Labor Union Blog

Economic Report:

Americans are lacking faith in the economy. A new Bloomberg poll suggests only 19 percent believe the economy will improve over the next six months while 37 percent expect it to be worse. The most pessimistic age group is 35-64 year olds, 47 percent of that age group believe it is going to get worse.

New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg is opposing two union-backed bills on New York state’s Capitol Hill. The mayor wrote in a letter that the bills could cost the city $300 million per year, but AFSCME District Council 37, the organization representing the majority of New York City s municipal workers, isn’t buying that figure. One bill allows nurses to retire at the age of 50, while the other lays out a plan for members of Council 37 to buy into an early retirement plan originally offered in 1995.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is opposing two union backed bills on Capitol Hill. The mayor wrote in a letter that the bills could cost the city $300 million per year, but AFSCME District Council 37, the organization representing the majority of New York City s municipal workers, isn’t buying the figure. One bill allows nurses to retire at the age of 50 while the other lays out a plan for members of Council 37 to buy into an early retirement plan originally offered in 1995.

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO awarded more than 500 scholarships during its annual banquet last weekend. Jesse Russell reports:

Expressing a commitment to higher education, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO presented $1 million dollars worth of scholarships during the organizations annual banquet. More than 200 students benefited from the massive presentation. The organization has been awarding scholarships money to high school students moving on to college for the past 50 years. Over the past nine years the state s AFL has given out more than $7 million in scholarship money.

By Doug Cunningham

Leaders from Colombia’s biggest unions are joining U.S. labor leaders and some members of Congress today in Washington to highlight opposition to the U.S. Colombian free trade agreement. Violence is common against Colombian trade unionists and U.S. labor is firmly against the proposed agreement because they say it will hurt workers in both countries.

By Doug Cunningham

West Virginia’s mostly white working class handed Hillary Clinton a blowout win against Barrack Obama in the Democratic Presidential primary. Clinton told her supporters she’s in the race ‘til the end.

[Clinton]: “I’m in this race for the millions of Americans who know that we can do better in our country. For the nurse on her second shift, for the worker on the line, for the waitress on her feet, for the small business owner, the farmer, the teacher, the coal miner, the trucker, the solider, the veteran, the college student.”

The next primary state is Kentucky where Clinton has a strong lead in the polls. She’s insisting that the Michigan and Florida delegations count in the nomination process and her campaign says counting those votes along with the rest of the final states, Clinton will edge Obama in the overall popular primary vote. Clinton insists she’s the strongest candidate to face John McCain in the Fall.

Around the country this Saturday, thousands of union members will get a visit from their fellow union members and have a chance to learn about the issues they care about in November’s elections.

This weekend’s door-to-door canvass is at the center of the AFL-CIO union movement’s effort to mobilize more than 6,000 union volunteers to knock on 200,000 doors and engage union members in 20 states this spring. These volunteers will discuss issues such as health care, jobs, the economy and trade, and how John McCain‘s pro-Bush voting record in the Senate has worked against the interests of America’s workers.