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Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation in Solidarity with the New Paltz International Women’s Day March

While a demonstrator stood behind her holding a sign depicting an indigenous version of Rosie the Riveter and the caption “A woman’s place is in her union,” Janette Clark of the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation traced International Women’s Day’s roots in the garment workers’ strikes of the early 20th century. 

https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2019/03/11/activists-for-many-causes-find-co...

2020 Endorsements

Statement from Mario Cilento, President of the New York State AFL-CIO:

"Thank you to everyone who submitted their ballot for the state AFL-CIO’s endorsements in the November elections.  All endorsement recommendations were approved.

We look forward to working with all of you as well as Area Labor Federations, Central Labor Councils and local unions throughout the state to educate our members and ensure they vote for Labor’s candidates."

Broken Promises, a Botched Response and a Better Way Forward

Working families deserve a leader who will focus on “we, the people,” not just on the person they see in the mirror. Only Vice President Joe Biden can be that president. I’ve known Joe for 40 years. He loves his family, loves working people and loves our country. His “Made in America” plan will revitalize America's manufacturing in a way Trump never could. Biden doesn’t only have the best plan to beat the virus and help workers recover financially—he is the only candidate for president with a plan at all. And with a Biden administration, we’ll finally pass the PRO Act, allowing workers to join a union freely and fairly.

Joe Biden and Richard Trumka: Put power back in workers' hands

Fifty-five years ago, in a speech to the convention of the Illinois AFL-CIO, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. laid out with characteristic moral clarity the essential role of unions in American life. “The labor movement,” he explained, “was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress … [When] the wave of union organization crested over the nation, it carried to secure shores not only itself but the whole society. Civilization began to grow in the economic life of man, and a decent life with a sense of security and dignity became a reality rather than a distant dream.”

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.

Organized Labor Helped Boost Biden In Critical Battlegrounds

Trece Andrews spent the last three months phone-banking and sometimes canvassing for Joe Biden in Michigan. The nursing home worker focused her efforts on Detroit residents and fellow members of the Service Employees International Union, telling them a Biden administration would protect their health care and do more to raise their wages.

AFL-CIO Head Richard Trumka Says Union Support for Biden Was Strong

Democrat Joe Biden gained more of the vote from members of the AFL-CIO than Hillary Clinton did four years ago, its president said, crediting laborers for the party’s wins in key states.

"Simply put, we got out the vote," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters Thursday. "In Wisconsin, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden's firewall was union made. And the labor movement is expanding the map--look at Arizona, look at Georgia."

Control the Virus and Protect Workers—and the American Economy Will Roar Back

Over the past few months, President Donald Trump’s performance has been both unprecedented and unpresidential.

Elections, RBG and Leaning In at Tradeswomen Build Nations 2020

With just two weeks to go before Nov. 3, the upcoming elections were a key point of focus for the largest U.S. gathering of union tradeswomen convening Oct. 17 for their annual conference.

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