Workday Magazine (https://workdaymagazine.org/2009/01/)
This week, it was disclosed that shortly after the approval of billions in bailout funding for major banks, at least two bailout recipients were involved in a conference call for lobbyists and Big Business figures plotting to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act.
Passage of the Minnesota Health Security Act by a key House panel is an important first step in the effort to provide health coverage for hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans, leaders of the "Make Health Happen" Coalition said.
For the second year in a row, the percentage of workers who belong to a union grew, according to the annual survey of union membership released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
When the state gets into budget trouble, public employees are often the first to feel the pain. But because these workers are on the front lines of providing public services, they also are in a unique position to offer solutions.
Hoping to put the brakes on an economy spiraling downhill and out of control, the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday passed an $825 billion economic recovery package that could create or save as many as 4 million jobs.
By taking a slash-and-burn approach, Governor Tim Pawlenty\’s proposed state budget will put more Minnesotans in the unemployment line and swell the ranks of the uninsured and homeless, union leaders and other advocates said.
The Minnesota AFL-CIO, representing 400,000 working people across the state, announced its goals for the 2009 session of the Minnesota Legislature. They include investing in good jobs, schools and infrastructure.
Gathering ideas from unions, analyses and experts, the AFL-CIO sent a 16-page "to do list" memo to the new Obama administration. The list submitted before the Democrat\’s inauguration, outlined a wide range of legislative and administrative moves the federation contended would help workers.
To the delight of unions, among others, President Barack Obama used his first moments in the nation\’s highest office to make sure predecessor George W. Bush\’s "midnight rules" turned into pumpkins.
One-hundred-and-one teachers have accepted their nominations and completed the required candidate materials to become eligible for the honor of 2009 Minnesota Teacher of the Year.