It's a common refrain among conservative economists and politicians: If only government would end its interference in the affairs of private enterprise, the efficiencies of the free market would buoy the economy, lead to high profits and in turn result in higher wages for everyone. This argument is used to defend corporate-friendly policies of all stripes, including deregulation, opposition to living wages and worker safety protections.

Some 725 registered nurses at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, Calif., won representation from California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) last week after beating back what they say was a “furious anti-union campaign by hospital management and its high paid anti-union consultants.”

While many of the country's most active working family advocates were in Los Angeles for the AFL-CIO national convention, the rest of the country continued to operate, with legislation, elections and judicial decisions of significant importance continuing to move forward. Here are eight stories you might have missed while the media's attention was focused on the convention.

The majority of workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., have signed cards authorizing their affiliation with the UAW and the creation of a German-style "works council" at the plant, according to Gary Casteel, a regional director for UAW. Casteel says that the cards count as a legally binding election and that they include a statement about wanting to join VW's Global Works Council. The union has not put forth a formal timeline for official recognition yet.

A central theme of this year’s convention is building a broader, more inclusive labor movement to better support all workers, both union and nonunion. As attendees of the action session “Anyone Can Join and Everyone Should: Models for Alternative Membership” learned this afternoon, associate membership can be a powerful tool to achieve that goal.

What turns young people into labor activists? How do we use their ideas and energy to transform our work? Why is it important to develop young leaders? What are the dos and don’ts when engaging young workers in organizing and political action? And how do we adapt our strategies, partnerships and attitudes to meet young people where they’re at?

How do we truly build a labor movement that is inclusive to young workers, people of color and the LGBT community? It's more than just holding a meeting or attending a conference, says Tahir Duckett, national young worker coordinator at the AFL-CIO, at a pre-conference diversity summit at the AFL-CIO 2013 Convention.

In 15 cities today, Walmart workers and their supporters are staging their biggest day of action since the groundbreaking “Black Friday” strike in November. They are demanding that Walmart reinstate 20 workers they say were fired for taking part in a June strike, and they are calling on Walmart to end its poverty-level wage scale and pay a living wage.

Sign the Walmart workers’ petition now to demand that Walmart reinstate fired workers, publicly commit to paying a living wage and respect workers’ rights.

The growing group of Walmart workers across the country who are demanding justice and a decent wage gave the giant retailer a Labor Day deadline to meet their demands or face intensified and widespread actions. Walmart didn't, so starting Thursday Walmart workers will mount a wide wave of actions. 

Got a question about your rights in the workplace? Just in time for Labor Day, there’s an app for that. Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) launched a new mobile app, available free of charge for iPhone and Android users, that guides workers, employers and unions with information regarding their rights and obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).