James Gilbert is director of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council.

Whether they served on the beaches of Normandy, the rivers of Southeast Asia or the deserts of the Middle East, Nov. 11 is the day we honor our country's veterans. Originally proclaimed a holiday by President Wilson in 1919, Nov. 11 was chosen because major hostilities of WWI were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with Germany signing the Armistice. 

"Dianda's Bakery Celebrates 50 Years of Honored Traditions" is a cross-post from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM).

Union bakers at San Francisco’s famous Dianda’s Italian-American Pastry Co. have been creating some of the city’s most loved cakes and pastries since the Mission district bakery opened its doors in 1962. What is the secret to their long success? Happy workers, time-honored recipes and loyal customers.

Working people up and down the East Coast are pitching in to alert people about the clean up efforts for Hurricane Sandy and provide information for transportation, shelter and other resources. Firefighters, public employees, utility workers, letter carriers, nurses, grocery store employees, hotel workers and others continued to work through the storm to make sure everyone is taken care of. Once again, we’re reminded that work connects us all, and we’re better together. Here are some unions and agencies you can follow on Twitter and Facebook who've been hard at work during the storm:

American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) Local 47 member wil.i.am is most famous for being the mastermind behind the multiplatinum record-selling hip-hop group the Black Eyed Peas. Now he's done something that no other recording artist has ever done—debuted a song from the surface of another planet.

Retired Ironworkers Local 361 member John Sferazo, a longtime member of Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), was honored for his contributions to conservation at the Field & Stream Heroes of Conservation gala on Oct. 4 in Washington, D.C.

After suffering physical and emotional trauma as a Ground Zero volunteer on Sept. 11, Sferazo has worked to provide free hunting opportunities for first responders and veterans with disabilities. With the support of 30 organizations, his nonprofit group American Greenlands Restoration Inc. has turned a former 1,000-acre asphalt plant site in Maine back into a thriving forest habitat. “Being outside gave me an outlet, and I wanted to give others the same,” he said. “It’s the right fight, at the right time, for the right reason.”

Sferazo was nominated by the USA. Currently in its seventh year, the program honors individuals involved in grassroots projects to preserve the land, water and wildlife vital to sportsmen’s pursuits.

If you want your Halloween to be all treats and no tricks, make sure all your candy is union-made, made in America. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor's resource site, Labor 411, has an extensive list of union-made candies. Here are some highlights, featuring sweets made by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW):

1. Baby Ruth

2. Butterfinger

3. Caramello 

4. Hershey's Candy Corn Kisses

5. Hershey Extra Dark Chocolate bar

If you missed the start of the Union Plus Scavenger Hunt, there's still time to play. On Monday mornings through Nov. 5, Union Plus will provide a clue relating to a union member benefit. All you have to do is either text or email the correct answer by midnight of Thursday of that week.

Each week, a $25 Entertainment Discount E-Certificate will be awarded. A $150 Grand Prize Entertainment Discount E-Certificate will be awarded at the end of the Scavenger Hunt.

Go to the Union Plus blog to learn how to play. 

Read the Union Plus Scavenger Hunt contest rules.

Take a minute today (Oct. 11) and say “Happy Birthday” to Eleanor Roosevelt. A member of the Newspaper Guild for more than a quarter of a century, Roosevelt strongly believed in workers, their unions and their involvement in the political process. 

Brigid O’Farrell, a member of the National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981, writes if Roosevelt were alive today, she would be out campaigning against California’s Prop. 32 to silence workers in the political arena, while giving the wealthy and corporations free reign. Read more at the Roosevelt Institute's Next New Deal blog.

If you missed last week’s episode of “Brotherhood Outdoors” from the Union Sportsmen's Alliance, take a look at this video of Machinists (IAM) member and wounded Iraq war veteran, Connie Rendon, on a Texas hunt for a white-tailed buck.

Texas Whitetail with a Union Machinists and American Hero from Union Sportsmen on Vimeo.

If you are hurt or made ill on the job, navigating the workers’ compensation system in your state can be confusing and difficult. Now a newly launched website, Workers’ Comp Hub (www.WorkersCompHub.org), gives you a road map.

The new website, a joint effort of the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) and the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), provides: