Levi's jeans better for workers; fall into The GAP

Nov 18, 2009 - Distribution workers at Levi Strauss & Co. facilities in the U.S. and Canada voted overwhelmingly in favor of a three-year, North America-wide contract providing wage increases, defined benefit pensions and health insurance. Other union-made jeans include The GAP's 1969 "Real Straight" jeans sporting the "Made in Canada" label--they're made by Workers United/SEIU members. Read more...

Shopping you can feel good about: Buying the union label

Nov 02, 2009 - while shopping can feel more like a forbidden past time or guilty pleasure in this economy, buying the Union label is something you can feel good about. Because you're not just getting a high-quality product--you're also supporting local economies, helping maintain middle class manufacturing jobs, and propping up responsible companies that employ workers at fair wages. Read more...

Crash the Bankers' Party in Chicago

Oct 23, 2009 - If you could get all the architects of the banks/bailout scam together in one place, what would you say to them? Hurry up and decide, because they're all getting together in Chicago this weekend-- and we're headed there to meet them. The big bank execs are gathering in the Windy City for the American Bankers Association conference, for a 4 day celebration of wealth and opulence paid for by our tax dollars. Read more...

Must See TV: Workers United in HBO Documentary Schmatta

Oct 19, 2009 - Did you know that in 1965, 95 percent of American clothing was made in USA? Times have changed since then. Just a few decades later, only 5 percent of the clothing worn by Americans is manufactured here in this country. Don't miss tonight's HBO premier of Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags -- a documentary that tells the unexpected history behind New York's Garment District and a "must see" for anyone who cares about our union and the workers who built it. Read more...

As UNITE HERE prepares to re-affiliate with AFL-CIO....

Workers United Members Call on New Leaders of AFL-CIO to Help End UNITE HERE Dispute

Sep 16, 2009 - As UNITE HERE prepares to re-affiliate with the AFL-CIO, members of Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, called on AFL-CIO incoming President Richard Trumka to help end the ongoing UNITE HERE dispute that is hurting workers from coast to coast. Read more...

Crystal Lee Sutton, the real "Norma Rae," was a fighter to the end

Sep 14, 2009 - Our nation has lost a great hero and champion of working people. Crystal Lee Sutton was a courageous woman who stood up for herself and her coworkers under the most difficult circumstances. She was an inspiration to organizers in this union and beyond, particularly Southern women who went on to lead their own campaigns after learning from her example. It's well-known that Crystal's story was the inspiration for the academy award-winning 1979 film Norma Rae, but I wish more people knew the real story of Crystal Lee Sutton and her co-workers, and the strength and honor they showed as they fought to organize the textile giant JP Stevens. Read more...

Share your Labor Day photos and video

Sep 08, 2009 - One hundred and twenty-seven years after the first Labor Day parade, we still take a day to honor America's workers. Did you attend a Labor Day celebration, march or rally with SEIU members or any of our coalition partners? We want to know! Use this form to upload your photos, audio and video capturing your Labor Day experience. Read more...

Bruce Raynor Debates Healthcare Public Option on CNN

Aug 28, 2009 - Last night, Workers United President Bruce Raynor appeared on CNN to debate the healthcare public option. "If we don't have a government option in the program, then we are not going to have an affordable program that will cover every man, woman, and child in this country," said Raynor. Read more...

Video: Danny Glover supports workers as Bemis strike continues

Aug 25, 2009 - Workers United members of Local 1426 in Terre Haute, Indiana recently rejected a contract offer by their employer and voted to continue to strike. Earlier this month, actor and activist Danny Glover traveled to Terre Haute to show his support for the workers who make the flexible food packaging you see on your grocery store's shelves. Read more...

Workers United wins settlement for failure to pay overtime

Aug 24, 2009 - San Jose, Calif.-based Cintas settled a lawsuit over wage-and-labor hour laws in order to avoid paying workers for overtime. Read more...

Striking Bemis Workers Want Respect

Aug 18, 2009 - What if your employer told you that in order to keep your health coverage you and your spouse must submit to invasive health screenings from your insurer? If you refused you'd lose the health coverage you've always counted on. That's the situation we're dealing with--will you take a stand with us? Tell our employer, Bemis, that workers aren't lab rats. Read more...

Around the union: Quick hits

Aug 10, 2009 - In union news this week...disability service workers at NY's Ulster-Greene ARC vote to join a union, SEIU hosts a conference call with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and 32BJ launches the first-ever Green Buildings Initiative to train building superintendents in energy efficiency, plus much more. Read more...

Workers United Calls on Laborers to Withdraw Petition on Washington DC Hotel

Aug 10, 2009 - The NLRB has scheduled a representation hearing today at the request of the Baltimore Washington Laborers District Council of the Laborers International Union of North America, which filed a petition with the NLRB on Embassy Suites Hotel. Read more...

Hundreds of workers striking Bemis Plant for being treated like lab rats

Aug 03, 2009 - More than 700 Local 1426 workers of Workers United in Indiana continue to be on strike against Bemis for its proposal to subject workers to invasive medical testing to keep their health insurance coverage. Read more...

