To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, the AFL-CIO and Union Plus awarded $300,000 in scholarships to help graduating high school seniors realize their dreams of a college education. More than 600 students applied and 60 $5,000 scholarships were awarded.

Transport Workers Union (TWU) members from around the country joined in the annual AFL-CIO Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Observance this weekend where thousands of union members honored Dr. King with community service projects. They send us this video.

Working families across the United States are celebrating the historic bond of labor and civil rights as part of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Observance.

In Philadelphia, working families came together and participated in an inauguration watch party for President Obama's second term. 

The historic bond between the labor and civil rights movements will be celebrated this weekend as the AFL-CIO honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision that collective action—whether at the voting booth or at the workplace—mobilizes participants to continue their work to make King’s dream a reality.

February is Black History Month and one of the noteworthy events in African American history is the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike that began Feb. 11, 1968.  It was on that day that, after years of discrimination and injustice, the African American sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn., began their strike for economic justice and dignity. They sought to join AFSCME Local 1733.

Many thanks and kudos to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for calling the Indiana Democratic Caucus today to encourage lawmakers to stay strong and firm in their efforts to stop the state’s Republican leadership from doing an end-run around the democratic process.

Teresa Casertano in the AFL-CIO Organizing Department sends us this report.

Next week, 285 Brooklyn employees of Cablevision Systems Corp. will vote on whether to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Faced with low salaries and inadequate protections on the job, Cablevision installers in Brooklyn decided to join together to seek changes at work. The cable installers, who complete eight installations per day, carrying heavy ladders and climbing poles, earn a third less than their unionized counterparts. In contrast, Cablevision CEO James Dolan received $13 million last year. Dolan is also the executive chairman of the Madison Square Garden Corp., where he received another $2 million in compensation.

James Parks, communications director at the D.C. Office of Interfaith Worker Justice, sends us this.

More than 500 people packed the Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., Jan. 16 for an Interfaith Service for Jobs. The service was sponsored by Faith Advocates for Jobs to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and to call on our nation’s government to make King’s dream of economic justice and good jobs a reality.

More than 550 activists from the labor and civil rights communities wrapped up the AFL-CIO Martin Luther King Jr., Observance in Detroit this weekend after taking part in community service, workshops and worship. The events honored King’s vision that collective action is the key to ensuring freedom—whether at the voting booth or at the workplace, and energized participants to continue their work in making King’s dream a reality.

Forty-nine years ago, on June 23, 1963, tens of thousands of people gathered here in Detroit, only weeks before hundreds of thousands went to Washington to march for jobs and freedom.