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. More than 1,250 workers will be covered by the new contract.

In 1992, Levis Strauss became the first Fortune 500 company to extend full medical benefits to domestic partners of employees.

The workers are members of Workers United and employed at distribution centers in Canton, Mississippi; Hebron, Kentucky; Henderson, Nevada; and Rexdale, Ontario, Canada. "It's also a great sign that workers and companies can come together to reach agreements that support employee and employer alike and create new, good union jobs," said Bruce Raynor, President of Workers United. Full release here.

Levi's aren't the only jeans made by union members. The GAP's 1969 "Real Straight" jeans sporting the "Made in Canada" label are made by Workers United/SEIU members. In the 1990's, consumer outrage forced the GAP to address sweatshop conditions at their factories overseas. Ten years later, the GAP's turnaround includes improved environmental practices, a vender compliance program that monitors overseas factories, and a commitment to manufacturing, in part, at union shops in North America.

At $69, the "Real Straight" low rise jeans are a recessionista alternative to high fashion (and high price) designer jeans. But the GAP didn't skimp on style or quality to bring you their jeans at this reasonable price--the "Real Straight" low rise jeans are slim and forgiving. (I should know, I own a pair of my own!) They're a great union-quality product that's well worth the price--perfect to catwalk your next picket line or protest in.

Cleaners at Anheuser-Busch breweries in Newark and Rochester recently found themselves without jobs, despite years of loyal service to the "King of Beers." The brewing behemoth has brought in cleaning contractors who seem bent on cutting costs for the $23 billion dollar multinational on the backs of the working people who keep their plants running and profitable.

The new contracting companies, U.S. Metro Group Inc. and Dawn Brite, have refused to accept job applications from the laid-off custodians who have long worked for AB. These new contractors have slashed wages by a margin that's rumored to be around 40 percent.

As for benefits (like affordable quality healthcare)...there aren't any to speak of.

"Doesn't Anheuser-Busch get that we need to feed our families?" asked 32BJ member Luci Peralta, a cleaner who has worked at the Newark brewery for six years but was laid-off last week (pictured on the right next to Giovanny, another janitor that was laid off on Oct. 31). "With no income, I don't know how I'll put food on the table and make our house payments."

Since merging with Brazilian-Belgian brewing company InBev a year ago, American beer lovers have seen what was once a family-led company that spared little expense turn into "one that is focused intently on cost-cutting and profit margins." The company reported revenues of more than $23.5 billion in 2008.

However, in order to afford to buy Anheuser-Busch last year, InBev had to borrow very heavily from a syndicate of banks, including JP Morgan Chase. As a result, the combined group is now saddled with more than $50 billion in debt. Yet despite weaker sales in 2009, the company said in August that their net profit for the quarter rose 28 percent. What InBev is not saying is that they are trying to turn a huge profit in a downturn economy on the backs of their employees. And while AB's workers have already faced cuts and layoffs, it's a distinct possibility that InBev's attempts to balance their deficit asap will continue to threaten the jobs of current employees at the 11 other breweries and Anheuser-Busch facilities across the country.

The laid-off janitors at the Newark brewery had been making $13.30 an hour and receiving healthcare. Now, they're worrying how they're going to feed their children and pay their bills. "This is an awful time for Anheuser-Busch to watch these workers be put out on the street,"said Kevin Brown, New Jersey area director for SEIU. "The holidays are right around the corner, and in this economy, the workers may not find jobs that pay the same wages. They may only find minimum-wage jobs that don't even cover their basic bills."

Thanks to the working Americans who funded the banks' bailouts, banking giants and CEOs were able to get up, brush themselves off, and walk away from the financial crisis relatively unscathed. It is in no way acceptable, however, that their version of 'jumping back into the saddle' means continuing to pay out big figure bonuses to the architects of our economic collapse. Recent data from eFinancialCareers.com shows that financial professionals still think that the middle class should still be taking it on the chin to pad their pockets:

According to the survey, 83 percent of Wall Street professionals expect to receive bonuses this year, and one-third expect to receive even bigger bonuses than they did in 2008.

