Unions help build a better life for working people, but outdated laws have hampered our basic right to join together and negotiate for better pay, benefits and working conditions. A new bill, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, would modernize our nation's labor laws.
Tom Chamberlain, Oregon AFL-CIO president
on Thursday, January 17 2019 - 10:36am
Eight hundred thousand workers. That is the number of government employees and contractors impacted by President Trump’s shutdown of the federal government. The average take home pay of impacted workers is around $500 per week, and any financial uncertainty is sure to cause stress and anxiety over how to make ends meet. Each day of this manufactured crisis, working families lose money for housing, healthcare and groceries — the essentials we need to get by.
Marissa J. Lang
on Wednesday, January 16 2019 - 10:25am
Furloughed federal employees and out-of-work contractors greeted one another Thursday with a sarcastic nickname that, on the 20th day of a partial government shutdown, captured their feeling of powerlessness: “Hello, fellow pawns.”
They shouted it to one another over the brutal wind and bitter cold on Thursday in downtown Washington, where hundreds gathered to demand government leaders put an end to the shutdown and allow them to get back to work.
Texas AFL-CIO Opposes Workforce Commission Proposal That Could Convert Some Gig Economy Workers Into ‘Marketplace Contractors’
The Texas AFL-CIO has formally opposed a pending rule that would give employers who conduct business via digital networks blanket authority to deny basic employment benefits to employees simply by calling them “marketplace contractors.”
The Texas Workforce Commission voted to publish the rule proposal in December and could enact it later this month.
Texas AFL-CIO: Communities Everywhere Being Harmed
With President Trump in Texas today for a pointless “photo opportunity,” the Texas AFL-CIO called for a resolution of the nearly three-week government shutdown that is harming not just 800,000 federal workers, but the entire nation.
Welcome to the 2019 edition of The ULLCO Sentinel. “ULLCO” is the United Labor Legislative Committee, the lobbying arm of the Texas AFL-CIO representing Texas labor unions and participating allies.
Today is Day Minus-4 of the regular session of the 86th Texas Legislature. Blastoff and the start of a 140-day clock takes place Tuesday, Jan. 8th, with the session running until Monday, May 27th, Memorial Day.
REBECCA BURNS
on Thursday, January 3 2019 - 11:13am
1. Janus dealt a heavy blow to labor—but public-sector unions didn’t crumble overnight.
In June, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling in Janus v. AFSCME—and it was just as bad as everyone feared. In a 5-to-4 decision, the court found that public-sector unions violated the First Amendment by collecting so-called fair-share fees from workers who aren’t union members but benefit from collective bargaining regardless.
A federal employee union sued the Trump administration Monday overthe government shutdown, claiming it is illegal for agencies to force employees to work without pay.
