"I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it's part of the solution. You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement."

-- President Barack Obama, Jan. 30, 2009

“I am glad to know that there is a system of labor where the laborer can strike if he wants to! I would to God that such a system prevailed all over the world.”

-- President Abraham Lincoln, Hartford, CT March 5, 1860

"The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old age pensions, government relief for the destitute, and above all new wage levels that meant not mere survival, but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome."

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Starting tomorrow and continuing next week, jobless workers in 15 states who face cut off of their unemployment insurance (UI) Feb. 29 will ask members of Congress to “Walk a Mile in My Shoes.” The mobilization is aimed at lawmakers who are back in their districts for the President’s Day Recess that begins tomorrow, and it’s a partnership between USAction, the AFL-CIO, the National Employment Law Project (NELP), community and other groups. Read more >>>

More than six months ago, American Crystal Sugar Co. locked out more than 1,300 sugar beet workers in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota. Two months ago, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. locked out more than 1,000 workers in Findlay, Ohio. Last week, Caterpillar announced it would shut down a plant in Ontario, just over one month after locking out 500 workers. Rio Tinto Alcan locked out 750 workers in Quebec Jan. 1. HealthBridge locked out 800 nursing home workers in Connecticut in December. As Laura Clawson at the Daily Kos notes, “For evidence of a war on workers, look no further than the rise of the lockout.” Read more >>>

The $25 billion foreclosure settlement with five of the nation’s biggest banks, announced this morning by federal and state officials, is a “step in addressing the housing and foreclosure crisis that plagues our country,” says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Read more >>>

 

32BJ held another rally at the Hartford Courant on February 2, 2012 - Groundhog Day. The Courant was still adamant in replacing eight union janitors with a private contractor who offers lower wages and benefits and no union representation. Greater Hartford Labor Council Vice Presidents Juan Hernandez, Dave Roche, Geronimo Valdez and Paul Duff were there in Solidarity to show support.

 

Union Members & Friends! Save on Your Electric Bill & Help Connecticut Workers! Read on....

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CT group warns state budget cuts would undermine economic recovery 

  

Even before the current recession began, Connecticut’s job conditions were worse than they were before the last recession at the beginning of the decade, according to a new report by Connecticut Voices for Children. In addition, the portion of unemployed workers who have been looking for jobs for more than 26 weeks is higher in Connecticut than in any New England state. Problems with the state’s economic engine extend beyond rising unemployment, however. Connecticut has been losing higher wage manufacturing jobs and gaining lower wage service sector jobs, and the leading area of economic growth – the health and education job sector -- is threatened by the prospect of severe state budget cuts.

 

The report, The State of Working Connecticut: Job Trends and the Labor Market, concludes that state government needs to take greater, not less responsibility for supporting Connecticut workers and creating higher-wage jobs. Severe state budget cuts would only worsen economic conditions for families in the state, according to the state policy thinktank.  (Read more...)

 

 

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATORS' SCORECARD

The Connecticut AFL-CIO has created a guide used to score state legislators' voting records on issues of importance to Connecticut working women and men over the years. It's a tool that can be of great value to your members.

The Greater Hartford Labor Council, AFL-CIO represents over 25,000 members of 70 unions throughout north central Connecticut. The mission of the Greater Hartford Labor Council, AFL-CIO is to improve the lives of working families—to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our state and the nation.

Read more...   (and read the latest Delegates' meeting minutes at very bottom of the "About Us" page)