"You can't change 200 years of history overnight," said John Benson, founder and CEO of eFinancialCareers.com. "...Changing the pay structure is going to be an iterative process, because there are always unintended consequences to every change."

Although just over half of the 1,074 financial services professionals who participated in the survey noted their firms have revised bonus policies, most respondents said the attitudes towards the extreme risk taking that got us here in the first place hasn't changed. After all, why should bankers do things any differently when there is nothing to discourage their behavior? The typical worker has seen their 401k go down 24.3 percent, but Wall Street bonuses remain bigger than ever. The phrase "undeserved entitlement" comes to mind, to say the least.

It's time to end the notion of "too big to fail."

Many consumers assume that if a car is "American-made," it must have been built by union-represented workers. Not true. The UAW has prepared a guide to provide information for consumers who want to purchase vehicles produced by workers who enjoy the benefits and protections of a union contract. The 2010 list includes cars, trucks, pickups, vans, SUVs and crossovers from U.S., European and Asian-based carmakers. Check out the 2010 car buying guide here.

Buying Union-made: It's still difficult to find sweatshop-free and fairly traded merchandise in the U.S., but there are viable options if you care about fair trade products. For example, Union Made in USA merchandise is widely considered the platinum standard for consumers in the U.S. And 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.

The union label is a badge of quality, workplace justice, and living wage--check out a selection of tees over at Ethix Merch here. Additionally, the SweatFree Communities and International Labor Rights Forum has a great 2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide on their website to key resource to help you become a socially conscious shopper.

The guide profiles clothing companies whose products are created in a "sweat-free" environment and clothing made in shops where workers are organized into unions (or worker-owned cooperatives) and have a voice on the job in determining their wages and working conditions (like Justice Clothing and No Sweat Apparel). My personal favorite from the guide is Autonomie Project, a store that offers some really creative, stylish t-shirts and accessories that are eco-friendly along with being sweatshop-free. Their new line of babies/children's apparel--especially the logo tees, like the one to the right--really stand out from the crowd.

For a guide to both union Made and fair Trade products, don't forget to visit the 2009 Shop With a Conscience Consumer Guide here. UAW's car-buying guide can be found here.

Just yesterday the White House released a list of visitors this year and SEIU President Andy Stern topped the list with more than twenty trips since January.

Coming off an eight-year period when the voice of workers fell on deaf ears, the list demonstrates the White House desire to hear from working people.

The Washington Post notes several visits came during the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act debate.

Talking Points Memo sums it up nicely:

It makes sense that Stern would be a popular guest -- beyond leading a group key to the Democratic base, Stern's SEIU has been a leading voice on behalf of health care reform.

Andy Stern has tweeted about some of his White House visits, and you can follow him here.

Bank workers across the world have been hit from all angles as a result of the financial crisis. That's why a recent victory for workers in one of SEIU's partner unions is such good news.

Following a ten-day strike, Brazilian bank workers have won an increase in wage and improvements in their working conditions, as a result of a wage accord between union leaders and banks October 9. The workers are members of Confederaçao Nacional dos Trabalhadores no Ramo Financeiro (CONTRAF).

In the settlement, workers accepted a 6 percent wage hike offered by the banks. The banks also will extend maternity leave for workers to 180 days, increase profit-sharing payments, and will offer other benefits. The workers asked for a 10 percent wage hike, while banks originally offered only 4.5 percent.

The Brazilian bank workers were confronted daily with anti-union practices imposed by the financial institutions operating in the country, suppressing the legitimate actions of workers in their national wage campaign. During the strike, one of CONTRAF's union leaders was violently taken to the district police in an attempt by lawyers to forcefully open a bank branch.

The strike left many consumers, especially in big cities, without key banking services. However, the strike had little effect on financial markets, which rely heavily on electronic systems.

Bank workers--in Brazil and worldwide--have been pressured by their employers to "sell, sell, sell," rather than to advise their customers. Then they are hit by massive job cuts and put out of work. Bank workers can sometimes be harassed by customers, who may blame them for the mess that big banks have made of their finances.

