Several hundred union and community activists and music lovers joined the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) members of the Minnesota Orchestra in a downtown Minneapolis rally Tuesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the lockout by orchestra management, the Minnesota Orchestral Association.

My partner, a federal worker, is locked out of his job because the Tea Party Caucus wants more spending cuts. By stranding 800,000 federal employees without pay, the billionaire-backed fraction of Congress’ extreme right wing is sending a clear message: they are not accountable to any working Americans, and they are coming for all of our jobs.

We’re excited to unveil our new health care website: WorkingAmericaHealthCare.org.

In the thousands of conversations we have every week, health care is consistently one of the most important issues to our members. That’s why we’ve spent a decade as a champion for coverage, and why we fought so hard to pass the Affordable Care Act. And now that the law is taking effect, we want to do everything we can to make sure it works.

Darden Restaurants Inc., the company whose 28,000 workers serve at Red Lobster, Olive Garden and the upscale Capital Grille restaurants, found itself on the defensive in September, as CEO Clarence Otis tried to explain to shareholders why year after year earnings per share dropped and restaurant servers labored under a $2.13 per hour federal “tipped” minimum wage, with no paid sick leave.

Bipartisan legislation to provide retroactive pay for the more than 800,000 federal workers furloughed because of the irresponsible House Republican government shutdown was introduced Tuesday in the House and Senate. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), chief sponsor of the House bill (H.R. 3223), said:

Nearly a million federal workers could lose their pay because Congress failed to do its job and keep the government up and running....Our civil servants have weathered furloughs, frozen pay and diminished benefits. Now they may go without their pay altogether because of this reckless Tea Party-led government shutdown.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a report in response to a complaint brought under the free trade agreement between the United States and the Dominican Republic, known as the Central America Free Trade Agreement–Dominican Republic (CAFTA–DR), which detailed severe worker abuse on sugar plantations. The vast majority of sugar workers are Haitian or of Haitian descent. Most are undocumented, leaving them particularly vulnerable to extreme exploitation. The DOL’s report confirms ongoing, systematic abuses, including human trafficking; the use of child and forced labor; hazardous working conditions; wage theft; denial of medical, pension and other benefits if the worker is undocumented; routine violations of minimum wage and overtime rules; and retaliatory firings against union activists and workers who attempt to mount legal challenges against their employer.

If you are in the Washington, D.C., area Thursday, come join hands with members of the Alliance for Retired Americans and the Congressional Progressive Caucus in a Human Chain Against "Chained" CPI on Capitol Hill.  

The action kicks off at 10 a.m. EDT on the House Triangle of the U.S. Capitol. Click here for a map and to RSVP.

More than 5,000 registered nurses and professional health care employees have become part of the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) with the affiliation of the Florida Nurses Association (FNA)/Labor & Employment Relations Council (LERC).

While the House GOP-engineered government shutdown will have devastating effects on our nation's veterans, women with children and federal workers furloughed without pay, America's working families visiting the U.S. capital were locked out of the national parks and monuments paid for by their hard-earned tax dollars. 

As day one of the government shutdown continues, many people are left wondering what happened? If the leaders of both parties said they didn't want the government to shut down and President Barack Obama, along with congressional Democrats, were poised to negotiate in good faith and make reasonable compromises, how did we get where we are?