Why We're Headed to Chicago Next Week: Read more about the largest taxpayer mobilization in Chicago next week where thousands of Americans from 20 cities will converge on the American Bankers Association (ABA) conference to demand banks stop spending millions in taxpayer dollars to lobby against reforms that would protect Americans from the next economic crisis. Want to join us?

Krugman Reminds Us Why We're Fighting Those Guys in the First Place...While giant financial institutions are paying out record bonuses and salaries, they aren't lending to small businesses or helping families that are struggling with their mortgages. Read Paul Krugman's NY Times piece, which gives a sobering report on the state of banks.

Blog about it if you must....In a study by the Sunlight Foundation's Micah Sifry, SEIU.org was counted as the most referenced site in blog posts about healthcare policy. Read the score here.

Then on techPresident, Nancy Scola highlights SEIU's new online tool + Twitter + Ads campaign ("Take a ticket for healthcare equality") to help get the word out to would-be tweeters that's time to deliver on healthcare reform that ends discrimination against women by health insurers. The campaign has generated over 5,000 tweets since yesterday.

Senators Urge Extension of Unemployment Benefits: 7,000 people every day see their are seeing their jobless benefits expiring--and it's largely due to the petty obstructionism of two Senators who are blocking the needed extension of jobless benefits. Yesterday afternoon, 14 senators from across the country joined together to urge swift passage of a UI extension.

Former SEIU Member Crowned a Ugandan King: For years, Charles Wesley Mumbere worked as a CNA in Maryland and Pennsylvania and was a member of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. Yesterday, Mumbere returned to his native Uganda and assumed the royal crown as king of his people, the 300,000-strong Rwenzururu Kingdom. Read more about his life from teenage leader of a rebel force to impoverished student, a CNA working in the U.S. and, finally, to king of his people. Photos of his crowning here.

"The Greatest Public Demonstration in Puerto Rican History:" Photos and recap from the Puerto Rican General Strike on October 15 on SEIU's Blog here. Stand up for the civil rights of Puerto Rico's citizens by contacting your member of Congress and asking him to hold hearings on Gov. Fortuño's anti-American actions.

SEIU's Rocio Saenz Joins International Unions to Urge Reform of Mexico's Broken Labor Laws: Joining a group of international labor leaders, SEIU Vice President and President of Local 615 Rocio Saenz spoke at a press conference in Mexico City on October 14 about the urgent need to reform broken Mexican labor laws that allow multinationals to exploit Mexican workers without recourse. "We cannot address the deeper causes of global poverty and forced economic migration unless we reach across international borders and ensure that all working people have the right to decent work and a job that will support their families," said Saenz.

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. The documentary includes interviews with Joe Raico, a garment cutter and President of Workers United Local 10, Workers United President Bruce Raynor.

Additionally, the film examines both the path to the American Dream the garment industry offered to thousands of immigrant workers... and the social and economic forces chipping away at the job that once provided entry to the middle class. The documentary depicts the dangers of sweatshops and the fight that union workers led against unsafe conditions in garment factories.

Watch the trailer here:

Check out Workers' United Elana Levin's post on the film at Daily Kos here.

Baltimore's City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday endorsing "free and fair union elections for all hospital and nursing home workers in every facility throughout the city." In a city where only nine percent of health care workers are currently unionized (but one in five Baltimore jobs are in health care), this is big news!

The resolution states that unionized healthcare workers are best able to protect quality patient care and work with employers toward shared goals, such as expanding training and education opportunities. "In the past, local health care employers have hired high-priced anti-worker consultants and diverted patient care dollars into fear campaigns to silence caregivers," says SEIU 1199 Communications Director Stacey Mink. "These anti-worker campaigns not only waste health care resources, they ultimately take the focus off patient care."

More on why free and fair elections are so important for caregivers seeking to form unions here.

We already knew that nearly 50 percent of workers who get sick are forced to choose between their health and their paycheck. For low-income workers, 76 percent find themselves without something many of us take for granted:--the right to a "sick day."

For millions of workers, losing a day's wages if they stay home sick is not even the worst-case scenario. Because as New York Times columnist Jim Dyer reminds us, many workers are actually forced to choose between their health and their job. Factory worker Alda Valdez, a mother of four, was fired for catching a cold:

"I asked the boss for permission to go to the hospital. She said, 'It's fine, go - but you don't have a job anymore.' "

If passed, the Paid Sick Days bill introduced August 20 by Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) would vastly improve the lives of 1.2 million workers in New York by requiring all businesses in New York City to provide their employees between five and nine paid sick days (depending on the size of the business). With support from healthcare oranizations and unions including1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and SEIU 32BJ, Intro 1059 faces opposition from business groups such business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who argue that added costs might force some businesses to cut back on hiring.

The vast majority of Americans may not agree on much, but the importance of this healthcare issue is one issue Americans come together on. A nationwide poll conducted last year by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center showed that a whopping 86 percent of Americans believe that employers should be required by law to provide paid sick days to workers.

Put things even more in perspective by reading the Jim Dwyer column in the NY Times: Health Care? Not if You Can't Leave Work to Get It.

The following message was sent to our email list today. Please copy and paste the text and send the text to your friends, family, and coworkers to ask them to join our campaign.

-----------------------------------

Hi Friend,

Did you see what President Obama said on Labor Day?

It's why I support the Employee Free Choice Act-to level the playing field so it's easier for employees who want a union to form a union. Because when labor is strong, America is strong. When we all stand together, we all rise together.

And according to news reports, Vice President Biden expressed his support for the Employee Free Choice Act, too, saying it will pass this year.

For that to happen, we need your help. Click here to join our campaign:

http://action.seiu.org/page/s/joinforefca

This week hundreds of people will meet with their Members of Congress, and we'll make thousands of calls to their offices to show the broad public support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Employee Free Choice Act will level the playing field against corporate greed by giving working people a free and fair chance to get ahead in this rough economy. We can pass the Employee Free Choice Act, but we need your help to do it.

Can you join our campaign to fight corporate greed? Click here to join:

http://action.seiu.org/page/s/joinforefca

President Obama said it best yesterday: When we all stand together, we all rise together.

Together we can get our economy back on track with the Employee Free Choice Act. Thanks for your help.

In Solidarity,

Michael Whitney
SEIU.org

With Labor Day right around the corner, we wanted to catch you up on what SEIU and our allies have been up to over the last few weeks. From opposition groups confusing their Congressmen to new studies and reports from the states, keep reading for a full recess round-up on Employee Free Choice.

Note to Michigan Anti-Free Choice Group: Next Time, Try Wikipedia? The Jackson Patriot, a local Michigan paper, reported in August about an interesting situation that the Michigan Manufacturers recently found themselves in. "Recently, a billboard went up along Boardman Road, visible from I-94, to urge Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson to vote against the Employee Free Choice Act. Some smart guy realized that even though Peterson represents the 7th Congressional District, this is Michigan, and painted over the last two letters in his name. So now it urges U.S. Rep. Gary Peters to vote no. Right state this time, still the wrong Congressman. Eventually, I'm guessing the Michigan Manufacturers Association will want the billboard it paid for to urge U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, who represents Michigan's 7th Congressional District, to vote against the union-backed legislation."

New York Times: Low Wage Workers Are Often Cheated, Study Says. A new study, "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers" based on a survey of workers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, shows that low-wage workers are routinely denied proper overtime pay and are often paid less than the minimum wage. Furthermore, "One in five workers reported having lodged a complaint about wages to their employer or trying to form a union in the previous year, and 43 percent of them said they had experienced some form of illegal retaliation, like firing or suspension, the study said." Read the full article here.

Exposed: MT Hair Salons Denying Workers A Right To A Union Before They Are Formed. As reported in both the Great Falls Tribune and The New York Times, a former manager of a hair salon in Great Falls came forward with her story about Regis Corporation asking its employees to sign documents nullifying any union cards they may sign in a future organizing campaign. While Regis claims the cards are being circulated to protect workers' rights to a secret ballot election, the former manager, Keri Gorder said, "I thought it was taking our right away before we ever exercised that right." And a leading labor expert described this tactic as illegal. Read more about it here: and here.