A delegation from SEIU, including Rocio Saenz, president of SEIU Local 615 in Boston, will be visiting Brazil the week of November 5 to visit with bank workers, celebrate their victory and learn about the country's ongoing banks campaign.

---

CONTRAFS is a member of the CUT (Central Unica dos Trabalhadores), with whom SEIU has partnered since 2005.

It was a sad day for corporations in the financial, insurance, and real estate sector--like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce & the Financial Services Roundtable--who spent a combined total of $321 million lobbying against federal reforms such as limits on bonuses and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). These groups were concerned that oversight legislation to help rein in greed on Wall Street might actually....rein in greed on Wall Street. "We remain concerned that this legislation will have significant and harmful unintended consequences for consumers, businesses, and the overall economy," the groups wrote in a letter to House members last week.

Thankfully, the House Financial Services Committee didn't feel nearly as sympathetic towards the creators of unfair financial products that scam consumers and taxpayers as they feel for themselves. A recent poll found that nearly 75 percent of Americans believe that the greed and risky decisions of banks and financial companies led to our financial crisis--and our lawmakers agree. Yesterday, the House voted 39 to 29 to move forward with the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, to help put a stop to the dangerous and deceptive products and practices that got us into this mess. The House Financial Services Committee also approved legislation that would impose new rules for credit cards by Dec. 1, moving up the date from mid-February. Democratic supporters said moving up the date was necessary because lenders were using the grace period to hike interest rates.

The American Bankers Association joined the Chamber of Commerce in expressing their disapproval for the legislation, saying it would continue to try to make its case against the agency as the legislation moves to the House floor in coming weeks and, eventually, to the Senate. "We still have major concerns with some principal areas" including "the very broad, ill-defined authority that is granted to this new agency that could be used to justify essentially any regulatory action," said Floyd Stoner, ABA vice president for congressional relations.

Creating the CFPA as part of Obama's broader plan to clamp down on Wall Street is an important step towards preventing much of the reckless lending that contributed to last year's near-collapse of the market. "It's been a year since the financial world collapsed and it is now clear that the greed and excess of big banks, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and their allies could have and should have been prevented," said SEIU's Anna Burger. "Chairman Frank and the Financial Services Committee stood up on behalf of American families by passing legislation to create a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency--and to prevent business as usual to continue."

According to a recent poll, nearly 75 percent of Americans believe that the greed and risky decisions of banks and financial companies led to our financial crisis.And there's much more to be done. We believe that to be successful, the CFPA must be strengthened to include:

• oversight of auto dealers who receive lucrative compensation in financing auto loans;
• the authority to examine the books of all financial institutions, no matter what size, without cumbersome barriers;
• fixes to the current compensation system which pressures and incentivizes workers to push and sell bad and unneeded products to consumers as a condition of employment; and
• the full authority to stop the sale of credit-related insurance policies that are virtually worthless.

That's why when the American Bankers Association meets in Chicago next week, more than 5,000 taxpayers from 20 states will be there to demand an end to Wall Street's appetite for greed.

More than 300 activists from 15 states converged on Capitol Hill on Thursday to tell their elected leaders that workers need and deserve meaningful labor law reform. The diverse group of small business owners, veterans, farmers, students, faith leaders, civil rights activists, women's advocates, and environmentalists are uniting in one voice to remind lawmakers why the Employee Free Choice Act is vital to rebuilding our economy.

New Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, Senator Tom Harkin, kicked off the lobby day at a morning press conference with a speech to the state delegations. Senator Harkin shared a personal story of his brother fighting for union rights and confirmed his commitment to passing the Employee Free Choice Act, saying saying "When I tell you in unequivocal terms that the Employee Free Choice Act is a priority, you can take that to the bank!"

Watch highlights from Sen. Harkin's speech here:

The advocates from states including AK, ND, NE, MT, MO, WI, ME, PA, CO and CA also shared some reasons why they came to Washington--and why all progressives should support the Employee Free Choice Act.

"I am a small business owner here to help bring our message to Capitol Hill. We want justice for rural workers in North Dakota--they deserve proper pay for what they do. We want change in our working environment."

