In a smart opinion piece posted this week, Harry J. Holzer, professor of public policy at Georgetown University and a former chief economist at the U.S. Labor Department, says it’s time to stop trying to blame unions for what’s wrong with the economy:

Conservatives are attacking labor unions and President Barack Obama’s relationship with them. …. As an economist, I don’t always agree with America’s union movement, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and I wouldn’t argue that union actions are always beneficial or costless. But a sensible discussion requires a careful, dispassionate look at the theory and evidence on unions — rather than right-wing ideology and stereotypes dressed up as analysis.

Read the full article.

Participants in AFSCME’s 2009 Alternative Spring Break in Missouri. Learn more and apply at www.unionbreak.org.

This spring, student activists are organizing conferences on college campuses throughout the country, taking on some of the most critical issues of our time. Students in Knoxville, TN, are focused on the issue of solidarity with campus workers and raising consciousness about the transition from student to young workers in the labor force. At the beginning of March, students will be converging in Washington, DC, to urge our nation’s elected leaders to support sound education policy.

Even in this tough political and economic climate, student activists continue to make a stand and fight for issues that are critical to their experience.

At AFSCME, we are committed to providing a space for these activists to continue their work long after they have left campus. Many of our programs are geared towards college seniors who are passionate about grassroots organizing and progressive social change — student activists who are anxious to continue the fight for social justice and workers’ rights once they’ve graduated.

More importantly, we are looking for students who believe that a strong labor movement is vital to fighting back against the attacks on working families, on health care, and the very fabric of what makes our communities vibrant.

If you are ready to take on these challenges, then consider fighting for social and economic justice as a union organizer for one of the most progressive unions in today labor movement. Go to www.unionbreak.org to apply for AFSCME’s Alternative Union Break, a program for college seniors interested in making a difference and pursuing a career in union organizing.

The deadline for applications is March 1, 2010.

Conservative columnist George F. Will never misses an opportunity to distort the facts in an effort to spread untruths about issues of importance to working Americans.

In a January 29, 2010 Washington Post column, Will takes President Obama to task for not mentioning the Employee Free Choice Act in his State of the Union Address. “Unmentioned was organized labor’s “card check” legislation to abolish workers’ rights to secret ballots in unionization elections,” Will wrote. This is a calculated effort to mislead readers about the legislation.

The Employee Free Choice act would not “abolish workers’ rights to secret ballots.” What it would do is eliminate the ability of employers – not employees – to demand a National Labor Relations Board election. Workers would have a choice of “majority sign-up” or an election.

On January 10, Will wrote another Washington Post column that was filled with distortions and misinformation. In that column, he argued that unnamed liberals and AFSCME members were somehow responsible for the budget crisis facing California, ignoring the fact that conservative policies had led the state to the brink of disaster. AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee wrote to the paper to set the record straight:

Dear Editor:

George W. Will must think that his readers have amnesia. How else to explain his muddled effort to blame liberals for California’s budget crisis (“Fiscal liberalism has tarnished California gold,” Sunday, January 10), while making no mention of Proposition 13 and its impact on the states’ fiscal fortunes? That measure, passed with the enthusiastic support of Mr. Will and his conservative allies, cut property taxes by 57 percent and forced the state to rely heavily on income taxes to fund vital public services. When combined with the California constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority vote in the state’s Legislature for all major tax and budget proposals, Prop 13 set the Golden State on the course toward disaster. How strange, too, that Mr. Will targets American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) workers at the University of California at Berkeley who participated in a September protest against budget cuts at the university. Our members who participated are janitors and service workers. Rather than blame these low-paid employees for California’s budget problems, Mr. Will should look in the mirror.

Sincerely,

Gerald W. McEntee

As earthquake relief efforts continue in Haiti, Union Plus will automatically double individual contributions to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, 100% of which will be used to help the Haitian people. That means when you contribute at UnionPlus.org/Haiti your $10 contribution becomes $20, your $25 becomes $50 and your $100 becomes $200.

Union Plus has committed $100,000 through this dollar-for-dollar donation match to help Haitian earthquake relief efforts. The benefits program provides more than 50 money-saving benefits and services to union members and their families.

“Despite the millions of dollars raised already, the people of Haiti continue to have an ongoing need for our help. That’s why we are committing $100,000 to double the donations made by union members to the Solidarity Center,” Union Plus President Leslie Tolf said.

The Solidarity Center is providing immediate life-saving relief supplies including food, clean water, medical supplies, blankets and tents to the Haitian people. Goods are currently being delivered to the Confederation of Haitian Workers training center, which is providing shelter, food, and medical assistance to more than 200 people.

Donations can be made at UnionPlus.org/Haiti or by sending a check to: Solidarity Center Education Fund, Attn: Joan Welsh, 888 16th Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC, 20006. Please designate “Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers” in the memo line of the check.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), last week unveiled a new community service program designed to mobilize the unemployed and underemployed to better cope with the stress and pressure of being jobless in America.

Ur Union of Unemployed, or UCubed for short, is an online community, with small groups of unemployed activists in a single zip code forming “cubes” and ultimately becoming a linked network with considerable political and economic influence.

“We hope that UCubed will provide a measure of relief and an end to the isolation, frustration and depression that so many unemployed workers experience,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “Working together, they can build a network of mutual support and help each other to get through the next few years.”

Read the full IAM press release about UCubed. Better yet, check out the UCubed website at www.unionofunemployed.com and listen to today’s Workers Independent News story about UCubed. And if you know someone who is unemployed, tell them about UCubed.

Kudos to Wisconsin for requiring the state’s schools to teach labor history and collective bargaining. On Dec. 10, Gov. Jim Doyle (D) signed the “Labor History in the Schools” bill – the first of its kind in the nation.