Labor Day List: Partnerships That Work. This week, ARAW released their yearly showcase of employers who "walk the walk when it comes to respecting their own workers' rights, and now they are going a step further by standing up on behalf of all U.S. workers. Every business profiled herein has spoken out on the need for meaningful labor law reform to ensure men and women have decent opportunities and their rights protected." These businesses include: American Income Life Insurance Company, Ivory Leathers, Inc, McGuire Scenic, Morton Williams Supermarkets, Print and Copy Center, Raymond's Painting and Decorating, West Sheet Metal Company, and Wisconsin Vision, Inc. See the full list of employers that have a successful relationships with their employee's labor unions.

No Coercion in Majority Sign-up. In their "Economic Snapshot" for the week of August 19th, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) focused in on a lack of evidence of how majority sign-up or "card check" leads to coercion. Although Employee Free Choice opponents argue that unions will coerce employees to sign authorization cards or obtain a majority through fraud, a recent report, however, "suggests that this claim is frivolous." In fact, "a study of four states--Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and New York--that have had majority sign-up for public sector employees for many years failed to turn up a single meritorious case of coercion or fraud in more than 1,000 majority sign-up campaigns involving 34,000 employees between 2003 and 2009." More here.

Young Workers: A Lost Decade. In a new nationwide survey of young workers released earlier this week, the AFL-CIO found that more than one in three young workers say they are currently living at home with their parents, 31 percent of young workers reports being uninsured, up from 24 percent without health insurance coverage 10 years ago, and one-third of young workers cannot pay the bills and seven in 10 do not have enough saved to cover two months of living expenses. Full report here; read more about the survey here.

ARAW Employee Free Choice Lobby Day. Next week, over 200 progressive activists from 15 states--including small business owners, faith leaders, veterans, farmers and students will travel to Washington and meet with their members of Congress to discuss the reasons we need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

If you would like more information about next week's lobby day, please let us know.

San Francisco home care workers called for a hand-examination of each signed card submitted by Sal Rosselli and other ousted union officials seeking to decertify SEIU-UHW, saying they had been subjected to lies, coercion, and fraud.

Some workers were told that signing a card was the only way they could keep their union, while others were threatened that they could be deported if they did not sign. In some cases, NUHW representatives said they were from a government agency, and in still others they pressured family members and even home care consumers to sign the cards, rendering them invalid if thoroughly checked.

Workers have shared more than 1,000 stories describing how NUHW improperly collected signatures and asking to have their cards returned. NUHW's tactics are part of a pattern that emerged in Fresno earlier this year when more than a third of the cards they collected from home care workers were found to be invalid when hand checked. SEIU- UHW caught examples of these tactics on video, as described by the workers. Watch a clip of one of the home care workers here:

Quick hits: Around the union this week...

• Tea-bagging conservatives continue blaming SEIU for perpetrating the violence surrounding a St. Louis health care town hall--but now you can finally hear both sides of the story. Listen to SEIU staffer Reverend McCowan's interview correcting the record on incidents surrounding a Missouri town hall.

• Spread the truth about the right-wing's fear campaign being funded by anti-healthcare forces: SEIU counters "death panel" noise with real facts about healthcare.

• SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger took the main stage at the Netroots Nation Convention this weekend to talk about building a 21st century economy that works for all Americans. More here about other SEIU panels at the annual gathering of progressive activists and political bloggers.

• Watch three short videos of Workers United members who are dealing with John Wilhelm, UNITE HERE's raids, and interference in their workplaces.

• "We spend more time at patients' bedsides than anyone else in the hospital, and have a better understanding of patient needs than hospital executives. Despite this, our executive officers essentially refuse to include us in discussions regarding patient care." In a Billings Gazette op-ed, registered nurse J. Curt Jensen makes the case for why nurses and all Montana workers need the Employee Free Choice Act.

• Will American children grow on "fat, salt, and corn-sweetener-laden government subsidized surplus"? Read Iowa City chef Kurt Michael Friese's commentary at Grist Magazine.

• Check out the story of a Detroit college freshman fighting to stay in the U.S. and find out how you can help defer her deportation.

• Major advertisers like Geico, Proctor and Gamble, and Lexis Nexis are pulling their ads from Glenn Beck's show in response to his disgraceful rhetoric...but not Wal-Mart! Tell Wal-Mart to end their financial support of Glenn Beck's televised hate.

