At a time when it seems nearly every state legislature is assaulting the rights of working families, Minnesota's House and Senate are bucking the trend and are likely to soon send Gov. Mark Dayton a series of strong pro-working family bills. According to Minnesota AFL-CIO Communications Director Chris Shields, this is the first time in 20 years the state government has been unified under one-party control, with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party holding the governorship and the majority in both houses of the legislature.

This weekend, Missouri working families went door to door to tell their friends and neighbors about a series of anti-worker bills Republicans are pushing in the state legislature. Across the state, Missourians described the right-wing push that is advancing paycheck deception, anti-prevailing wage and "right to work" for less bills.

Working people in Colorado have the shakes—actually, the Harlem Shake. The Colorado AFL-CIO created a Harlem Shake video in support of House Bill 1292, the "Keep Jobs in Colorado Act," which is being heard Monday in the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee. The bill is sponsored by Democrats Pete Lee (Colorado Springs) and Dan Pabon (Denver).

This is a cross-post, by Aruna Jain, from Working America's blog Main Street.

As legislation to raise the minimum wage to $9.95 makes its way through the Minnesota Legislature, Rep. Jason Metsa (D) is taking up Working America’s challenge to live on Minnesota’s current minimum wage for five days.

More than 4,000 Georgia education workers who have been wrongfully denied unemployment insurance benefits since a 2011 ruling by the state’s labor commissioner will collect more than $8 million in back payments.

A bill that would prevent workers from documenting unsafe working conditions and animal cruelty on farms or any industrial operation workplace using video cameras is being pushed through the Indiana Legislature. 

Chalk one up for Arizona’s workers and put another black mark up for state legislators obsessed with attacking workers and their unions for their corporate sponsors. A federal judge yesterday ruled 2011 laws on paycheck deception and restricting workers’ right to picket were unconstitutional.

Corporate-backed and extremist Missouri lawmakers are continuing their attacks on workers with hearings on a paycheck deception bill. In front of a Senate committee this morning, according to AFSCME Council 72, which is tweeting the hearing, witnesses told lawmakers the bill is part of a nationally driven agenda to “silence workers.”

Clark Brown of @seiu against #sb29: this is nationally driven agenda by corporate CEOs. This is about silencing workers. #moleg

— Missouri AFSCME (@MOAFSCME) April 3, 2013

South Carolina AFL-CIO sends us this update: On Monday, more than 50 community members from Boiling Springs and Spartanburg, S.C., participated in a “dine-in” at Copper River Grill in support of the servers, bartenders, hostesses and other workers as they fight for a voice on the job and the right to self-representation at work. The community wore stickers today that read "I Support the Workers of Copper River Grill." 

More than 700 children and their families hunted for eggs and chatted with the Easter Bunny at the Monroe/Lenawee County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and the United Way of Monroe County's sixth annual community Easter egg hunt at Munson Park last Saturday.