News

John J. Sweeney (1934-2021), AFL-CIO President Emeritus

John Sweeney, who led an era of transformative change in America’s labor movement, passed away Feb. 1 at the age of 86.

Trumka: 'Biden is committed' to strengthening unions

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka discusses why America needs a strong labor movement and how the Biden administration is committed to strengthening unions.

BLS: On-the-job Deaths Reach Highest Level in 12 years

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said: “Instead of increasing lifesaving measures aimed at protecting working people at our workplaces, the Trump administration consistently rolled back existing safety and health rules and has failed to move forward on any new safety and health protections. We look forward to working with the new administration to strengthen job safety protections and enforcement; rebuild workplace safety agencies; and prevent worker deaths, injuries and disease.”

TWU Member Pursues Urban Planning Degree with Help of Union Plus Scholarship

This past fall, Transport Workers Union (TWU) member Gregory Harasym began a master’s program in city and regional planning with a concentration in transportation. He intends to examine alternative transportation methods to address community-level health and social injustices; and he hopes to eventually be a specialist in this field, focusing on policy for the Department of Transportation. His career direction changed in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which deeply impacted his community and left him passionate about helping communities become resilient to future disasters.

Industry Groups, Unions Hail Buttigieg Pick for Transportation Secretary

Transportation industry groups and unions were quick to applaud the selection of Pete Buttigieg as President-elect Joe Biden’s nomine

IAFF Member Puts Union Plus Scholarship Toward Mental Health Degree

Tony Lein, a member of the Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 95 in Chicago, is among the 2020 Union Plus Scholarship award winners. He is a firefighter/paramedic and peer fitness trainer with the Oak Park [Illinois] Fire Department, where he has worked since 2015. He also teaches American Heart Association CPR classes with Save-A-Life. Lein was awarded a $4,000 scholarship as he pursues a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.

A Blueprint to Safely Open Schools

The United States has the sad distinction of having the most confirmed coronavirus cases and death in the world, which has kept many schools shuttered for instruction in person. Parents and educators know that our children do best at schools, where they can get support, and they worry that the lack of learning in person has hurt students in need.

Larry Willis, head of federation of Transportation Workers, Dies in Bike Accident

Larry Willis’s colleagues liked to joke that he kept a copy of the Railway Labor Act, passed a few years before the Great Depression, under his pillow.

“He loved the wonk,” said his wife, Amy York. “He could explain things in a way that normal people could understand.”

Millions of workers poised to lose access to paid leave as virus spikes

“It’s absolutely essential,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in an interview. “If you tell a worker, ‘Don’t come to work when you’re sick so you don’t spread Covid, but you’re not going to get paid and your family’s not going to eat and you’re not going to pay your rent,’ you’re asking too much of them.”

Read the full article in Politico.

California Adopts Emergency Workplace Safety Rules for COVID-19

California has become the fourth and largest state to adopt emergency workplace protections for COVID-19. Nearly 20 million workers in California will be protected by the new mandate, which includes requirements for face masks, physical distancing and reporting of outbreaks in the workplace. Rebecca Reindel, director of occupational safety and health at the AFL-CIO, said the federal government should follow the lead of states like California. “The virus doesn’t know boundaries,” she said.

Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council
1901 Lindell Ave.
Nashville, TN 37203

© AFL-CIO. All rights reserved.
 Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFL-CIO.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Log In