• Be a part of SEIU's mobile alert list. Text SEIU to 787753 (PURPLE) right now, or click here to sign-up for our new mobile alerts program.

Wal-Mart has a longtime record of harassing and intimidating workers who have called for union representation; the giant corporation has even gone so far as to shut down stores where workers voted for a voice on the job. It's bad enough Wal-Mart fights workers' efforts to organize...now they're trying to stifle freedom of speech too?

It appears that way - Wal-Mart has filed an injunction against a website critical of its Canadian business practices, and their "legal basis" will outrage you. Wal-Mart wants to stop WalmartWorkersCanada.ca--a popular website dedicated to helping Wal-Mart 'associates' understand and exercise their rights as workers in Canada--from using the word "Wal-Mart" either "alone or with other words... in a color scheme of blue, white and gold." Even more ridiculous, the company wants to restrict the usage of circular shapes on the group's website! Says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley:

"This injunction request is an over the top assault on freedom of speech and on our ability to effectively communicate with Wal-Mart workers," "It's a kneejerk response by Wal-Mart to the idea of its employees trying to understand their options as workers, and trying to share experiences with other 'associates'."

Walmart's response to the success of www.walmartworkerscanada.ca is just another outrageous example of how the largest retailer in the history of the world will use its bottomless legal budget to manipulate the collective bargaining process and do just about anything to discourage its 'associates' from joining the union."

If Wal-Mart has its way, "an oval, circular or semi-circular design" will be off limits to those who aren't on board with the largest retailer in the world's corporate practices. Seriously--if you are a group that's critical of Wal-Mart's business practices, they better not catch you using anything that remotely resembles their yellow smiley face logo! It's a legal scenario simply too bizarre for words.

You can take a stand against Wal-Mart's censorship threat and stand up for internet Democracy. Tell Walmart to respect free speech: sign UFCW's petition today.

If we let Wal-Mart set the standard for free speech online, there is no telling where the company's absurd demands will end. Can you imagine a world where Wal-Mart has exclusive rights to blue, white, gold, and abstract geometrical shapes? Please take a moment to show your solidarity for the activists at WalmartWorkersCanada.ca.

Help stop Walmart's war against the freedom of expression online.

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.

After a 4-year marriage gone bad between UNITE and the former hotel and restaurant employees union, HERE President John Wilhelm has decided that the home of UNITE garment workers, as well as the nation's only union-owned bank, now belong to him.

Retired garment workers spent their lifetimes building this union. We've heard a lot from lawyers and John Wilhelm, but don't the workers matter? "We paid for this building with our blood our sweat and our tears." said retired garment worker and former UNITE member Joe Raico. Watch a video of real workers telling John Wilhelm what they think:

What you can do:

« Ask John Wilhelm to respect workers and retirees and end the destructive fight between our union Workers United, formerly UNITE, and his.

« Share this video with your friends and colleagues so the workers' voices can be heard.

More at www.workersunitedunion.org.

It's not often we get to bring you news of workers organizing to have a voice at work on such a large scale -- but today is one of those days! 13,00 home care attendants in Missouri's consumer directed home care program have voted to join the Missouri Home Care Union, a statewide union of home care attendants that's a joint local of AFSCME and SEIU.

The vote passed by a landslide margin of 85% "Yes" to 15% "No," and the election was conducted by the state Board of Mediation and was the largest of its kind in Missouri history.

In spite of the fact that home-based care is more cost-effective than institutional or nursing home care, many of the consumers in the state struggle to keep caregivers on the job--40-60% of attendants leave their positions every year. The central reason for this is that many home care attendants simply can't afford to stay at their jobs and take care of their families because they don't have health insurance benefits, sick days or vacation time.

With the number of elderly Missourians expected to rise more than 70 percent in the next twenty years, the demand for home care services will skyrocket. Which makes investing in the creation of good home care jobs to help build a stable workforce that will be able to ensure older Missourians can remain in the setting they prefer, their homes, is more important than ever.

"The next step is to join forces with consumers to make home care better and available to more Missourians," said Salem attendant Theresa Bach. Read more here.

On the on the heels of recent news that reports a bill version of the Employee Free Choice Act in the Senate may not include majority sign-up provisions, we thought we'd revisit why we need this provision included in legislation to restore giving workers the actual choice of whether they want union representation.

