| Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO |
Rana Plaza, the Bangladesh factory that collapsed three weeks ago, killed more than 1,100 workers, many of them young women. This tragedy adds to the more than 1500 Bangladeshi workers killed in preventable fires and building collapses since 2005. Documents found at the factory show that the workers produced for big names in global retail revealing the link between poor workers in Bangladesh and major retail brands.Obviously, the government must improve local laws and their enforcement to stop these tragedies, but brands must also take responsibility for their supply chains. They must be held accountable to the tragedy that happened in their supply chain. Read more >>>  Marcus Hedger will have to wait even longer to get his job back if Senate Republicans continue to block President Obama’s bipartisan nominees to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Call your senators toll free at 1-888-264-6154 and tell them to confirm the board nominations now. Hedger was illegally fired in 2010 from his pressman’s job at an Illinois printing company for his union activities on behalf of his fellow union members in the Graphic Communications Conference of the Teamsters. Last September, the full NLRB—two Democrats and one Republican, at the time—ruled he should get his job back with back pay. Read more >>> Most voters agree that big corporations and the wealthy should start paying their fair share in taxes. But, of course, big corporations and the wealthy don’t want to do that. They want to pay less, and they are used to getting their way. So what do you do? Some people in Washington think the answer is a “grand bargain.” In a “grand bargain,” Republicans agree to stop protecting millionaires from having to pay a single penny more in taxes. In return, Democrats agree to cut Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits. Read more >>>  Yesterday the Medicaid conference committee met for the first time, to discuss what's next for Medicaid expansion in Iowa.  The Future of Work, Unions? Tune into the AFL-CIO Tweet Chat with President Trumka  We will be in front of Mid-American HQ office bldg at 666 Grand (corner of 7th and Grand) , downtown Des Moines from 11a - 1p , Friday May 3rd.  Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On Workers Memorial Day Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On Gang of Eight Immigration Bill Internal Organizing Class Harkin fights for Iowans A president’s budget is more than just numbers. It is a profoundly moral document. We believe cutting Social Security benefits and shifting costs to Medicare beneficiaries – while exempting corporate America from shared sacrifice – is wrong and indefensible. Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On Nominations to the National Labor Relations Board  From all reports I’ve seen, President Obama is going to propose a budget plan this week that is unprecedented for a Democratic president. It will propose a cut to Social Security benefits for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.  The Governor released his Medicaid plan last night, after legislators had left, while very few were paying attention. The initial reactions to his bill, are that it's just as bad as we thought it would be. Covering fewer Iowans, while costing the state more  RALLY TO SUPPORT THE FUTURE OF INFRASTRUCTURE: HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL, ENERGY AND THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE. Working men and women will be well served by President Obama’s choice of Tom Perez to lead the Department of Labor  Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on
Attend Legislative Forums  Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka HHS and states move forward to offer quality, affordable health coverage  PRESS RELEASE: AFSCME IOWA STATEMENT ON ARBITRATOR’S DECISION ON STATE MASTER CONTRACT 
Q&A with Saru Jayaraman
The partition that separates diners from the inner workings of the restaurant industry toppled for Saru Jayaraman shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Fekkak Mamdouh, one of the headwaiters of the restaurant housed on the top floor of the World Trade Center, approached Jayaraman seven months after the attacks. His former boss deemed him and his former crew “not experienced enough” to work in his new Times Square restaurant. Jayaraman, a 27-year-old organizer of immigrant women, took up the case to advocate for the displaced workers, organized protests and won—most of the workers were awarded the good jobs their former boss promised. Jayaraman and Mamdouh formed Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United in April 2002 and were flooded with stories of workplace atrocities in New York City and, eventually, across the country. We spoke with Jayaraman earlier this month about her new book on the ills of the restaurant industry, Behind the Kitchen Door. Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka  Tonight President Obama sent a clear message to the world that he will stand and fight for working America’s values and priorities. And with the foundation he laid, working families will fight by his side to build an economy that works for all.  STATEMENT FROM KEN SAGAR, PRESIDENT OF THE IOWA FEDERATION OF LABOR, AFL-CIO  Postmaster General Pat Donahoe held a press conference today to announce his intention to end Saturday delivery on Aug. 5, 2013, even though current law mandates six-day delivery. Carriers will be subjected to stand-up talks today on the unilateral decision. Iowa Legislative Comittees The U.S. economy shrunk slightly in the fourth quarter of last year, contracting by 0.1% instead of growing by 1% as analysts expected. It represents the first economic contraction since 2009 President Barack Obama was elected this fall with several mandates, but voters spoke with particular clarity on one issue: the need to support the aspiration of 11 million immigrants to become citizens. That’s why we applaud President Obama’s eloquent and thoughtful embrace of immigration reform, including a viable path to citizenship for those who are American in every way except on paper The following is list of VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) sites in Iowa. They will serve low income people who need assistance with filing their federal and state tax returns. Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Working women and men urgently need a voice on the job today, but the sad truth is that it has become more difficult for them to have one, as today’s figures on union membership demonstrate.  