Recent News

Retired Mine Workers Recover Benefits

January 9, 2014

After almost a year of protests, rallies, and court hearings Mine Workers of America (UMWA) announced it had reached a settlement with Peabody Energy to cover health care benefits for coal miners affected by the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal. Under the agreement Peabody Energy and Patriot will provide more than $400 million to fund retiree […]

California’s Working Families Set Example

January 9, 2014

According to Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, California labor has led the way in bringing real equality and progress to California’s working families. Among the achievements and reforms listed on the website for the California Labor Federation were: minimum wage increased to $10 by January 2016; expanded access to driver’s licenses […]

British Entertainment Workers Exploited

January 9, 2014

According to Britain’s The Stage, exploitation of entertainment industry performers and low-paid workers is on the rise, and the problem is only being compounded by decreased funding for arts organizations. In a report to the Low Pay Commission’s 2014 consultation, UK’s Equity claimed that its members are frequently being asked to work for nothing. Equity […]

Tunisian Rappers Unionize

January 9, 2014

Hip-hop artists in Tunisia have formed their own union, the National Rap Union, which is affiliated with the General Confederation of Tunisian Workers. Italian news agency Ansa reports that the union is not so much about securing fair work contracts as it is about standing up for their rights. Last month Tunisian rapper Klay BBJ […]

Vermont Home Care Workers Unionize

January 9, 2014

In the largest AFL-CIO organizing victory of the year so far, 7,000 Vermont home care workers voted to join Vermont Home Care United, a part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). In what is the largest organizing victory in Vermont history, the workers gained bargaining rights with the state government […]

Taxpayers Subsidize Fast Food Industry

January 9, 2014

According to a report from researchers at University of California, Berkeley, most fast food workers are paid so poorly that they are forced to enroll in public assistance programs, despite the industry making $200 billion in profits each year. “The taxpayer costs we discovered were staggering,” says the report’s co-author Ken Jacobs, chair of UC […]

Gift Establishes Juilliard Fellowship

January 9, 2014

A new scholarship program established through a $60 million gift from Bruce and Suzie Kovner will allow 25 Kovner fellowships to The Juilliard School beginning in 2014, with a gradual increase to 52 by the year 2018. The fellowships will pay the full cost of attendance for classical music students selected on the basis of […]

Website Is Window to Affordable Care

January 9, 2014

Now that the Affordable Care Act is in effect, the AFL-CIO and Working America would like to make sure it is successful. Part of that is ensuring working Americans have all the information they need to take advantage of their new health care options. The website www.WorkingAmericaHealthCare.org is a resource where working families can find […]

Marsalis Heads Juilliard Jazz Studies

December 1, 2013

Local 802 (New York City) member Wynton Marsalis, who is also managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and a Juilliard alumnus, has been appointed director of Juilliard’s jazz studies program. The Juilliard Jazz program has long-standing ties with Jazz at Lincoln center but the school hopes to expand on those ties, increasing […]

Coltrane Home May Become Museum

December 1, 2013

According to the Associated Press, an effort is underway in Dix Hills, New York, to turn a former home of John Coltrane into a museum. Among the supporters of the initiative, which began a decade ago, are Carlos Santana of Local 6 (San Francisco, CA) and Coltrane’s son, Ravi. The home is currently in dire […]