"I'm proud to be here with [all these] major activists from four major Pennsylvania cities...We want to stand for Free Choice. We are so financially strapped with workers in PA we had to have a paper flag here today--we couldn't afford to buy a cloth flag. We are here to fight for Employee Free Choice today."

"Everyone acknowledges the system is broken and justice delayed or justice deferred, is always in the end result, justice denied. We are here to provide justice for workers. All of those workers see very simply that as an issue of justice, the faith community really has to step up make it very clear the moral imperatives of this legislation."

Call the Senate now for Employee Free Choice.

PHOTOS:
« September 9th Training &
« September 10th Lobbying Day

Over the last week and a half, SEIU Locals in California, New York and Oregon have reached new or tentative contract agreements that will benefit nearly 13,000 workers. Contract highlights include lessening the impact of budget cuts on workers' jobs and pocketbooks, and wage and benefit increases.

CALIFORNIA
Largest Vote in SEIU Riverside History leads to Contract Agreement
Roughly 6,000 public service workers of SEIU Local 721 reached a contract agreement with Riverside County on September 1, ending a five-month-long negotiation process. Union members overwhelmingly voted 93 percent to approve a one-year ratified agreement, making this the largest ratification vote in SEIU's history in Riverside County. With the new contract, members gain overtime rights, limited furloughs and a fairness agreement among all county employees. More details here.

Calexico City Employees Win Huge Victory
California City Employees who are members of SEIU Local 221 won a huge victory this week, pushing back on budget cuts proposed by the Calexico City Council that would have made drastic cuts to pay and benefits, along with implementing 18 furlough days. The City Council listened as members found other cost-saving measures the council could use to fill their budget gap instead of making up the difference on the backs of workers. This victory was a real demonstration that when members stand up for themselves, positive change can happen. Read more.

2,600 Workers at Stanford University ratify new contracts w/ wage, benefit increases
Members of SEIU Local 2007 ratified a new five-year contract on September 3 that includes a 12.5 percent wage increase, preserves jobs and increases training by implementing an apprenticeship program with the trades. According to BNA Daily Labor Report, the jointly-developed apprenticeship program--$120,000 of which Stanford will fund--will allow workers to move up the career leader in their fields (such as electricians) as well as provide the kind of training which would give them the opportunity to move to a different career.

1,450 SEIU-UHW hospital workers at the Palo Alto facilities, Stanford Hospital and Lucille Packard Children's Hospital voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new two-year contract on August 28 that offers 4 percent wage increases and ratification bonuses. Stanford employees had been working for several years without a contract, and bargaining had been stalled by management. More details on the victory at SEIU-UHW's website here.

NEW YORK
Workers at Presbyterian Senior Care Centers Overwhelmingly Ratify New Labor Agreement
Approximately 270 1199SEIU workers employed by Presbyterian Senior Care at its two facilities, Harbour Multicare Center and Hawthorn Multicare Center, overwhelming voted in favor of a new labor agreement on August 31. Highlights of the new contract include pension improvements; annual wage increases, and improved holiday pay for part-time employees. More here.

OREGON
OR University System Members Reach Tentative Agreement on Two-Year Contract
"You stood up, hung tough, held out and adhered to principle," said an special email from the SEIU Local 503 bargaining team after reaching a settlement on a two-year contract late Friday night, giving 4,000 members in the Oregon University System a special reason to celebrate Labor Day. Contract highlights include fully-paid health care premiums for full-time employees and withdrawn proposals for unlimited furloughs and an across-the-board pay cut. The agreement includes essentially matches the deal struck six weeks ago on behalf of state workers and assures that the workers, their clients and the services they provide will not take an excessive hit as lawmakers work to close a multi-billion budget gap.

Another highlight: The 14 part-time recyclers at Portland State University, who became Oregon's first unionized undergrads when they voted unanimously to join SEIU, are covered by the contract. Read more about the agreement here.

Please feel free to offer congratulations to these workers and the bargaining teams that worked so hard on their behalf in the comments section below.

Labor Day is a time to reflect on the achievements of the American worker and our nation's commitment to helping all families pursue the American Dream--especially now that many are facing difficult times, as the result of the recession and the anti-worker agenda carried out by the previous administration. In a short period of time, President Obama and the 111th Congress have made progress to undo many policies that have harmed our nation's workers; showing time and time again that they stand on the side of working families.

