| Wisconsin State AFL-CIO |
For the latest local labor news, click here to visit the BLOG of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. Receive updates via e-mail. Click here to sign up for the e-Activist Network of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. AFL-CIO Now Blog -- Recent News Stories
 Tuesday and Wednesday – June 25 & 26, 2013 Click here for Conference Hotel Information & (Tentative) Meeting and Conference Schedule NOTE: June 25th there will be an all-day training seminar for organizers and labor leaders. The training will be organized by the Labor Combat Organizing College; there is a fee of $65 for everyone who is attending, this will cover the costs of the instructors, lunch and hotel meeting room expenditures. If you are interested please refer to the enclosed informative flyer and registration form and submit it with your payment. Special Rate: Delegates registering for both sessions will receive a rate of $125.  Wilma Liebman who served 14 years on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—including chairwoman from 2009–2011—says, “Appointments to the NLRB have been a political battleground for decades.” But, in a column in Politico, she says the current attack on the NLRB is the most vicious since the board was created in the 1930s. Read more >>>  Leading up to the AFL-CIO convention in September 2013, the AFL-CIO is hosting a crucial conversation about the future of working people and of unions—in union halls and online at www.aflcio2013.org.  Nearly two dozen Milwaukee homeless shelters are in need of health and hygiene products.Help by collecting items, running workplace drives and asking others to donate. Click here for flyer COLLECTIONS DATES DROP-OFF LOCATIONS Milwaukee Area Labor Council Milwaukee Fire Department Stations United Way Greater Milwaukee Monetary donations are also accepted QUESTIONS? After 45 years of driving a cab in New York City, Beresford Simmons says the emergence of the National Taxi Workers Alliance in the past few years is helping his family and those of other drivers reach the middle class. Simmons’ story is one of three illustrating that unions make the middle class strong, giving workers a voice in our economy, portrayed in a trio of new videos by the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Read more >>>  Budget Attacks on Middle Class Families Governor Walker’s proposed 2013-2015 Biennial State Budget is now being reviewed by the Legislature. It will cover the fiscal period from July 2013 through June 2015. It is clear that the Governor’s budget leaves Wisconsin’s families behind, doing more for his corporate donors and the wealthy than for the hard-working families of Wisconsin. Governor Walker’s 2011- 2013 State Budget called for the largest cuts to public education and public services in state history and is still having a deep, devastating impact on the people of Wisconsin who were forced to absorb the cuts in the form of decreased services to their communities. The 2013-2015 State Budget continues to suffocate Wisconsin’s growth potential. Wisconsin currently ranks 42nd in job creation levels among 50 states. It is time for Governor Walker to stop rewarding his campaign financiers and get straight to the work of creating good jobs for Wisconsin. The following points outline a few of the proposals in the State Budget which threaten the economic security and well-being of working families in Wisconsin. This document will be amended as ongoing analysis of the 2013-2015 budget continues.
Writing Across Borders
After her husband was murdered while working as a journalist in the Philippines, Marivir Montebon arrived in the United States seeking political asylum with the hope of finding a better, safer life for herself, and for her daughter who arrived two years later. “I always thought of a green card as a second birth certificate—a second life,” Montebon says. When she presents at the Writing Across Borders Conference in New York on June 1, Montebon will join other women and people of color on a panel to tell their stories about escaping abuse, oppression and the legacy of slavery. See more. 
ONLINE: Click here to make donations by PayPal or any major credit card. CHECKS can be made payable to the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Defense Fund, 6333 W. Blue Mound Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53213. On memo line write: STAND WITH WISCONSIN. (Donations are NOT tax deductible). Any support would be greatly appreciated! 
In the Wake of Sandy, Books
The AFT and First Book—a nonprofit that has distributed more than 90 million new books to children across the United States—have joined forces with New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) to help encourage a culture of reading for low-income and middle-class students. This video features AFT’s team-up with First Book to place books in the homes of the children of Freeport, N.Y., a community devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
 AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee's immigration bill: Today brings to mind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s wise and hopeful words, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” More than 11 million aspiring Americans took a big step toward becoming citizens today with the bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee vote. That reflects an enormous step toward healing an injustice, the deportation crisis that has wrecked families, communities and workplaces for far too long. Read more >>>  Here's an easy, printable list of Wisconsin Senate and Assembly members along with their contact information Click here Other Legislative Information The Wisconsin Legislature link gives you the home pages of Wisconsin's legislators (including e-mail addresses), bill tracking, statutes and constitution, support agencies, general information, and other legislative links.
 (Updated: March 30, 2012) This summary covers some of the major losses for middle income and working class families during the administration of Governor Scott Walker. It details how the public policies promoted by the Walker administration represent a radical departure from Wisconsin values and traditions. Click here for "Losses" full-length or "Losses" Talking Points 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 >>>  Since June 2011 Wisconsin has lost more jobs than any other state. The two “special sessions on jobs” called by Governor Walker have failed to address this jobs crisis. The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has developed a Jobs Agenda to Rebuild Wisconsin’s Middle Class. This updated version (click here to view or printout WI Jobs Agenda) calls for specific legislation that will truly help Wisconsin’s working families and it includes the specific bills that have been introduced, along with their co-sponsors.  This report traces the evolution of the American Right over the past few decades. It covers Right Wing ideology, the development of the New Right beginning in the 1960s, its extensive infrastructure and bold strategy. This report also explains how the Right came to successfully exploit single issues and manipulate religious faith to distract and direct middle class and working class voters to support candidates who are a threat to their economic interests. Hopefully, this summary will encourage a broad discussion on how to effectively challenge and defeat the American Right. To view report in PDF format, click here.  Great videos capture the Solidarity that is inspiring a national movement! |
     |
|
© AFL-CIO. All rights reserved.
Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFL-CIO. |