A packed schedule at the upcoming AFL-CIO National Convention will feature appearances by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez. The quadrennial convention will take place in Los Angeles from Sept. 8–11. The AFL-CIO's 27th convention will focus on the changing face of labor and chart out new directions for the labor movement in the coming years. It also will include a series of breakout action sessions that will lay out strategies for the future and will elect the union's officers.

Ken Howard was reelected SAG-AFTRA president and Amy Aquino won reelection as secretary treasurer. The pair had served as co-president and co-secretary-treasurer following the 2012 merger of SAG and AFTRA and prior to that, two terms as SAG’s top leaders.

The hard work of union members created Labor Day, and we think it’s about time union members @Work took full credit. We need more Americans to grasp the impact of your skilled labor. Not only because you build everything from our roads, our cars and the places we go, but U@Work are the living infrastructure that makes America happen.  

If pictures say a thousand words, we would like at least 10,000 of them this Labor Day to show the union difference. From Aug. 15 to Sept. 15, submit your photo to www.UnionPlus.org/Contest for a chance to win BIG and show what U@Work really means.

Buzz is building around a new documentary film series, "Strength in Union," which is currently being filmed. Covering the history of the labor movement and highlighting the stories of workers, the series also will feature interviews from historians and labor leaders, including Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers (USW); Cliff Guffey, president of the Postal Workers (APWU); Lawrence J. Hanley, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU); and Captain Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots (ALPA).

The NH Labor News reports it is likely the series will air on PBS, as well as in select theaters and film festivals.  

Bayard Rustin, one of the most prominent activists in the civil rights movement and co-founder of the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), will be posthumously honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced Thursday.
 

Rustin, who worked closely with Randolph, was a major figure in organizing the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A week of actions and celebrations is planned later this month to mark the 50th anniversary of the march. Read more here.

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.

First, my apologies to any student in the middle of their summer reverie who stumbles across this blog. But like Christmas ads, back-to-school messages start earlier and earlier. Here’s ours, courtesy of the Union Label and Services Trades Department (UL&STD).   

A good picture can change the world. Photos like "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper" can quickly and powerfully convey a message that informs and arouses sympathy and empathy. The Electrical Workers (IBEW) union recognizes that truth every year with its annual photo contest, running now through Oct. 31.

The AFL-CIO Executive Council in its July meeting released a statement commending the Washington, D.C., City Council's passage of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA). LRAA requires large retailers with more than $1 billion in annual sales with stores of more than 75,000 square feet to pay a living wage of $12.50 an hour. 

Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) International President Matthew D. Loeb was re-elected unanimously this morning to serve another four-year term in the position he has held since 2008. The vote came during the last session of IATSE’s 67th Quadrennial Convention being held in Boston for the past week at the Boston Sheraton Hotel.