Here is the complete list of Texas AFL-CIO COPE endorsements for statewide, congressional, legislative and State Board of Education contests. Central Labor Councils are publishing additional lists of local candidates that have received the COPE endorsement as well.

The labor movement in Texas will endeavor to turn out every union member, retiree and union family member to vote for COPE-endorsed candidates.

The U.S. jobless rate worsened to 9.6 percent in August from 9.5 percent in July, with 54,000 jobs lost, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data out today. The private sector created only 67,000 jobs in August, far below the 150,000 jobs a month needed to keep up with the population and extremely far below the hundreds of thousands of new jobs needed each month to return to pre-recession employment levels. Government employment fell by 121,000, largely reflecting the loss of 114,000 temporary workers hired for U.S. Census 2010. Click the headline to read more>>

Corporations that lead the way in creating fair working environments prosper—but too many employers and governments around the world are abusing workers’ rights, according to the findings of several reports released in time for Labor Day. You can check out all the reports on our Labor Day 2010 webpage here. Click the headline to read more>>

The elections this year come down to a choice between leaders who will stand with working people or those whose right-wing agenda will choke off economic recovery and put corporations back in the driver’s seat. With that said, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka outlined plans for an aggressive and massive mobilization of working people this Labor Day weekend and for the fall election. During a press conference this morning at the AFL-CIO, Trumka also announced the federation will run TV and radio ads Labor Day weekend in key markets around Major League Baseball games, NASCAR, and college football games. Click headline to read more>>

The Texas AFL-CIO brought the manufactured home that earlier this year was offered to Gov. Rick Perry for lease for $1 a year to a Houston law firm, allowing freeway drivers to see the residence for themselves and read a related message on a nearby electronic billboard.

Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller, joined by Secretary-Treasurer John Patrick, noted that an application process for giving away the manufactured home is under way. The home will go to a Texas union family that has fallen on hard times.

Moeller's news conference statement is below.

Unions Families May Apply for a Spot in the Drawing for a Single-Wide Manufactured Home, Delivered to You in Texas

Gov. Rick Perry declined to take up the Texas AFL-CIO on an offer to lease him a manufactured home for $1 a year while he waits for the renovation of the gutted Governor’s Mansion in a rental mansion in a gated community 14 miles from the Capitol that has cost taxpayers more than $600,000.

Since then, the single-wide, olive-colored manufactured home has spent time on display in the Texas AFL-CIO parking lot, attended both state political conventions and is likely to make appearances in more venues over the summer.

Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller has announced that shortly after Labor Day, the state federation plans to donate the manufactured home to a Texas union family. Eligibility is limited to persons who are current union members, retirees or former union members who lost their jobs and/or suffered through a home foreclosure.

A panel of religious leaders will be convened to consider applications for the manufactured home. Using their best judgment, the panel will select up to 20 worthy entries and the final selection will be determined by a random drawing from among those entries. The result of the panel’s decision and subsequent drawing, to be conducted by officers of the Texas AFL-CIO, is final.

To enter, fill out the application, which asks for your name, a place and method of contact, and a 100-word statement on why you should receive the manufactured home. E-Mail the document to rickshouse@texasaflcio.org or mail a hard copy of the application to Rick’s House Drawing, Texas AFL-CIO, 1106 Lavaca St., Suite 200, Austin, TX 78701.

Deadline for entry is Friday, Sept. 10, 2010.

Volunteer to help Get Out the Vote at www.texaslabor2010.org .

Texas AFL-CIO Legislative/Political Director Rene Lara reports that the Texas AFL-CIO has launched a web site that will connect pro-labor activists with opportunities to help turn out like-minded voters in elections.

The new Arizona immigration law is "an affront to American values of fairness and respect for our constitution," AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka said in a statement.

Trumka called on the U.S. Justice Department to intervene to try to overturn the law, which would allow police to detain people if they have a "reasonable suspicion" that they might not be in the U.S. legally.

To sign up for daily e-mail news from the Texas AFL-CIO, send your name, union affiliation (if any) and e-mail address to labor@texasaflcio.org.

The following is the list of endorsements by the Texas AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE), which is the political arm of the state labor federation.

Delegates to the COPE Convention made endorsement decisions for statewide candidates. Endorsements of candidates for Congress, the Texas Legislature and the State Board of Education take place at the Central Labor Council level, and will be added here as they arrive. (Please note: Some Central Labor Councils do not endorse in uncontested races.)

“These endorsements set the stage for a campaign for change on Texas priorities,” Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller said. “The labor movement in Texas will do everything possible to alter the narrative for working families in Texas.”

Scholarship application

A Texas House Committee will take testimony on a so-called "voter ID" bill that seeks to solve a nonexistent problem while whiffing on real problems of voter fraud.  As Texas AFL-CIO Legislative/Political Director René Lara stated in his testimony before the Texas Senate, the proposal would actually help promote a national photo ID system, rather than prevent actual voter fraud.

  The most recent assessment of charter school performance in Texas shows, yet again, performance that is inferior to public schools, the Texas AFT reports.

Ed Sills, director of communications for the Texas AFL-CIO, recently went back to school—high school. He spent a day observing a veteran union organizer get students involved in a hands-on educational experience on the crucial role of unions in their working lives.  “We’ll just let these two ladies clean the bathroom because that’s a woman’s job,” declared Lee Medley, president of the Galveston County AFL-CIO, with a sly glance toward the men.  Read more...