright pink T-shirt. And for tens of thousands of Fire Fighters (IAFF) union members across the country, that’s exactly the point. When the public sees them in pink tees, they are reminded that breast cancer is a deadly disease requiring regular exams and mammograms. And they are urged to help women who can’t afford regular check-ups.

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Letter Carriers' Heroes: A Safety Net of Service

NALC honors its everyday heroes.

Charlie Rose, a 23-year veteran Letter Carriers (NALC) member from Athens, Ohio, has sniffed out more than a dozen natural gas leaks in homes along his route, preventing what could have been deadly explosions. He also was the driving force behind the effort that convinced the city to replace more than 17,000 feet of aging gas pipeline and require carbon monoxide detectors in new rental units. For that, he was honored with the union’s Special Carrier Alert award. He was one of six NALC members recognized yesterday at ceremonies in Washington, D.C., as 2012 Heroes of the Year.

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Union Volunteers Inspire Minn. Youth at Outdoor Events

Union Volunteers Inspire MN Youth at Outdoor Events.

Laura Bliss-Morris of the Union Sportsmen's Alliance sends us this report.

Nearly 150 union members, shooting enthusiasts and other guests—including United Union of Roofers and Waterproofers President Kinsey Robinson, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and state Attorney General Lori Swanson—teamed up to support conservation at the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s (USA's) second annual Roofers International Twin Cities Sporting Clays Shoot and Get Youth Outdoors Day on Sept. 15 and 16 at Wild Marsh Sporting Clays in Clear Lake. 

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UAW and AFSCME Pitch In to Build a Home for a Toledo Family in Need

Union members pitch in for United Way's Week of Caring and help build a home for a Toledo family in need.

Toledo union members pitched in during United Way's Week of Caring to help build a home for a local family. Volunteers, including members of UAW Local 14 and AFSCME Local 544, along with AFL-CIO Labor Community Services liaisons Micheal Alexander and Laura Harrison, joined Habitat for Humanity on the project.

Volunteers, organized through United Way of Greater Toledo, helped install siding on the house. The entire project will take several months to complete. 

See more photos from the United Way of Greater Toledo's Week of Caring 2012.  

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