Majority signup is based on a simple idea: if a majority of workers say they want a union, they should get a union. And the public agrees: three-quarters (75%) of adults favor allowing workers to have a union once a majority of the employees in a workplace sign authorization cards indicating that they want to form a union, including 44% who strongly support the idea. [Hart Research Associates, 1/8/09 ]

One of the most common scare tactics corporate special interests continue to use to try and stop the Employee Free Choice Act is the charge that majority signup is baaaaad for workers because it makes them feel pressured or coerced into signing cards. To those opponents we say: check your facts. Academic studies show that workers who organize under majority sign-up feel less pressure from co-workers to support the union than workers who organize under the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process.

During NLRB elections, 46 percent of workers complained of pressure from management. In contrast, during majority signup campaigns, only 4.6 percent of workers who signed a card with a union organizer reported that the presence of the organizer made them feel pressured to sign the card. [Adrienne Eaton, Ph.D. of Rutgers University, and Jill Kriesky of Wheeling Jesuit University, Fact Over Fiction: Opposition to Card Check Doesn't Add Up, 9/06]

So, where's the controversy? "As negotiations on the Employee Free Choice Act continue in Congress, members need only look at public opinion to realize the only controversy over majority signup is being fabricated by a vocal, well financed, factually-challenged minority led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and corporate powerhouses like Wal-Mart," said Tom McMahon, Executive Director of Americans United for Change in a statement today.

There's no debate among working people in this country that the system is badly broken for the 60 million workers who would form a union tomorrow if they could. The current labor system is no longer effectively protecting and enforcing workers' rights in the election process. It has become a system that allows big business and corporate special interests to routinely harass, intimidate and even fire workers who try to form a union and bargain for better pay and benefits and a voice on the job. "These Corporate special interests will continue to say or do anything to keep the system broken, but when three-quarters of the American people agree majority signup is central to labor reform and building a strong economic foundation for our disappearing middle-class, Congress really doesn't have to listen," says McMahon. We couldn't agree more.

Majority signup is a democratic, proven approach that allows workers to have a fair, direct path to join unions--and it's important that both the House and Senate consider this common-sense idea to level the playing field against corporate greed.

Please add your name to the petition to Congress in support of majority signup and the Employee Free Choice Act.

In recent Wal-Mart news, a really disturbing precedent: A Canadian court overturned the UFCW certification granted to Wal-Mart workers in December 2008, keeping alive a five-year-old battle between Wal-Mart and the union.

Workers in Saskatchewan, Canada first voted for union representation over four years ago, and Wal-Mart stalled and threw up every road block they could to keep the workers from getting a fair deal. And now, a Canadian judge has essentially ruled that because labor laws have changed since the Weyburn Wal-Mart workers legally won union representation, these workers are no longer represented by a union. According to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, the UFCW applied for union certification in 2004 after a majority of workers in the proposed bargaining unit signed union cards. A vote by secret ballot was not required under labor laws in effect at that time. Changes to provincial labor law implemented in May 2008 now require a vote by secret ballot to certify a union--and Justice Peter Foley ruled this past week that the labor relations board erred in certifying the union at the Wayburn Wal-Mart.

Kevin Groh, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada, said workers now employed at the store "cheered" when they were told of the latest court ruling. This seems like an odd reaction, since Wal-Mart is not exactly known for offering generous salaries. Business Week reported in April, 2008, that Wal-Mart workers earn an average of $22,500 annually. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the threshold of poverty in 2006 for a family of four was $21,200.

In this dismal economy, low-wage workers are struggling more than ever to make ends meet. If they had a union, these Wal-Mart employees would be able to negotiate better health benefits, working conditions, and wages above the poverty line. This issue also speaks to the greater problem of the long and arduous process workers are forced to endure to gain union representation and a first contract. Our current labor system for workers trying to form a union has proven its inability to defend workers' rights in a timely manner time and time again. Sadly enough, the 4+ years these Wal-Mart workers endured in their fight for a union is not uncommon. Two years after first voting to form a union, a whopping 37 percent of workers still have no contract.

What do you think of this ruling? Was the Canadian court's decision to overturn the UFCW certification justified?