Here are some of the strides made so far on behalf of American workers:

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: The first major piece of legislation President Obama signed at the end of January ensures that women and other workers who receive discriminatory pay have access to a remedy. The new law reversed the May 2007 Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear and restored prior law which treated each discriminatory paycheck received by a worker as a violation of the Civil Rights Act.

Affordable Health Coverage for Laid-off Workers: A provision in the Recovery Act will assist 7 million people laid off in this recession with the cost of their health insurance coverage, who would otherwise face paying a substantial monthly amount to keep it. People who were laid off between from their jobs between 9/1/08 and 12/31/09 pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit.

Increasing the Minimum Wage: On July 24th, the national minimum wage increased by 70 cents per hour--from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour-the final of three increases to take effect under legislation enacted by the Democratic Congress. "[The] minimum wage increase is an important step in strengthening our economy by putting $1,400 a year in the pockets of 13 million hardworking Americans who make the Federal minimum wage," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger.

Increasing Wage Theft Enforcement: As a result increased funding in the Recovery Act, the Department of Labor announced that the agency plans on hiring 250 investigators for its Wage and Hour Division. A Government Accountability Office investigation found many investigations of wage theft, in which workers are not paid minimum wages or not paid at all, were inadequately handled by the Bush administration's Wage and Hour Division, which had been starved of staff and resources.

Worker Protection Programs: In December 2008, the American Worker Project at the Center for American Progress released a report noting that "one of the hallmarks of President George W. Bush's administration has been its failure to enforce laws designed to protect ordinary Americans," particularly the Labor Department's "inadequate enforcement of important workplace protections." The Obama administration has pushed to clean up the mess, requesting a 10 percent budget increase for worker protection programs.

Stopping Last-Minute Bush Proposal to Weaken Worker Health & Safety Protections: The Department of Labor announced that they will withdraw a Bush era proposal that would have dramatically weakened future workplace health and safety regulations and slow their enactment. (Announced May 15, 2009)

Can you think of any Congressional accomplishments made on behalf of workers that I've left off this list? If so, please leave your feedback in the "Comments" section below.

On Tuesday September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched from city hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first-ever Labor Day parade. Despite the threat of losing their jobs, participants took an unpaid day off to honor American workers and draw attention to grievances they had with employers.

And the list of grievances was long. During this time, the average American worked twelve hour days, seven days a week, just to make a basic living, with children as young as six toiling alongside adults.

As years passed, more states began to hold these parades, but Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later. A bloody strike by railway workers brought the issue of workers' rights to the public eye and provoked Congress to officially make the first Monday of September Labor Day.

Today, it's not uncommon to hear the phrase "Unions: The Folks Who Brought You the Weekend." And the saying is true: unions won the eight-hour day standard we all enjoy today. What many people don't realize is that workers and their unions had to fight for the eight-hour day for nearly 3/4 of a century (beginning in August 1866) before any national reform was enacted. The dream of an eight-hour work day finally became a reality in 1938, when the New Deal's Fair Labor Standards Act made it legally a full day of work throughout the United States.

The Struggle Continues

Although many Americans have now come to associate Labor Day as just a day off from work or the end of summer relaxation, it's important not to forget the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters, whose brave acts earned us the working rights we now possess. Unions have historically laid the groundwork for impressive grassroots campaigns to strengthen America's middle class and rebuild the economy in hard times. As we face the greatest recession since the Great Depression, unions continue to be at the heart of efforts to pass healthcare reform, restore economic balance and bring prosperity to all Americans.

This Labor Day, let's remind members of Congress just how many working families are still struggling to make ends meet under the strain of skyrocketing health care costs. Help send Congress back to DC with a mission to reform healthcare by joining us at send-off rallies across the country.

Events being held by SEIU and HCAN across the country on Labor Day, September 7th in Arkansas, Colorado, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Washington state are listed after the break.