In signing this landmark legislation, Governor Doyle said he was thinking about the kids today and how vital it is to learn about the labor movement’s gains, such as fair wages, good benefits, decent working conditions and justice.

No doubt, this is a historic measure.  And it’s even more notable because Wisconsin is the birthplace of AFSCME. Our ranks grew from 5,355 members in 1936 to more than 200,000 in the 1950s. During this period, AFSCME waged a successful campaign for collective bargaining rights. As a result, Wisconsin passed one of the nation’s first collective bargaining laws for public employees in 1959.

“Wisconsin continues the tradition of honoring the tremendous contributions and sacrifices of workers who built this great nation,” says Pres. Gerald McEntee. “We must never forget that workers organized, marched, went on strike, and even gave their lives in the struggles that resulted in the 40-hour work week, safe working conditions and secure retirement benefits.”

Absolutely thrilled. That’s how Janet Ramsey felt when she heard the news. A medical laboratory technician and member of Local 1942 (Council 24), she regularly volunteers at the local high school in Madison, talking to kids about unions. And it saddens her that there’s only one paragraph in the students’ history books about labor.

University of Massachusetts history professor James Green agrees with Ramsey. “Ignorance of labor history will disempower today’s workers and students,” he says. But armed with this knowledge, individual workers can achieve some dignity when they assert their collective power.

We agree, totally.

From Americans United for Change:

It’s the first lunch hour of the first work day of a new decade and the average CEO has already earned more money than a minimum wage worker will make all year.

Even after as we continue to dig out of this financial hole, the average total compensation for a CEO in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was $10.9 million in 2008, which translates to about $5,240 an hour, compared to the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Happy New Year.

Participants in AFSCME’s 2009 Alternative Spring Break in Missouri.

Are you a college senior considering a career in social change and want to help make change happen in the world around you? Do you believe that a strong labor movement is vital to fighting back the attacks on working families, on health care, and the very fabric of what makes our communities vibrant? Then consider fighting for social and economic justice as a union organizer for one of the most progressive unions in today’s labor movement.

AFSCME’s Alternative Union Break has been critical to attracting undergraduate student activists to the labor movement since 2006. The 6-day training program can be best described as a crash course in labor organizing, where participants go through the rigorous pace of an actual organizing campaign while learning the basics of how to conduct a one-on-one conversation with a non-union worker.

The Alternative Break Program brings together talented activists who share a passion for social justice, but more importantly want to engage in work that speaks to bringing that idea to reality for public sector workers across the country.

“Like so many of my friends seeking to change the world right out of college, I spent sleepless nights perusing Idealist.org for that perfect opportunity to jump in and start a revolution. AFSCME’s Alternative Spring Break stood out because it offered me the opportunity to live and train like an organizer already part of the movement. I learned so much that week, mainly perspective!” said Denise Gilmore, University of Missouri ’09 and 2009 Alternative Spring Break participant.”

Denise is now a few months into her year-long Organizer-In-Training Program with AFSCME and reflects upon her experience:

“Whether it be through 1-on-1’s with workers or late night chats about revolution with my fellow participants, I knew walking out on the last day that real change could only happen through hard work, having a strategic plan, and acknowledging that the root of so many social justice issues lie in the ability for one person to provide for their family. I left ready to act, not just dream!”

Participants selected to the program will be provided with accommodations, travel during the week-long training, and a $150 stipend for food. Participants are responsible for their own travel to the training site.

Please visit www.unionbreak.org or contact Marlan Maralit at mmaralit@afscme.org for more information or to apply to the program. The deadline for applications is December 7, 2009.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka joined leaders from five major national non-profit groups at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington, DC, Tuesday morning to announce a five-step robust plan to deal with the employment crisis.

In his remarks, Trumka highlighted the need for action to help state and local governments maintain vital public services and prevent layoffs of public employees:

“We have to boost aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services and prevent more layoffs. State and local governments and school districts are experiencing the worst fiscal crisis in decades – we have state budget shortfalls this year alone of $178 billion. Next year will be worse and the four-year estimate is nearly $600 billion. This is happening right as we need these vital services more than ever. Without additional funding, our public safety, our health needs and our children’s educations will suffer. The right thing and the smart thing is to take action to save services, save jobs and stop the hemorrhaging from choking off economic recovery.”

The leaders of EPI, Center for Community Change, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NAACP, and National Council of La Raza issued a joint statement outlining what needs to be done to immediately address the need for job creation.

The jobs agenda being presented to Obama and Congress is based on five key points meant to give needed help to working families now while putting us in a better position for a long-term recovery:

1. Extend the lifeline for jobless workers.
2. Rebuild America’s schools, roads and energy systems.
3. Increase aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services.
4. Fund jobs in our communities.
5. Put TARP funds to work for Main Street.

Watch Pres. Trumka’s speech from the “Spotlight on the Jobs Crisis” event:

For more, read Trumka’s entry on the Huffington Post and visit the AFL-CIO website at http://www.aflcio.org/createjobs.

On Thursday, President Obama announced he will invite labor leaders, business executives, small business owners, economists and other financial experts to a special White House summit on jobs next month.

The summit announcement came as a new report showed there were 502,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits last week. Dire as that is, it’s lower than expected and is the smallest number of first-time claims since January.

And just this week, the AFL-CIO Executive Council met in Washington, D.C., to outline a national jobs creation strategy that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will announce Tuesday at a special Economic Policy Institute (EPI) jobs and economy panel and seminar. (Plan now to view the live webcast from 9-11:30 a.m. (ET), Tuesday, Nov. 17, at www.aflcio.org/createjobs.)

Read more at the AFL-CIO Now Blog.