Workers rights

May 20, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today submitted the following testimony to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Plant Closings, Workers' Rights and the WARN Act's 20th Anniversary:

John Edwards and Barack Obama: Photo by Barack Obama campaign (CC)    » read more »

Union’s Report on Cummins’ 15 Years of Worker Rights Violations Spurs Resolution Urging Engine Parts Maker To Follow International Labor Standards

May 13, 2008 -- (Washington, D.C.) – At today’s Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) shareholder meeting in Columbus, Indiana, Teamsters Union leaders urged passage of a shareholder resolution that calls on the company’s board of directors to adopt a policy under which Cummins would meet International Labor Organization (ILO) standards. The ILO standards serve as worldwide benchmarks for companies’ respect for workers’ basic human rights on the job.    » read more »

For 7 years, hundreds of sick workers have waited for a decision on their claims by the Government

April 30, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today sent the following letters to the Department of Labor (DOL), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Presidential Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (ABRWH), calling on them to release the costs of administering the Energy Employees Occupational Illness and Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

Nuclear detonation: Photo courtesy Defense Nuclear Agency    » read more »

Nineteen States and Puerto Rico Urge The U.S. Supreme Court To Protect Employees From Retaliation

April 16, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann and the attorneys general of 18 other states and Puerto Rico, today asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that employers cannot retaliate against an employee involved in an employer’s investigation of sexual harassment.

The amicus, or “friend of the court,” filing supports a woman who was fired after participating in a company investigation of sexual harassment.

The case, Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, addresses whether an employer may fire or demote an employee for participating in an employer’s internal investigation of discrimination.    » read more »

April 16, 2008 -- HARRISBURG - Following two separate mine explosions, the owner of a Schuylkill County mine, the mine's foreman and a miner were each arrested yesterday on involuntary manslaughter and other charges by the Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendants as:

* David Zimmerman, 52, 79 Mollystown Road, Pine Grove (mine owner and operator)
* Steven Zimmerman, 32, 77 Mollystown Road, Pine Grove (mine foreman)
* Jeffrey Klinger, 42, 2A West Laurel St., Tremont (miner)

Schuylkill County coal mine defendants: David Zimmerman, Steven Zimmerman and Jeffrey Klinger (left to right)    » read more »

United States Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing

April 15, 2008 -- (As Prepared for Delivery) -- Half a century ago, Edward R. Murrow and CBS broadcast a documentary exposing the plight of migrant farm workers in Immokalee, Florida.

Migrant farm workers: Photo by Bob Jagendorf (CC)

Airing shortly after Thanksgiving in 1960, “A Harvest of Shame” told the story of a neglected and mistreated class of Americans who worked long and back-breaking hours to put food on the tables of families across the nation. The story shocked the conscience of the nation and compelled us all to speak out against these abuses.    » read more »

April 13, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle today announced that she will veto a bill that would eliminate a worker’s right to a secret ballot election when deciding whether or not to have union representation in the workplace. The vetoed measure will be sent to the Legislature tomorrow.

HB2974 HD2, commonly referred to as the “card check” bill, would change the union certification process by eliminating the secret ballot election and mandate timeliness for facilitating the initial collective bargaining agreement between an employer and the new collective bargaining representative.    » read more »

Proposed Regulations Would Make it Harder for Workers to Take Time Off for Medical and Family Emergencies

April 11, 2008 -- The AFL-CIO today called on the Bush Administration to drop its proposed changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act that would make it more difficult for workers to get the time off they need to care for themselves or their loved ones in emergencies.

George W. Bush toilet paper: Sold in a small shop in Sydney, Australia. Photo by david (CC)    » read more »

April 7, 2008 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today offered the following statement on the State Senate’s passage of Paid Family Leave legislation. The legislation establishes a family leave insurance fund which will be financed through worker payroll deductions and will bear no cost to the state.

New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine: Photo courtesy New Jersey Governor's office    » read more »

National Committee for Sanitation Worker Justice Demands Safe Conditions at Waste Management

April 3, 2008 -- (Memphis, TN) – On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Teamsters and religious leaders from across the country stood in unity today with waste workers from 1968 and 2008 to demand Waste Management Inc. [NYSE: WMI] and other sanitation companies make immediate and substantive improvements in worker safety.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at 1963 March on Washington    » read more »

Renews Call for Employee Free Choice Act

April 2, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) questioned members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and reiterated his support for the Employee Free Choice Act at an investigative Senate hearing he chaired on unfair labor practices in representation elections.

Strikers outside a construction site in Wilsonvile, OR: Photo by Lisa Norwood (CC)    » read more »

Statement by President John Sweeney on DOL Announcing Intent to Strip Worker Protections From H-2A Guest Worker Program

February 07, 2008 -- The Department of Labor will hurt both immigrant and U.S.-born workers alike if it goes ahead with its plans to strip a number of workers’ rights from the H-2A agricultural guest worker program. The Bush Administration has shown once again that it will go to any extreme to cater to the interest of corporations at the painful expense of workers, and that it is not serious about real fixes to our nation’s broken immigration system.    » read more »

January 14, 2008 -- LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today sued Interwall Development Systems, one of Los Angeles’s largest drywall contractors, for employing a “sophisticated and heartless scheme” to cheat hundreds of its employees out of at least $5 million in wages and benefits.    » read more »

01/08/2008 -- From plantations in Africa to sweatshops in China to farms and factories in developing nations around the world, workers are being exploited by American corporations. A congressional delegation – including Senator Bernie Sanders – this week is in Ivory Coast and Ghana, where children are forced to work on cocoa plantations.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- LOS ANGELES -- California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and California Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet today sued two janitorial companies for exploiting their employees and committing “flagrant violations” of California’s basic wage and hour laws. The two offices have joined forces to collect these unpaid wages, thereby both helping the workers and sending a strong message that California’s labor laws must be obeyed.    » read more »