The tragic deaths of 29 miners in Raleigh County, W.Va earlier this month serve as a sad reminder that American workers in many occupations — including first responders, highway workers and public safety officers — continue to lose their lives, risk injury or become ill as a result of unhealthy or dangerous workplaces.

The miners’ deaths are a sobering reminder of the importance of workplace safety regulations. On this Workers Memorial Day, we should take a moment to honor these women and men, and re-dedicate ourselves to the achievable goal of safe and healthy workplaces.

Workers Memorial Day was first observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1970. While there have been improvements since then, disasters like the gas explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine force us to recognize that there’s much more to do. Injuries and deaths can be prevented when safety is a higher priority than profits.

AFSCME continues to lead the fight for workplace safety. In Kentucky, for instance, state employees who are members of Council 62 are lobbying the Legislature to fully fund the “Boni Bill,” named for a social service aide who was killed in 2006 during a home visit. The law, intended to hire more social workers and increase security, was passed in 2007 but has not been adequately funded.

AFSCME also offers resources such as our pamphlet, Safe Jobs Now: A Guide to Health and Safety in the Workplace, which can be read online. Also, check out AFSCME’s guidebook on preventing workplace violence and other health and safety publications.

Learn about workplace safety in the 2010 edition of the AFL-CIO’s Death on the Job or download the complete 2010 report (PDF). The report shows that there were a total of 5,214 fatal workplace injuries in 2008 — and because workplace-related injuries and illnesses are persistently underreported, the real toll is estimated to be as many as three times the 4.6 million reported incidents.

Also, urge your lawmakers to co-sponsor the Protecting America’s Workers Act (S. 1580 and H.R. 2067), which expands OSHA coverage to federal, state and local government employees, increases OSHA civil and criminal penalties for job safety violations and improves whistleblower protection for employees who report unsafe working conditions.

For over a year, AFSCME Local 3145 (Council 4) members employed by the American Red Cross (ARC) in Connecticut have been working without a contract. Who would have thought that an organization with the ARC’s history would treat its workers so poorly?

And yet, the problem faced by our AFSCME brothers and sisters – nurses, laboratory technicians, phlebotomists, drivers and others employed at the organization’s offices in Farmington, Conn. – is only the latest in a series of unfair labor practices involving the organization.

According to a recent statement by the AFL-CIO Executive Council:

ARC’s most aggressive anti-worker policies have been directed at more than 3,000 employees who are represented by unions. Between 1996 and 2007, more than 200 unfair labor practice charges were filed against ARC with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

ARC has also exhibited a troubling pattern of understaffing blood drives and downgrading its staff by eliminating the most experienced, licensed medical personnel. This has fostered high turnover and increased the risk of blood safety errors on the job.

The consequences of these practices speak for themselves: Since 2003, the Federal Food and Drug Administration has fined ARC nearly $21 million for repeated safety failures.

AFSCME members know this too well.

“There are blood drives that go out without licensed medical personnel,” Local 3145 president Christine Holschlag, a phlebotomist, told the New Britain Herald.

This is why Local 3145 members have formed a national coalition of unionized Red Cross employees, community groups and blood safety organizations to fight for better working conditions and ensure the safety of donors. They also voted in favor of joining a national strike if Red Cross workers decide to take that action. Along with this AFSCME local, eight other local unions nationwide have expired labor contracts with ARC. Eight more contracts are set to expire by the end of June 2010.

Local 3145 is still in contract negotiations with the Red Cross. But members are not wavering in their fight to gain respect. To help raise awareness of the ARC’s anti-worker, anti-safety stance, they’ve held numerous public actions, including informational leafleting and rallies in Washington, DC, and Farmington. The local’s members are also pursuing state legislation that would require a licensed, trained nurse to oversee blood drives.

It’s time for the Red Cross to honor its history and start protecting donors, keeping blood safe and respecting workers.

Nearly 4,000 AFSCME activists led a crowd of 18,000 at a Responsible Budget Coalition rally to demand Illinois legislators restore funding to vital public services.

Tea Party who? If you want a genuine grassroots movement fighting for a good cause, you should’ve seen the thousands of AFSCME Council 31 members that descended on the Illinois State Capitol.

Spearheading a rally held by the Responsible Budget Coalition – an alliance of community organizations, labor unions and advocacy groups representing the state’s residents – nearly 4,000 AFSCME activists joined a 18,000-strong crowd in Springfield, Ill.

Their goal: Demand that legislators act now to raise much-needed revenues and close the looming $13 billion budget shortfall threatening Illinois’ vital public services, including education, child care, homecare for seniors and services for people with disabilities.

Council 31 is fighting so that the Illinois General Assembly passes a bill to raise revenues and fix the state’s budget woes. Although the state Senate already voted to this effect, members of the state House of Representatives are still dragging their feet.