Worker Pay vs. Executive Pay Ratio between average CEO pay and average U.S. worker pay: 319 to 14 Ratio between average CEO pay and minimum wage: 740 to 15

A new report out today from the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) shows the extent to which Wall Street's continued practice of paying out big figure bonuses to the architects of our economic collapse continues. The study found that the CEOs of the 20 financial industry firms that received the largest bailouts were paid nearly 40 percent more last year than other CEOs at Standard & Poor's 500 companies. The average CEO pay was 430 times larger than for the pay received by the average workers.

The new report shows how many of the CEOs responsible for our country's economic downfall are now using the crisis as a jumping off point for even greater personal windfalls. Some of the study's findings:

• $32 million: The amount the top five executives at each of the 20 banks that accepted the most federal bailout money received in personal compensation from 2006 to 2008.


• 1,000 years: The number of years 100 average workers would have to work for to make as much as these 100 executives made in three.
• $90 million: That's how much stock options soared in 2009 for nine of the 20 bailout banks, based on IPS's examination of corporate proxy statements.
• 160,000: The number of employees who have been laid off since January 1, 2008 at the top 20 financial industry recipients of taxpayer funded bailout money.
• A quarter-billion dollars: The total amount of compensation the 20 CEOs at these bailed-out companies made. When you break it down, the payout "rewarded" to each exec averages $13.8 million.

This alarming study should serve as yet another reminder that giving astoundingly huge rewards to corporate executives only serves to give executives a much greater incentive to behave outrageously--and engage in reckless behaviors that put American taxpayers and our economy at great financial risk. Download the report "America's Bailout Barons: Taxpayers, High Finance, and the CEO Pay Bubble."

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor formally made good on a promise to kill a proposal introduced by President Bush in his final days of administration that would have made it more difficult for the government to write new worker protection rules. OMB Watchreports that the controversial proposal was, essentially, "an attempt to regulate regulations" by creating an "additional mandatory step to an already complicated rulemaking process."

The so-called risk assessment proposal would have weakened and delayed the development of standards to protect workers from occupational hazards, including making it harder to prove the level of risk workers face when exposed to toxins on the job. The Labor Department issued a notice calling the proposed rule "unnecessary." Democratic lawmakers are applauding the move, saying it would have "dramatically weakened future workplace health and safety regulations and slow[ed] their enactment."

Rulings such as this one by the DOL and Secretary Solis make me grateful that we no longer have a Labor Secretary whose main agenda is not about workers and protecting their rights, but instead, making sure labor rights don't stand in the way of economic interests. Hopefully moving forward, we'll be seeing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) taking initiative and issuing new health-protective regulations to protect workers from toxic substances. More details on this dodged-bullet at The Pump Handle.

With 1.4 million Americans working in its stores, Wal-Mart bears a unique responsibility to its workers and our communities--which is why as Labor Day approaches, SEIU is part of a coalition of labor, environmental, consumer protection, and community groups led by UFCW that are challenging Wal-Mart to start practicing common-sense core American values like workers' rights, corporate responsibility, equal opportunity, quality jobs and environmental stewardship.

No other private, profit-making enterprise in the history of our country has had the economic scope and impact of Wal-Mart. "When a company gets to be as big as Wal-Mart and employs so many workers - more than any other private enterprise in the world - it is no longer a 'private' entity," said Neal Lichtenstein, author of The Retail Revolution: How Walmart Created a Brave New World of Business. "[Wal-Mart] sets the wage and benefit standard for every other mass retailer and influences the business practices of just about every firm in America's huge service sector. So Wal-Mart is part of this country's debate: on health care, wages, equal employment, and the role of trade unionism in our democracy."

Wal-Mart needs to change. Here's a simple breakdown of reasoning behind this campaign to hold Wal-Mart accountable for those challenges, and to the ideals it puts forth in its advertising:

Wal-Mart is America's store.

Wal-Mart is America's workplace.

Wal-Mart is America's town center.

Wal-Mart must reflect America's values.

Hard work should bring pay and benefits that can support families.

Workers have rights that even the largest employer must recognize and respect.