On Friday, after two weeks of vigorous campaigning, 10,000 Fresno County home care workers voted to stand united with SEIU UHW. The ballots were counted by the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. "Their votes speak loudly that SEIU UHW members want a strong, united union so that together they can build a better future for themselves and the consumers they serve," said SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina.

Read more about the election victory.

Little Rock--Tyson Foods and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are actively fighting workplace safety measures that could have prevented the tragic death of a Tyson Foods worker, said Reverend Steve Copley today.

On Friday, a U.S. District Court in Arkansas ruled that Tyson Foods Inc. must pay a $500,000 fine for "willfully" violating workplace safety regulations that led to the 2003 death of Jason Kelley, a maintenance worker at its River Valley Animal Foods plant in Texarkana. Mr. Kelley was killed by toxic fumes emitted from a machine he was repairing.

"Mr. Kelley's death is the worst possible example of what can happen when employees do not have a voice on the job and are not protected at work. If workers had a voice at that plant, if they had a union, there could have been a more rigorous safety program in place to prevent this tragic loss of life," said Rev. Copley.

Despite an identical accident in 2002, Tyson Foods did not put safety measures in place to make sure it didn't happen again. Tyson Foods workers do not have a union and its workers were not able to hold their employer accountable for failing to enforce these federally mandated worker safety protections.

"Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that opposed the original Occupational Safety and Workplace Act and are now fighting legislation that would enable allowing more workers to choose to form a union. They're opposing workplace safety," said Rev. Copley.

The fine imposed on Tyson Foods is the maximum allowed by law.

"While the court was right to fine Tyson Foods, I believe a person's life is worth more than $500,000," said Rev. Copley. "This never should have happened."

According to several studies, union workers are more likely to have the right training and other precautions that create safer workplaces. Union workers:

• Have more training. Union workers are more likely to have access to formal, on-the-job training, making employees more skilled and adding to productivity.
• Have safer workplaces. Union workers are often better trained on health and safety rules and union workplaces are more likely to enforce Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.
  
• Are more likely to receive workers' compensation. Union members also get their benefits faster, and return to work more quickly. When workers are injured, unions help workers through the often complicated process of filing for workers' compensation and protect workers from employer retaliation.

You can read the U.S. Department of Justice press release on the ruling here.

Tyson Foods and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are actively fighting workplace safety measures that could have prevented the tragic death of a Tyson Foods worker, said Rev. Steve Copley of Interfaith Worker Justice today.

On Friday, a U.S. District Court in Arkansas ruled that Tyson Foods Inc. must pay a $500,000 fine for "willfully" violating workplace safety regulations that led to the 2003 death of Jason Kelley, a maintenance worker at its River Valley Animal Foods plant in Texarkana. Mr. Kelley was killed by toxic fumes emitted from a machine he was repairing.

"Mr. Kelley's death is the worst possible example of what can happen when employees do not have a voice on the job and are not protected at work. If workers had a voice at that plant, if they had a union, there could have been a more rigorous safety program in place to prevent this tragic loss of life," said Rev. Copley.

Despite an identical accident in 2002, Tyson Foods did not put safety measures in place to make sure it didn't happen again. Tyson Foods workers do not have a union and its workers were not able to hold their employer accountable for failing to enforce these federally mandated worker safety protections.

"Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that opposed the original Occupational Safety and Workplace Act and are now fighting legislation that would enable allowing more workers to choose to form a union. They're opposing workplace safety," said Rev. Copley.

The fine imposed on Tyson Foods is the maximum allowed by law.

"While the court was right to fine Tyson Foods, I believe a person's life is worth more than $500,000," said Rev. Copley. "This never should have happened."

According to several studies, union workers are more likely to have the right training and other precautions that create safer workplaces. Union workers:

• Have more training. Union workers are more likely to have access to formal, on-the-job training, making employees more skilled and adding to productivity.
  
• Have safer workplaces. Union workers are often better trained on health and safety rules and union workplaces are more likely to enforce Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.
• Are more likely to receive workers' compensation. Union members also get their benefits faster, and return to work more quickly. When workers are injured, unions help workers through the often complicated process of filing for workers' compensation and protect workers from employer retaliation.

You can read the U.S. Department of Justice press release on the ruling here.

