First, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) announced a state budget plan that  strips state workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights, cuts pay and benefits and says there will be no negotiations.

Looks like a California tea party activist took to heart AC/DC’s song  “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” to take a swipe Ohio public employees. Thanks to the good folks at the progressive blog Plunderbund for publicizing the trickery.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Republican legislators launched their biggest assault yet against Buckeye State public employees with a hearing yesterday on a bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for all state workers, including faculty and staff at Ohio state colleges and universities.

With state unemployment at 9.6 percent last month, Ohio legislators should be working overtime to fix the jobs crisis. Instead, the majority leadership in the Ohio Senate is playing partisan politics.

Across the country late last week, hundreds of union members, religious leaders, community activists, farm workers and victims of bank home foreclosures protested at 200 JPMorgan Chase branches to demand the bank respect the basic human rights of people to have decent places to live and work.

Three flat tires couldn’t keep Machinists (IAM) Benny Adair and Hardy Williams from completing their monumental task—and Adair swears, “With all the trouble we had, not a single cussword was said.”

What do the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers have in common–besides playing in the Super Bowl Sunday? Both teams are named after the major manufacturing industry in their towns. Both cities were built on manufacturing and enjoy a loyal following built on the middle-class, blue-collar jobs supported by these industries. The Packers’ middle-class fans are also the team’s owners–the only team not owned by a super-rich person.   

This is a cross-post from the Electrical Workers (IBEW.)

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court’s ruling upholding project labor agreements (PLAs) on state-funded construction projects.

Cathy Sherwin, AFL-CIO Field Communications staffer in Missouri, sends us this latest report.

Can Republicans oppose “right to work for less“? Absolutely. Here’s some proof from Jefferson County, Mo.

Harvey Camacho and Randy Clarke, members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7026 in Tucson, Ariz., have won praise for their role in helping secure evidence crucial to the investigation of the Jan. 8 shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).