There are two new "Common Sense Economics" TV ads to go along with the launch of the American Values Agenda for Change at Wal-Mart. Watch them here (Ad #1, Ad #2):

   

SEIU's Walmart Watch recently joined WakeUpWalmart.com to hold America's largest private employer accountable. Learn more about how you can help challenge Wal-Mart to embrace the American Values Agenda for Change at WakeUpWalmart.com.

Read the American Values Agenda for Change here.

For five decades, Senator Kennedy stood with working families to fight for our shared vision of America where every family has access to affordable healthcare, every worker has a paycheck that supports a family, and every child is guaranteed a brighter future. He spent his entire adult life, through tragedy and triumph, in pursuit of this America. From his first major speech in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to his last vote on President Obama's economic recovery plan, his vision of a more perfect nation never wavered.

From SEIU President Andy Stern:

Senator Kennedy stood with SEIU members on countless picket lines and contract negotiations. He stood with millions of hardworking immigrants and SEIU members to call for comprehensive immigration reform in 2005. He stood with workers fighting for a voice on the job by championing the Employee Free Choice Act. And until his final days he stood with SEIU healthcare workers and other workers to win access to affordable healthcare for all Americans.

Thirty-nine years ago, Senator Kennedy introduced his first bill to overhaul our nation's broken healthcare system and provide affordable coverage to all Americans. "Sen. Kennedy dreamed of a nation of progress where justice, fairness and opportunity for all laid at the heart," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger. "The most fitting tribute to honoring the life and legacy of this great statesman is for Congress to pass quality affordable health care for all this year."

"We stand closer now than ever before to achieving what Senator Kennedy called the cause of his life," said Stern. "Let us continue his cause...And let us continue to make Kennedy's vision for America a reality."

In the wake of Senator Kennedy's passing last night after a long battle with brain cancer, our deepest condolences and prayers go out to Senator's Kennedy's wife Vicki, his children and the rest of the Kennedy family. He will be missed.

Visit our tribute page honoring Ted Kennedy here. Sign an online card for Senator Kennedy's family here.

The Economic Policy Institute posted yesterday a recent study that shows literally no coercion in majority sign-up. You can read the meat of the survey here, but the graph says it all.

That's 1,073 majority sign-up campaigns with 5 complaints, 0 of which were found to have any merit.

So when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce tries its scare tactics, remember: it's corporations that coerce and intimidate workers who want to join unions. Anything else is just simply not true.

Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the state budget into law last week, but not before chopping another half billion dollars from services for women, children, the sick and the elderly - services that just days before he'd agreed not to cut any further. Legislators, feeling betrayed, may head to court to challenge the legality of the cuts.

According to the Daily Roundup, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to relish the task of reining in government spending, almost as if it was another cinematic role in which to star.

"With gusto, he launched blistering attacks against fraud in the welfare system, demanding that those abusing the system be kicked out. He unwaveringly stood his ground on taxes, never allowing Democrats to seriously consider including them in negotiations. And he proclaimed himself the guardian of responsible, frugal government.

"It didn't seem to matter to Schwarzenegger that fraud in the system was minuscule compared with other soaring costs; or that voters actually favored taxes on oil companies, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products; or that he'd previously increased state spending by tens of billions of dollars after coming to office in 2003."

What matters, what doesn't

In making the additional cuts, the governor made his priorities crystal clear. He cut:

• $80 million that pays for workers who help abused and neglected children;
• $50 million from Healthy Families, which has already frozen enrollment and now will actually disenroll more than half a million children who are currently covered. In blunter terms, it takes away health care from half a million kids. Why? Because he can. It's easy to take candy from a baby.
• $50 million from services for developmentally disabled children age 3 and under;
• $16 million from programs protecting women from domestic violence;
• $6.3 million from services for the elderly;
• $6.2 million from parks.

But according to veteran Sacramento reporter Bill Cavala, new revenues that might have saved these and other services never really had a chance:

"The fight for revenue increases was effectively lost when the Governor and the Republicans were successful in depicting the defeat of the various ballot measures -- especially Prop. 1A -- as a referendum against taxes.