Yesterday, workers at Boston's Caritas Carney Hospital, part of Caritas Christi Health Care and the largest community-based hospital system in Massachusetts, voted overwhelmingly to join 1199SEIU. This election comes on the heels of an April vote in which more than 800 healthcare workers at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston also voted to unite together with thousands of healthcare workers in 1199SEIU.

The successful vote was hailed by community leaders as a win not just for caregivers, but also for patients and the community. "Carney is so much more than just a community hospital - it's a real part of the community," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in a statement. "Generations of Dorchester families have turned to Carney for quality care, good jobs and a ray of hope...Why can't every hospital in the city of Boston have 1199?" (Our thoughts exactly!) Since 2006, 1199SEIU has more than tripled in size in Massachusetts.

1199SEIU's bargaining unit will represent respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, LPNs, nurse assistants, dietary and clerical workers, and housekeepers at the 159-bed hospital. Read more about the election at the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, and CNBC.

No doubt, you've likely heard about yesterday's tragic shooting incident at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where security officer Stephen T. Johns tragically lost his life.

The event is a bitter reminder about the importance of these brave men and women who serve as the "first line of defense against a terrorist attack," and the methods that can be taken to ensure their safety while on the job. All in all, there are more than 1 million private security officers in the United States - nearly twice the number of police officers.

On this morning's Today Show, the director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Sara Bloomfield, paid tribute to Officer Johns and commended the entire security team for their bravery and heroism:

"Everything happened yesterday as we train for these things. And as I think you've reported, two of our officers did attack this assailant and none of our visitors were hurt, so we feel that this actually worked extremely well, in terms of how many lives were saved in this incident. And again, we want to commend our officers who responded so well and pay tribute to Officer Johns, who also behaved so heroically in this incident."

As members of a union, the security officers at the Holocaust Museum are especially trained to deal with situations like the one from yesterday.

In an interview with the Center for American Progress' ThinkProgress, Steve Maritas, the organizing director of the union that represents them, said the following:

"These guys are security police professionals, which is a whole different level of training compared to security guards...When they train these guys, they're trained on more of a terrorism level."

The unfortunate incident also speaks to the need for better safety on the job. According to the Washington Post, Officer Johns did not have a protective, "bullet-proof" vest that could have aided him during the incident.

Workers in two counties on opposite sides of Pennsylvania voted late last month to unite for a voice with SEIU Local 668--Pennsylvania's Social Services Union. In Montgomery County, a traditionally conservative Philadelphia suburb that hasn't always been union-friendly, 38 prison guards and detention counselors voted overwhelmingly on May 27th to join Local 668. These employees for the Montgomery County Youth Center have started a union wave that is spreading across the county, and will hopefully soon give needed representation to hundreds of additional workers in the coming months.

Meanwhile, straight across the state in Westmoreland County, 34 first-line supervisors said "Union YES" to Local 668 on May 22nd in this eastern Pittsburgh suburb. These new members are on the front lines of ensuring that Westmoreland residents receive quality public services at the county's 9-1-1 center and Children's Bureau.

Workers United members turned up the spotlight as Hollywood actor and lifelong activist 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.

"Through unions and through our work in the public spheres, we're creating democracy," Glover said during a stop at the offices of Workers United Local 2347 in Niagara Falls.

Update, June 8 at 4:45 p.m.

Danny Glover, speaking at the rally:

Glover first spoke about the failure of the 2004 UNITE HERE merger at the Workers United organizing conference in March 2009.

Last week, SEIU's Andy Stern, Workers United Bruce Raynor and Edgar Romney sent a letter to the American Labor Movement making explicit their call on HERE president John Wilhelm to join them in submitting to binding arbitration to resolve their differences. Excerpt from the letter (which can be read at Politico):

"The conflict between UNITE HERE and Workers United/SEIU must end. All of the workers affected by this dispute deserve nothing less...This fight is causing real pain for working families whose union dues are being used to wage an internecine battle, rather than fighting for gains in the most difficult economic times our nation has seen in more than 50 years."

"This growing split in the labor movement has the potential to harm all workers and all progressives," writes blogger TomP today on Daily Kos, reiterating the need to resolve this conflict, which he says is affecting organizing efforts here and everywhere. Read TomP's Daily Kos diary entry here.