If you want your Halloween to be all treats and no tricks, make sure all your candy is union-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):

The term “banana scanner” sticks in Jackie Gitmed’s throat. It’s what she and other members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770 were called during the strike and lockout nearly 10 years ago.

“They said we were ignorant and overpaid and didn’t deserve any better,” Gitmed says, as she and three friends, all of Local 770, first drew and then painted a life-size image of a grocery bagger on cardboard in one of the Monday action sessions at the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles.

This Friday, the Los Angeles Black Worker Center (BWC) is holding its first-ever Black Workers Congress to bring workers and the Los Angeles community together to build support and share knowledge to transform the jobs crisis in communities of color. 

The union days of summer are over for the young participants of this year’s AFL-CIO Union Summer internship. But for some, their journey on the long road to social justice continues.

After nine weeks in their assigned cities, the 40 activists, who were mostly women and people of color, ages 19 to 35, reconvened at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., late last week, ready to share what they learned and ponder their next steps on and off the union path.

Walmart reported last week that sales at its U.S. stores had unexpectedly declined. Walmart tried to explain its shrinking sales away by citing outside factors such as higher gas prices and payroll taxes.

But, say many market observers, the real cause lies within Walmart itself—the largest private-sector employer in the United States and the poster child for low-wages.  

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) announced today that it is affiliating with the AFL-CIO. UFCW President Joe Hansen said, “We join the AFL-CIO because it is the right thing to do for UFCW members, giving them more power and influence."

It is about fostering more opportunities for workers to have a true voice on the job. It is about joining forces to build a more united labor movement that can fight back against the corporate and political onslaught facing our members each and every day.

This week, leading up to July 4, we're highlighting American products and services. What are your favorite Made in America products? 

If there was a union for dogs—and if they had opposable thumbs—I’m sure my two German Shepherds would sign authorization cards and I would respect their majority sign-up choice. But until non-traditional alt-organizing takes a major step outside the box, our pets will have to find solidarity and some tasty treats in a variety of pet products that carry a Made in America union label.

This is the weekend many of us will head to the stores to stock up on our July 4 supplies for the summer’s top cookout event. To celebrate the Fourth with a Made in America, union label, check out our union-made list below, compiled from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM), the LA Labor 411's website, Union Plus and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).  

James and Trina Vetato knew about the freedom riders from history books.

This week, the Paducah, Ky., couple expects to join a civil rights movement-style protest against the world's largest retailer. The Vetatos are activists in the employees’ group Organization United for Respect at Walmart, or OUR Walmart for short. Trina currently works at a Walmart store and James is a former Walmart employee. 

Memorial Day is the unofficial kickoff to the summer holiday season. While the day honors those who have given their lives defending the nation—and Jimmy Gilbert, director of the AFL-CIO’s Union Veterans Council, will write more on that next Monday—the weekend also marks the start of grilling season. Here's some union-made food and drink to get your barbecue off to a great start.