[...] The lack of public pressure ... combined with the need to involve Republicans because of the 2/3 requirement and the need for a signature gave the Democrats no real hand to play. Holding a gun to the head of Democrats by threatening the very existence of social service programs, the Governor was able to force changes in law otherwise unthinkable by the Majority Party."

So there you have it: government by extortion. Experts say we'll be back at it by October, trying to reform California's government, tax code, and maybe even the State Constitution. California needs a new way of working.

Detailed budget analysis from the California Budget Project - www.cbp.org

(Thanks to SEIU Local 1021 for this budget update)

Following the announcement last month from over a dozen national women's organizations in support of the Employee Free Choice Act, women across the country are standing up for the legislation.

Today, Linda Meric, the executive director of 9 to 5, the National Association of Working Women, tells the Denver Post why low-wage women in particular should support the Employee Free Choice Act.

And in Maine, three female workers--a telephone repair technician, a technologies worker, and an electrician-- talk about the benefits they get from being in a union, noting that many who would like to join aren't so lucky:

We were lucky enough to come into jobs that were already union. Millions of workers who would like to form a union and have the same rights and benefits we do are currently denied a fair opportunity by our broken, company-dominated labor law system. When private sector workers try to organize, they regularly face intimidation, harassment and an outdated set of rules that do not protect their right to organize. We want to see our labor laws updated so that workers can freely and fairly form their own organization and their rights are protected.

A recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research demonstrated the clear cut union advantage for women.

• Unionization raises the probability of a woman having a pension (24.7 percent) and having employer-provided health insurance (19 percent)
  
• Joining a union raises the amount women workers earn by 11.2 percent more than their non-union peers.
  
• Among women workers in the 15 lowest-paying occupations, the benefits are even greater, with female union members earning 14 percent more than those workers who were not in unions.

A letter from 14 women's organizations in support of Employee Free Choice was sent last month to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. For a listing of of the organizations involved, click here.

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.

Paul Begala has an incredibly powerful and persuasive op-ed in Politico today making the case for the Employee Free Choice Act. After introducing nightmare hypothetical scenarios of workers getting fired for trying to organize, Begala pulls back the curtain and reveals the stories are about real workers who were fighting for better jobs.

All of these stories are absolutely true. The stories of Trish Miechur, the CNA, and Corey Kresse, the metalworker, are replicated in boardrooms and factories across America. The story of Ken Lewis, Bank of America's CEO? Well, that's a familiar one, too. So here's the question: Why are their experiences so different? Whom do we want our economic policies to benefit?

For eight years under the GOP, economic policy gave CEOs such as Ken Lewis the gold mine, while giving hardworking, middle-class Americans such as Trish and Corey the shaft. President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress were elected to change that, and protecting employees from corporate abuses is part of the change we need. That's what the Employee Free Choice Act will do.

Corporate lobbyists say the phrase "Employee Free Choice Act" as though it were a curse. But for Trish and Corey, it's a blessing. The point of the Employee Free Choice Act is to say that we've had enough of an economy that works for Ken Lewis -- and Bernie Madoff, for that matter. We want an economy that works for Trish Miechur and Corey Kresse.

The Employee Free Choice Act gives workers an opportunity to bargain with their employers for better job security, wages and health care at a time of astounding corporate greed. The legislation has three main parts: 1) It says that when a majority of workers want to form a union, a real path is provided for them to do so -- a path chosen by workers, not corporate special interests; 2) it penalizes employers who try to fire or harass workers for attempting to form a union; and 3) it says that once workers have voted for a union, employers have to come to agreement with workers on a contract. Simple stuff, right?

So why are corporate interests squealing like a pig stuck under a gate? Maybe because they're the only ones who prospered under the Bush-Lewis-Madoff policies.

As of now, it's unclear when the Employee Free Choice Act will be given a vote in Congress. Recent press stories, based largely around anonymous comments from Democratic aides, has suggested that it is unlikely the bill will get a vote any time soon--and especially not prior to the completion of healthcare reform.

But legislative delays don't diminish the moral and economic imperative for sweeping labor reform and as a result, we must continue to call on Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act with majority sign-up. As Begala notes, this popular piece of legislation will get America's economy moving again, so we have no time to lose.