race

  • 'Constituency' Caucuses Can Be Out Front
    Guillermo Perez
    Aug 27 2009 - 7:14pm

    When New York state made national news two years ago with a flap about driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, the state AFL-CIO supported the immigrants but wasn't out in front. Neither was another supporter, the Catholic Church.

    But as chair of the Albany/Capital District chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), I was getting media calls every other day. We were it.

  • Viewpoint: Don’t Stop Union Conversations on Race

    Author(s):
    Jeff Crosby

    Excerpt:
    Expectations for President Obama are high. A friend told me of a sick relative in a small Midwestern industrial town. The relative’s specialist was at a conference, and the only possible replacement in town did not have privileges at this particular hospital. The ER nurse told the patient, “Obama’s going to change all that.” . . .

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Unions Talk Race as Election Nears

    Author(s):
    Jane Slaughter

    Excerpt:
    Labor leaders who want desperately to chase the Republicans from the White House are confronting a hurdle in their outreach to members: the question of race. Obama’s record on economic issues, they say, should put him way ahead of John McCain with working-class voters. But will the facts be enough to overcome some members’ deep-seated prejudice?

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Two Years after Katrina Workers Center Organizes Day Laborers in New Orleans

    Author(s):
    Matt Olson

    Excerpt:
    In a modest office in the central business district of New Orleans, two years after Hurricane Katrina, the Workers Center for Racial Justice organizes the city’s guest workers and day laborers. . . .

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Politically-Connected Businessman Profits from ‘Guest Worker’ Program Braceros in Detroit?

    Author(s):
    Elena Herrada

    Excerpt:
    We should never be surprised by what campaign contributions and political connections can accomplish. In Detroit, they allowed a company to fire union workers and replace them with immigrants brought into this country under false pretenses-and then subject the new workers to horrible living conditions...

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • NAFTA Labor Black Hole Lessons for the Fast Track Debate

    Author(s):
    by Sarah Anderson

    Excerpt:
    Five years ago, Mexican workers at two factories in Tamaulipas state owned by U.S.-based Breed Technologies initiated a work stoppage to protest unsafe working conditions. Workers in these two plants, called Customtrim and Autotrim, glue and sew leather around automobile steering wheels and gear shifts. As a result of poor ventilation and the fast pace of work, illnesses and injuries are extremely common. Plant managers, however, tell disabled employees, known as "jonkeados" (junked workers), that their problems are merely psychological...

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Steward's Corner: How Our Local Bonded With The Community

    Author(s):
    by Ken Riley; President ILA Local 1422, Charleston, South Carolina

    Excerpt:
    For a long time our local union was a sleeping giant in the community. Other groups solicited us only for our funds and not for our involvement. We were also losing ground in contract negotiations: Charleston is a major port, and we weren't taking advantage of that fact to address issues that were particular to Charleston.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • An Historical Perspective on War.

    Excerpt:
    April, 1898: The International Association of Machinists editorial on the sinking of the Maine; the event that led us into the Spanish-American War.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • AFL-CIO, in Dramatic Turnaround, Endorses Amnesty for Undocumented Immigrants

    Author(s):
    by Teófilo Reyes

    Excerpt:
    In a dramatic reversal of its past policy, the AFL-CIO on February 16 forcefully called for an immediate amnesty for undocumented immigrants, and an end to sanctions on employers who hire them. "Sanctions...[have] failed and must be eliminated," the federation said.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Telephone Workers Fight Discrimination at Ameritech

    Author(s):
    Kim Moody

    Excerpt:
    Backed by their union, members of Communications Workers of America Local 4100 in Detroit have been fighting discriminatory practices at Ameritech, the Chicago-based telephone company that serves much of the midwest. At the center of the fight is a rank and file organization of African American technicians and service representatives known as AAA-EE (Triple A, Double E), which stands for An Alliance of Ameritech Employees for Equality.

    Available Online:
    Yes