US Labor Department, Iowa Workforce Development sign agreement to reduce misclassification of employees as independent contractors  Iowa House Republicans are launching their first, but surely not their last attack on workers this legislative session. All 53 Republicans co-sponsored HJR 1, an amendment to put the so-called “right to work” law into the Iowa Constitution. For Lapronda Eason and the other building service workers at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the link to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--who died in Memphis in 1968 advocating for the rights of city sanitation workers to form a union--is as real as the job they do every day. Read more >>> Graduate Assistant Application Senator Jay Rockefeller’s announcement of his intention to retire marks the end of a long and honorable chapter in an illustrious career of public service Labor Secretary Solis is leaving the position of Labor Secretary. AFL-CIO President Trunka comments.  Todd Prichard has been endorsed by the Iowa Federation of Labor, and we are asking all of you to help out in this election January 22, for Iowa House Distict 52.  The agreement passed by the Senate last night is a breakthrough in beginning to restore tax fairness and achieves some key goals of working families The time for immigration reform is now, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. This will be a focus for labor in 2013 as the country needs to create a common-sense immigration process with a road map to citizenship. Read more >>>  Before I was an officer at the Iowa Federation of Labor, I negotiated private sector contracts from 1983 to 1997 for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. We won some and lost some, but the trend in the private sector was to always keep wages low, turn our pensions over to Wall Street and to cut back on our health care  IFL President Ken Sagar was a guest on Iowa Public Radio's River to River on MOnday December 17 Trunka article  Republicans in Congress are not in touch with their constituents. They do not seem to understand that they lost the last election because voters rejected their agenda  Union workers locked out at American Crystal Sugar voted 55% to reject management's contract offer. This is the fourth time members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM) have voted on an identical offer. The budget proposal President Obama offered to Republicans yesterday keeps faith with the voters in last month’s election, who overwhelmingly opposed tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans and benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.  "Inequality and Budget Deficits: Why Is Only the Latter an Emergency?" is a cross-post from Jared Bernstein's On the Economy blog.  I am writing to seek for your support in addressing what I consider a serious act of censorship on the part of Iowa Public Television (IPTV). On December 2, 2012, abUSed: The Postville Raid will finally get its national broadcast premiere as part of a new PBS series,America ReFramed but Iowa Public Television (IPTV) is censoring its presentation  Workers at Hostess Brands—who in September overwhelming rejected a contract that cut wages and benefits by as much as 32%—began a strike today against the maker of Wonder Bread, Twinkies and other well-known baked treats. Hostess has imposed the terms of the rejected contract.  On a recent evening, members of unions from the Iowa City Federation of Labor and other activists urged customers at the Target store in Coral Ridge Mall to boycott American Crystal Sugar products and support the workers who have been locked out since Aug. 1, 2011. See more in this video.  Working Families Tell Congress To Protect Medicare, Medicaid And Social Security  Voters Reject Romney Economics, Favor Rebuilding Middle Class, Investing in America, Nationwide Election Night Survey Finds Union Voters Supported Obama 65-33, Build Firewall in Key Battlegrounds  The American public have spoken and made it clear that this election could not be bought.  Tonight, working families across the country celebrate the re-election of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden – and breathe a sigh of relief that our country will move forward on the path of sanity and shared prosperity This morning’s jobs report confirms that President Obama’s leadership has put our country on the road to economic recovery. Four years ago this month, we lost 489,000 jobs. The President inherited a labor market with 12 straight months of job losses. Under his watch, we have now seen two and a half straight years of job growth, with more than 5 million new private sector jobs created since 2010. We cannot afford to go back to the policies that caused the collapse.  NUNS ON THE BUS  Americans are about to choose among candidates who are debating whether to cut benefits for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and whether the richest Americans should pay their fair share of taxes  On New York Attorney General Schneiderman’s Lawsuit Alleging That Bear Stearns Fraudulently Issued Mortgage-Backed Securities  AFL-CIO Endorses Nationwide Consumer Boycott of American Crystal Sugar in Working Class Heroes Labor Center Upcoming Classes  In a remote upper floor of the Quaker Oats complex in Cedar Rapids, journeyman sheet metal worker Steve Devereux and his co-workers were excited about the chance to bend some metal into a force for good.  Paul Ryan Has a Decision to Make – ‘Hard Truths’ or More of the Same?  Whereas Senator Tom Harkin wants to use the CPIE - Consumer Price Index Elderly to determine cost of living adjustments for Social Security, the Ryan Republican budget proposes using the Chained CPI. It is based on the assumption that a lower COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) is acceptable for people on a fixed income because consumers substitute cheaper products when prices go up.  The Quad City Next Up group produced this video and entered it in the First Annual IFL Members Choice Award contest - and won.  Charlie Wishman, Secretary/Treasurer for the Iowa Federation of Labor discusses Labor 2012. Betty Brim-Hunter talks about how labor needs to get active. Working women and men who provide the services to make society a better place to live are not some unknown entity to be scapegoated by politicians. We are your neighbors. Links to articles and people will be included on this site to put a face to the story of working people. Support your fellow workers and support union print shops that pay well and provide decent benefits. The Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO is the state federation of labor representing over 50,000 members of 520 unions throughout Iowa. The mission of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO is to improve the lives of working families—to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our state and the nation. Read more... |
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