Bank of America to Close 10% of its Branches?

Jul 31, 2009 - If reports that BofA intends to close 10% of the bank's branches are true, that means the jobs of up to 5,000 bank employees at hundreds of BofA branches are at risk. If you are a BofA employee, we need you to add your initials to our letter to Ken Lewis. Read more...

Retired garmet workers: "Hands off our home"

Jul 30, 2009 - Since the 1940's the old International Ladies Garment Workers Union building in NYC's Garment District has served union members. It's been home to generations of clothing and textile workers, housed a health center and provided services for members and the surrounding community. Read more...

Bruce Raynor on FOX Business: "American workers and American business cannot afford the current [healthcare] system"

Jul 15, 2009 - This year it's going to cost $18,000 per family for medical coverage--and that's just not affordable, says Workers United President Bruce Raynor on Fox Business News, making a case for why reform needs to happen now--and why he thinks an employer mandate should be part of the solution. Read more...

Hartmarx Workers Win with Court-Approved Sale

Jun 30, 2009 - Nearly 4,000 jobs were saved with court approval of the sale of Chicago-based Hartmarx Corporation to the British firm Emerisque Brands late last week. Emerisque announced plans before the deal to keep many of Hartmarx's Workers United-represented workers. Read more...

350 New Bedford Factory Workers Fight to Save Their Jobs

Jun 24, 2009 - Remember the infamous Bianco Factory raid in New Bedford, MA where hundreds of hard-working immigrants were rounded up, detained and separated from their families? Today, a horrible experience of déjà vu as workers at the same factory who make backpacks for the U.S. army face yet another tragedy, as new owner Alliant threatens to shut the factory down. Read more...

UAW Calls for an End to the Fight

Jun 17, 2009 - Read the letter from UAW President Ron Gettlefinger urging UNITE HERE's President to settle his dispute with Workers United/SEIU for the good of all workers. Read more...

Danny Glover: "Binding Arbitration, Sooner the Better"

Jun 10, 2009 - Hollywood actor Danny Glover has always used his celebrity to support unions and organizing drives, pro-worker political candidates and the Employee Free Choice Act, saying "I will always be a union activist, and I am proud of that." Today on the Huffington Post, Glover urges binding arbitration as a path to end to the conflict around the dissolution of the UNITE HERE merger. Read more...

"Lethal Weapon" Danny Glover Headlines Union Rally in Niagara Falls

Jun 05, 2009 - Workers United members turned up the spotlight as Hollywood actor Danny Glover chanted union slogans on the picket line with employees of Courtyard by Marriott. Courtyard Marriott has refused to negotiate a collective agreement with recently organized workers. Read more...

Wells Fargo Officially Opposes Bid to Save Hartmarx from Liquidation

May 29, 2009 - The fight to keep creditor Wells Fargo from liquidating Hartmarx menswear factory appears to ramping up, as the bailed-out bank said today that it is opposing the $119 million bid by the British private equity firm Emerisque to save the bankrupt Chicago-based men's clothier...for the "good" of its workers. Read more...

Video: The Fight to Save Hartmarx Workers' Jobs

May 13, 2009 - On May 11, Workers United members at the Illinois Hartmarx facility voted unanimously to occupy their workplace if chief lender Wells Fargo moves to shut the factory down. Watch the short documentary released today on the events at the Hart Schaffner & Marx factory in Des Plaines, IL over the last week. Read more...

Tell Wells Fargo: Save Jobs at Hartmarx

May 12, 2009 - The public gave Wells Fargo $25 billion in bailout funds, but rather than investing that money in American jobs by keeping credit flowing, Wells Fargo is considering cutting the cord. oment to sign a letter to Wells Fargo Executive Vice President John Stumpf asking him to choose a bidder who will save these jobs. Read more...

Hartmarx Workers Hold Rally with State Politicians & Labor Leaders After Sit-in Vote

May 11, 2009 - Hartmarx workers were joined by Rep. Phil Hare, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and SEIU Illinois State Council president Tom Balanoff at a rally today at the Des Plaines, IL plant, following a unanimous vote by workers to stage a sit-in if Wells Fargo does not approve the sale of Hartmarx to a buyer that would keep it alive instead of liquidating it. Read more...

Hartmarx Workers Vote to "Sit In" to Save Their Jobs as TARP Recipient Wells Fargo Threatens to Close Factory

May 11, 2009 - Mirroring the six-day protest that helped save more than 250 Republic Windows and Doors workers from losing their jobs last December, Chicago-based Hartmarx factory workers voted unanimously this morning in favor of a "sit in" style action if chief lender Wells Fargo Bank or a new owner tries to begin liquidation or close the factory. Read more...

Illinois Workers United Suit Makers' Jobs On the Cutting Table

May 05, 2009 - Workers United members at the Hart Schaffner & Marx (known as Hartmarx) menswear factory in Des Plaines, IL, make suits for President Obama, but their jobs may not make the cut. Read more...