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Chicago workers strike

Demanding a living wage of $15 per hour, employees at Macy’s, Subway, McDonald’s, Victoria’s Secret and more have walked off the job.

Fast Food Forward

From the Bronx to Brooklyn, workers at car washes and fast food joints are finding ways to fight for their rights.

As images of wealth abound, the struggles of ordinary workers have become invisible.

Women day laborers wait for cleaning jobs in Brooklyn, New York

Day laborers who clean for ultra-Orthodox Jewish households are learning about their rights.

NCAA press conference

The annual hoops hysteria known as March Madness generates a tidal wave of revenue—but the players don’t receive a dime of it.

Sheryl Sandberg

Feminists were quick—too quick—to question the Facebook COO's motives for writing Lean In, her self-help manifesto.

The heat is on big banks and CEOs as labor and community activists band together.

A doctor and patient

Disguised as health promotion, it’s another form of cost-shifting to employees, in which some will be unfairly penalized.

Sylvia Mathews Burwell

Under the leadership of Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the Walmart Foundation used generous gifts to grease the way for store expansions.

Union protest

American unions are in deep trouble. What’s the way out?

Blogs

Labor's maverick leader, Andy Stern, stepping down will create a void in the labor movement at an awkward time. How do we unify labor post-Stern?

April 14, 2010

The death toll of a devastating explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia has reached twenty-five.

April 9, 2010

Want to avoid more mine disasters? Make it easier for unions to organize and protect miners.

April 8, 2010

 Organized labor takes on Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln in a pair of new ads.

April 5, 2010

 There were grumblings from all corners of the AFL-CIO at its winter meeting in Orlando recently. "Disappointment", "disillusionment", "unengaged", these words and worse peppered press reports describing labor's view of President Obama and the Democrats.

March 9, 2010

My January 24 column on the role of the AFL-CIO in the Citizens United v. FEC case highlighted the concerns of some unions regarding the federation's decision to file an amicus brief in support of Citizens United in its case against the Federal Elections Commission. The piece stirred a tremendous response and a great discussion about the Supreme Court's removal of limits on corporate campaign spending. In preparing the piece and since its publication, I've heard from heads of national unions that are affiliated with the AFL as well as leaders of state and regional labor federations and lots of individual union members. Today, I'll highlight a very critical response from a top lawyer for the AFL-CIO.

January 29, 2010

Some union leaders think that the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Citizens United v. FEC -- which essentially takes the limits off campaign spending -- will give them the same flexibility and freedom to influence the process as it does corporations. What are the leaders of the labor federation thinking?

January 24, 2010

The AFL-CIO's recent rally on Wall Street was about more than economic inequality, it was part of an ongoing campaign to attract new young members.

September 30, 2009