American Rights at Work launched a groundbreaking campaign this week exposing Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao’s dismal record through ShameOnElaine.org.

Unlike her cohorts in the Bush administration, Elaine Chao has escaped much-needed public scrutiny of her time on the job. From littering the Labor Department with individuals with blatant corporate agendas to dismantling worker safety protections and collaborating with her husband, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Elaine has disgraced her role as Secretary of Labor.

You’ll be outraged over what Elaine’s been up to instead of serving America’s workers:

• Hired a former colleague from the Heritage Foundation who actually wrote a report titled “How to Close Down the Department of Labor.”
• Cut over 100 inspectors at MSHA and, as a result, hundreds of mines weren’t inspected and tragedies such as Sago and Crandall Canyon might have been prevented.
• Had Chao-themed coins, lanyards, and fleece blankets printed at taxpayer expense.
• Failed to issue a rule requiring employers to pay for their workers’ safety gear — contributing to 400,000 workers injured and 50 dead.
• Had an auditorium named in her honor — thanks to her husband’s $14.2 million earmark to enhance the Mitch McConnell Center at his alma mater, the University of Louisville. Of course, Elaine never attended the university.

As The Nation points out, all of this was paid for by American workers.

Take a look for yourself at ShameOnElaine.org for plenty more examples of Elaine’s failures as Secretary of Labor, and please join the effort to restore the Department of Labor as an agency run on behalf of America’s workers.

Like David battling Goliath, a handful of city workers have decisively defeated a powerful foe, armed only with a lawsuit as their slingshot.

The “David” in this case: 29 members of Local 2957 (AFSCME Council 38), whose vested retiree health benefits were arbitrarily cut off by city officials in 2004 in a ruling requiring that all city retirees pay the same premiums as if they were active employees.

The employees sought justice in court. Twice they won, twice the city appealed. Now, in a third (and hopefully final) decision (PDF) the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that …

“… correctly determined that the [city council’s] resolutions were unconstitutional under the Contract Clause [of the U.S. Constitution].”

This story in The Benton Courier, and this posting on AFSCME Council 965’s blog, tells the tale.

If given the chance, says the AFL-CIO, 60 million American workers say they would join a union. Now we have unbiased evidence of just how true this is: Union membership in the United States grew – overall – by 311,000 members last year, according to this report by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As noted in Think Progress, this is the first increase in 25 years and the largest single-year increase in overall membership since 1979 – a jump from 12.0 percent in 2006 to 12.1 percent in 2007. That growth – led by health services – happened despite significant employer opposition. That’s what happened to employees of Walker Methodist Health Center in Minnesota, as reported last year in this AFSCME WORKS cover story.

Last year, 48,000 workers chose AFSCME as their union. In a statement, AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee says:

“AFSCME’s growth, which has been consistent even during challenging times, is now part of a broader trend that’s spreading throughout the union movement.”

We’re reassured that workers are organizing in ever-greater numbers, but we’ve got to end the harassment. We need to keep up the pressure on Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which will makes it easier – and more fair – for workers to form and join unions. Read more about this great news at the AFL-CIO blog.

On February 12, 1968 — 40 years ago — 1,300 sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn., decided that enough was enough. They went on strike to force the city to recognize their union, AFSCME Local 1733. The walkout capped a long history of mistreatment and disrespect amid shameful working conditions.

The strike was a defining moment for the modern labor and civil rights movements. Officially, the men were after rights and raises, but the signs they carried made clear that their struggle was for much more — dignity and respect.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to Memphis to support the striking workers. The evening of April 3, he delivered his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech to a packed room of strikers and supporters. The next day, he was assassinated.

Visit AFSCME.org for more on AFSCME, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike.

A series of events are being held in Memphis to celebrate MLK Day — read more on the AFL-CIO Blog and watch the video clip below from WREG-TV for details on how AFSCME and the labor movement are working to make Dr. King’s dream a reality.

Check out Chris Bowers’ post on Open Left regarding the ideological shift of the National Labor Relations Board. It should more aptly be called the “No” Labor Relations Board. With four of its five members appointed by President Bush, the board has made it harder for workers to join unions but easier for employers to block unions and fire workers for organizing.

Chris, a former union organizer, also covered the recent House and Senate hearings on the NLRB for the AFL-CIO Now blog.

Richard Womack, an assistant to AFL-CIO Pres. John Sweeney, is the latest recipient of the Bill Lucy Lifetime Achievement Award.

As Womack said:

“I was surprised and honored that they were considering me. I consider Bill Lucy to be the consummate labor statesman because of the stands he has taken over the years to enhance the lives of working people both in this country and around the world.”

Named after AFSCME International Secretary-Treasurer and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Pres. William Lucy , the recognition is given to a trade unionist whose life work demonstrates a commitment to activism and engagement on behalf of working people. It is presented by the Memphis, Tenn., regional chapter of the CBTU .

To read more, see the post on the AFL-CIO blog.

Corrections officers, child care providers, first responders, health care workers and now bank employees. That’s right, bank employees. Meet the new members of the 1.4 million AFSCME family in one of our latest Online Xtras detailing how 500 tellers and other white-collar employees of U.S. Bank in Milwaukee voted overwhelmingly to join AFSCME Council 48.

While you’re at it, check out the latest on AFSCME members in action as corrections officers from Local 3361 (Council 75) in
Oregon fight to secure safer conditions at work – and win.

NPR has a good story this morning on why workers have reason not to be thankful for the National Labor Relations Board under the Bush Administration.

Click to listen: Unions Find Labor Relations Board Ineffective

Over the past few years, the misleadingly-named National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has made sure to let workers know which side its bread is buttered on. Officially charged with governing relations between unions and employers, the NLRB has all too often stacked the deck in favor of management. That’s why some people think a better name for the NLRB is the “No Labor Relations Board.”

With four of its five members appointed by President Bush, the board has made it harder for workers to join unions but easier for employers to block unions and fire workers for organizing. In one of its more infamous rulings, the NLRB reinterpreted the definition of “supervisor,” expanding the number and type of workers who could be barred from joining a union. The decision affected thousands of workers, including the nearly 60,000 nurses represented by AFSCME in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

Today, Nov. 15, thousands of workers, union leaders and activists in over 20 cities will rally at NLRB offices to protest the board’s egregious actions. Participants will call for the board to be “closed for renovations” until it is capable of operating in an unbiased and responsible manner.

The rallies are part of a nationwide week of action to raise awareness of the NLRB’s assault on workers’ rights. More than 1,000 people are expected to converge in front of the NLRB headquarters in Washington, D.C. For more information on events in your area, contact your central labor council.

Why did the AFSCME delegation to Oregon’s AFL-CIO convention walk out just before Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) arrived to address the union members? Because they were protesting salary increases that the governor approved for all state managers that were, in some cases, triple what rank-and-file employees – members of Council 75 – are scheduled to receive under a recent settlement with the state. Learn more at the Oregon AFSCME site.