News

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...

capture.jpg

First Fridays: Exploring the Amazon in our Backyard

Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation's Education Committee had an informative online discussion on Labor's organizing challenges at America's largest online retailer.

caravan.jpg

Caravan for Racial and Economic Justice

On Saturday, June 20, working people from the Hudson Valley joined with workers in Kingston, NY to take part in a Workers First Caravan for Racial and Economic Justice, calling on Congress to pass the HEROES Act.

j.jpg

First Fridays Town Hall - Budget Cuts vs Raising Revenue

Our Education Committee hosted a forum on increasing revenues to stop the systematic starving of the common good.

German Union's Big Win Shows U.S. Labor the Path Forward

Cathy Feingold on Tuesday, February 13 2018 - 11:55am

Last week the German metalworkers’ union, IG Metall, arguably one of the world’s most powerful unions, showed that unions have the power to shape their future workplaces.

IG Metall negotiated a precedent-setting collective-bargaining agreement that privileges working conditions over wages. It won its key demand that workers have the right to reduce their working week from 35 to 28 hours for a period of up to two years in order to care for family members.

Labor Chiefs Make Their Pitch To CEOs Studying Connecticut's Competitiveness

Stephen Singer on Monday, February 12 2018 - 10:59am

Organized labor finally got its chance to be heard in the debate about how Connecticut can do a better job competing for business and improving its crisis-prone state finances.

On NAFTA Talks, Glimmers of Hope, But Sides Are Still Far Apart

Don Lee on Tuesday, January 30 2018 - 10:55am

President Trump's chief trade official Monday offered a modicum of optimism about the ongoing talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, even as he shot down two key Canadian proposals and blasted a recent trade action by Canada as a "massive attack on all of our trade laws."

Tips Are More Important Than You Think

Kenneth Quinnell on Monday, January 29 2018 - 1:45pm

The Donald Trump Labor Department is proposing a rule change that would mean that restaurant servers and bartenders could lose a large portion of their earnings. The rule would overturn one put in place by the Barack Obama administration initiated, which prevents workers in tipped industries from having their tips taken by their employers. Under the new rule, business owners could pay their wait staff and bartenders as little as $7.25 per hour and keep all tips above that amount without having to tell customers what happened.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports 260,000 More Union Members in 2017

Kenneth Quinnell on Monday, January 29 2018 - 1:35pm

Last week, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report on union membership, which found that the number of union members rose by 260,000 in 2017. This reflects critical organizing victories across a range of industries, which have reaped higher wages, better benefits and a more secure future for working people around the country.

Of the report, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said:

AFL-CIO and Mexico's National Workers Unions Stand Against Bill that Will Hurt All Working People

Kenneth Quinnell on Monday, January 29 2018 - 1:30pm

The Mexican government has filed legislation that would substantially weaken rights for working people. In response, the AFL-CIO filed a complaint alleging that Mexico is violating the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, the NAFTA labor side deal.

Los Angeles Times Journalists Vote 248-44 to Unionize

James Rufus Koren on Thursday, January 25 2018 - 10:36am

Journalists at the Los Angeles Times have overwhelmingly elected to form a union, a first for the 136-year-old news organization that for much of its history was known for its opposition to organized labor.

The union drive was launched publicly in October and culminated in an election earlier this month. Results, tallied Friday by the National Labor Relations Board, show workers voted 248 to 44 to be represented by the Washington, D.C.-based NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America.

Let’s Rebuild the Middle Class by Rebuilding Our Infrastructure

Ed Wytkind on Thursday, January 18 2018 - 11:02am

The middle class has been on a steady slide for decades. Signs of this slide are all around us: anemic wage growth, historic income inequality, chronic unemployment and underemployment and, not coincidentally, the steady erosion of workers’ freedom to join unions and bargain for fair wages and benefits. At the same time, American households are facing rising costs that far outpace their stagnant wages.

COVID-19 Pandemic Resources