AFSCME IVP and Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer summed up the rally’s message best when, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, he alluded to the state’s legislators:

“These 177 people who have a job don’t want to do their job. We’re here today to tell them to do their job!”

The massive rally – Springfield’s largest in over 25 years – garnered media attention nationwide.

Discussing the event on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show (see video), Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell commented favorably on the crowd’s timely chant of “Show some guts, stop the cuts”:

“I think there are progressives in this country who are way out in front of the politicians, and I love the fact that the Illinois protesters were saying, ‘Show some guts,’ because I think that’s exactly what we need to do.”

Meanwhile, a report broadcast by National Public Radio described the event as one of “the largest statehouse rallies in recent memory.”

For more information about the fight for a responsible budget in Illinois, see these reports from the Associated Press and NBC’s Today Show, and photo galleries from the Responsible Budget Coalition and the Chicago Tribune.

Download a flier for Sunday’s Climate Rally on the National Mall.

On Earth Day 2010, AFSCME members are joining people across the world in renewing our commitment to protect the environment.

It’s a commitment that goes back to our country’s first Earth Day — delegates at the 1970 AFSCME Convention affirmed that “the right of all persons to a healthy, safe and pleasant environment in which to live and work is fundamental,” and called upon our elected officials “to vigorously support all programs to curtail pollution of the environment in any form.”

Pres. Gerald W. McEntee says AFSCME understands the threats posed by climate change and other environmental threats:

“AFSCME members are on the front lines this Earth Day. From recycling and collecting solid waste to protecting natural resources to designing green schools, we work every day to achieve a safe and healthy environment in our workplaces and communities.”

In their jobs and in coalition with environmental and community groups, AFSCME members work to stop global warming, to secure cleaner air and water, and to protect our earth’s fragile environment against exploitation by private interests.

AFSCME joins with the AFL-CIO in calling for comprehensive climate legislation that will create American jobs, cap carbon emissions and secure our nation’s future. AFL-CIO Pres. Richard Trumka will speak at this Sunday’s Climate Rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Learn more on the Earth Day 2010 website, and download AFSCME’s flier here.

Dr. Dorothy Height

Civil rights icon Dr. Dorothy Height passed away this morning at the age of 98. Height, a civil rights icon and a champion for women’s rights, served as president of the National Council for Negro Women for 40 years and fought for school desegregation, voting rights and equality in the workplace.

Height’s death comes on Equal Pay Day, the day which marks how long women must work into 2010 to earn the same pay as men earned in 2009. Women still earn, on average, 77¢ for every dollar earned by men. Women of color fare even worse — African American women earn 68¢ for every dollar men do, and Hispanic women make only 58¢.

Dr. Height was there when Pres. John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and returned to the White House for the 35th anniversary of that legislation when Pres. Bill Clinton called for additional laws to ensure equal pay for women. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first piece of legislation signed by Pres. Barack Obama, added legal protections for those discriminated against in the workplace. Still, additional legislation such as the Paycheck Fairness Act is needed to eliminate this inconsistency once and for all.

AFL-CIO Exec. Vice President Arlene Holt Baker issued this statement on Dr. Dorothy Height’s passing:

Today the nation lost a great leader in Dr. Dorothy Height. Dr. Height’s contributions to advancing freedom and equality in this country have left an indelible mark on our history and our future. She was a champion of civil rights, human rights, women’s rights and workers’ rights. She was on the battlefield with Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Hillary Clinton and Pres. Obama, just to name a few. She remains a strong hero to so many, but especially for African American women, young and old. She embodied struggle, strength, determination, love and elegance. Dr. Height will be sorely missed but she leaves a legacy that earned its way into our history books and our hearts.

MSNBC.com has posted this 2004 NBC News story on Dr. Height:

Today is tax day, the day that each of us steps forward to pay our fair share for our roads and schools, law enforcement and firefighting, clean water and public works, community centers and parks, and the many vital public services our communities depend on.

Most Americans recognize that paying taxes is part of our responsibility to our country. Unfortunately, the wealthiest Americans and many large corporations are not paying their fair share.

Tax cuts for the rich during the Bush era put more money into the hands of Americans who need it least. Some members of Congress want to extend those tax cuts. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calls such an extension “highly ill-advised,” and says that long-term extensions of such tax cuts would increase “deficits and the debt for as far as the eye can see — thereby adding to the long-term risks that deficits and debt pose to the economy.”

After all, the tax rates for the richest Americans have actually gone down in recent years.

The Center for American Progress points out that some big corporations, like ExxonMobil and other oil companies, aren’t paying their fair share, either.

Oil companies pay less in U.S. taxes in part because they receive generous tax subsidies. These subsidies will cost the U.S. government approximately $3 billion next year in lost revenue and nearly $20 billion over the next five years.

