When Congress found their flights home delayed because of federal budget cuts, they quickly took action to end furloughs at the Federal Aviation Administration and got flights back on schedule.

But Head Start teachers and parents who rely on the program weren't so lucky.
According to the New York Times, Congress is voting for "special-interest demands for exceptions."1 But most of the sequester cuts hit programs that serve workers and low-income communities. Our needs are going unheard.

Be the face of Head Start. Add your photo to our online photo petition launched by Head start teachers and families to urge Congress to put an end to damaging sequester cuts.

After months of walking the halls, talking with legislators and attending hearings at the State Capitol, 23-year old home care worker Darleen Henry is overjoyed that a bill that would give her the right to vote on whether she wants to form a union is finally headed to the floor for final votes in both the Minnesota House and the Senate.

"This bill is a huge deal for my family and me," said Darleen Henry, who lives in Rosemount. "I want the opportunity to join together in a union with other home care workers so we can make doing this work sustainable. Workers - including me - face low wages and absolutely no benefits, despite working round-the-clock caring for the elderly and people living with disabilities. I don't want to be forced to leave this career simply because I can't make ends meet. If that happened, my mom would be forced to move into a nursing home, and that would break her heart and mine."

Yesterday, May 9th, the Senate Judiciary Committee began their markups of the bipartisan immigration bill currently under debate. By the end of the day, they had left intact core elements of the bill that strengthen civil and human rights and create a clear and direct roadmap to citizenship for aspiring Americans.

"We commend the Senators on the Judiciary Committee for adopting a majority of amendments in a bipartisan fashion," stated Eliseo Medina of SEIU. "The amendments adopted continue to reflect our values as a democratic nation of laws, and those amendments defeated have kept the heart legislation unscathed. As we watch momentum for commonsense immigration reform grow every day, we continue to be optimistic about the bipartisan nature of the debate and look forward to seeing it continue."

In most workplaces, it's common to see a poster somewhere public - like a shared lunchroom - notifying employees of their workplace rights on issues such as equal opportunity and health and safety. Most workplaces don't, however, have posters notifying employees of their rights (e.g. to form a union) under the National Labor Relations Act. And after a D.C. Circuit Court ruling this week, this seems depressingly unlikely to change anytime soon.

The NLRB tried to fix this in 2011 with a rule requiring employers to post an informational notice in the workplace. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce of other corporate-backed groups challenged the rule and delayed its implementation.

• Celebrate and appreciate nurses with fun shareable images on Facebook
• Read about SEIU nurse leaders in California and Florida publicly advocating for their patients' well being and
• Learn about new career advancement opportunities!

This morning, I walked off my job at McDonald's.

I'm a 29-year-old husband and a father of two. My wife can't work because of health problems -- and the $7.50 an hour I make at McDonald's just isn't enough to cover my family's basic needs.

I'm not alone. All across Detroit, workers like me are on strike -- from McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Dollar Tree, Little Caesar's, Domino's, Long John Silver's and more.

As Chair of SEIU Healthcare and a family physician, I know firsthand the live-saving work SEIU nurses do on the frontlines of our healthcare system. I also know what strong advocates they are for our patients and our communities. SEIU nurses rock!

SEIU nurses were tireless in their advocacy for their patients in turning the dream of a national healthcare law into the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). National Nurses Week 2013 provides a moment to reflect and celebrate the fierceness of nurses, and rededicate that fierceness to one of the most significant milestones in the ACA --

By 2014, more than 32 million Americans will be eligible to gain affordable, quality coverage. This part of the law will not just transform patient care, it will help to provide the financial foundation our hospitals and clinics need to provide the highest quality care. For nurses, that means better staffing, less "just-in-time nursing," more investment in prevention, and better health for our country.

Just this morning, St. Louis fast food workers walked off of their jobs because they can't survive on $7.35 an hour. These brave workers are standing up to the huge corporations they work for to demand a living wage and the respect they deserve. They were inspired by the strikes in New York and Chicago last month, and the support they've been getting from across the country.

They need everyone who supports them -- no matter where you live -- to stand in solidarity with them TODAY. See the email that went out, below, and add your name in support here.

Friend,

I walked off my job at Jimmy John's because I can't survive on the poverty wages I make.

A recent Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) report, "Making Jobs Good," evaluates the likely impact of several policies that seek to address job quality, including universal health insurance, a universal retirement system (over and above Social Security), a large increase in college attainment, a large increase in unionization, and gender pay equity.

The debate over the most sweeping reform to our nation's immigration system is about to get real.

This week, the 18 bi-partisan members of the Senate Judicial Committee began debating the immigration reform proposal first introduced on April 17th - what's good, what's bad, what we want to happen with the legislation moving forward. More than 300 amendments--ranging from the good, the bad and the downright terrible--have been offered by Democrats and Republicans. Not all these amendments will be offered for a vote though - some will be combined and some will not be raised at all.

And now we move on to the straight-up education part of this post! Here are 6 things we think you need to know about the immigration reform bill today, complete with a handy graphic to share on Facebook.