The safety issues the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uncovered in a July 2012 inspection of ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge, La., refinery are the same issues that are prevalent in many U.S. refineries, including those that were the sites of two fatal disasters, say the United Steelworkers (USW).

Aug. 28 of this year marks the 50th anniversary of the famous March on Washington. For many people, the march was simply the site where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. However, the full name of the march was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the march marked a high point of the modern civil rights movement, after black communities and their supporters throughout the country boycotted buses, sat-in at lunch counters, rode in Freedom Rides and marched in the streets. These massive protests were aimed at destroying, once and for all, the era of legal segregation— which was a blot on this country since the end of slavery.

The AFL-CIO Executive Council called for a “high-wage” economic strategy, a new trade model and universal voter registration coupled with vigorous protection of the right to vote at its February meeting in Orlando, Fla., today. The Executive Council also addressed gender equality and commemorated the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington .

In its statement on economic strategy, the council says, “There is something fundamentally wrong with the U.S. economy,” that has resulted in “the stagnation of wages and incomes that has crippled the American middle class for more than a generation.”

As we near the conclusion of this week’s launch of @Work, today we are spotlighting “Innovation,” one of the seven featured categories of the new AFL-CIO site.

While the world’s eyes Sunday night were focused on the actors, video clips and red carpet gowns at the 79th Academy Awards show, their ears were being treated to melodies and rhythms—both in the Oscar-winning films and live broadcast—of the members of Professional Musicians/AFM Local 47.

Local 47 members composed and performed on the musical scores of 10 films that received 39 Oscar nominations and won 10 Oscars.

At its February meeting, the AFL-CIO Executive Council, representing 57 affiliate unions, adopted several statements that covered energy and jobs, workers' rights and the National Labor Relations Board and immigration, among other things. 

The AFL-CIO's Executive Council February meeting kicked off this morning in Orlando, Fla., welcoming two new council members and presenting two new charters for Actors' Equity and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART). 

Karen Nussbaum, co-founder and executive director of Working America, will appear Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EST in the PBS premiere of the documentary "MAKERS: Women Who Make America." Working America is the fastest-growing organization for working families in the United States.

“Training” is the spotlight category today, as the launch of the AFL-CIO online hub @Work continues.

Today, as part of the AFL-CIO’s weeklong launch of @Work, we are featuring “Action,” one of the seven categories featured on the site.