Tax breaks for big oil companies and the wealthiest Americans mean fewer services for our communities, and higher taxes for working Americans. The Center for American Progress agrees that cutting those subsidies would help our nation: “The billions in tax subsidies we spend each year should support government priorities that generate results and value for the American people.”

Join AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka for a live online video discussion of the 2010 AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch report at noon ET today and learn about Wall Street bankers and their outrageous pay and massive lobbying efforts.

The 2010 AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch shines its spotlight on Wall Street’s Big Six: Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo/Wachovia. The six banks, which received billions of dollars from the Treasury Department’s Troubled Assets Relief Program, now are spending millions of dollars to lobby on financial reform in Congress.

On the webcast, President Trumka will review the new data and outline plans to enact real financial regulatory reform and make Wall Street pay for job creation through a financial speculation tax. Click here for more information on the webcast.

Update: Here is video of Tuesday’s webcast.

National Library Week (April 11-17) is a time to celebrate our public libraries and the people who keep them running. On April 13, communities across the country will also celebrate National Library Workers Day, in recognition of the important work of these employees.

This year’s theme: “Libraries Work Because We Do!”

But 2010’s celebration is also about contemplation as local officials reduce library hours and even shut their doors to balance budgets.

Look at Los Angeles. Encouraged by city officials who are trying to close a $485 million budget shortfall, at least 107 library workers have signed up for early retirement. The move is wreaking havoc. “We can barely get by,” says Roy Stone, president of AFSCME’s Librarians’ Guild Local 2626 (Council 36).

AFSCME, which represents more than 25,000 library workers nationwide, is working to save public services, including libraries. We’re also fighting for pay equity for librarians, most of whom are women.

“At a time when we should be putting people back to work, short-sighted lawmakers are taking away the very tools that will restore the health of our economy,” says AFSCME International President Gerald W. McEntee. “The books and Internet resources found there provide a foundation to build a better future for millions. Our library workers are indispensible.”

To learn more, check out the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA), a nonprofit professional organization established “to promote the mutual professional interests of librarians and other library workers.”

The non-union mine in West Virginia where at least 25 workers died in a horrific explosion Monday, has been cited for what the Washington Post calls a “litany of safety violations.”

Massey Energy Co., the owner of the West Virginia mine, is actively contesting millions of dollars of fines for safety violations, according to Think Progress. It has been cited for over 3,000 violations by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), 638 since 2009.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, a former Mine Workers (UMWA) president and third generation coal miner, says, “The thoughts and prayers of America’s workers are with the families” of those killed and for the safety of the “courageous” rescue teams. He adds:

However, this incident isn’t just a matter of happenstance, but rather the inevitable result of a profit-driven system and reckless corporate conduct. Many mining companies have given too little attention to safety over the years and too much to the bottom line.

AFSCME members are championing the March for California’s Future to address the challenges that the state faces and to build awareness of the vital services state and local employees provide to keep their communities strong. The historic 48-day, 260 mile trek is supporting public services and public education, a government and economy that work for all and fair, progressive taxes to invest in our future.

Irene Gonzalez, a juvenile probation officer in Los Angeles and an executive board member of AFSCME Local 685, is walking from Bakersfield to Sacramento. On her journey, Gonzalez has witnessed the signs of a battered state and its people, as chronicled in a Huffington Post entry about the most recent leg of her journey.

Irene Gonzalez

If I have learned anything during this March for California’s Future, it is that people in the San Joaquin Valley have lost their faith and their hope along with their jobs and homes. They have nowhere to go; no jobs, no prospects, and apparently no help of any kind. Where are the public services that could give these men and women a fresh start and a helping hand? The retraining and rehab centers? The medical clinics? The supportive services?

Gonzalez points out that while the current economic crisis may have sparked many problems, California’s suffering is not new. She points to the causes and indicates that the solutions are within our grasp – really just a focus on investing in California’s future, rather than continuing with shortsighted thinking.

Over the years, we have failed to reinvest in the social and physical infrastructure that make life possible in a modern economy. Politicians of both parties have by and large chosen to prioritize tax breaks for multinational corporations and the wealthy over the rest of us–that is, anybody who has to work for a living. As a result, the human, social, and physical capital that once made California and our nation great have deteriorated along with our ideals of equal opportunity and fairness.

Gonzalez does see a solution, and is working for it. In her column she applauds the hundreds of public service employees, students, teachers, and local residents who are joining the March for California’s Future to demand that the state’s leaders stand up for the California dream by supporting public services and public education.

This march is about restoring the California dream. At its core, that means restoring faith in the notion that we as a people will help those who need it, that justice and fairness are indeed for all, and that every individual has the freedom and wherewithal to reach their full potential. These are the ideals to which we as Californians and as Americans have pledged ourselves.

Marching for California’s Future