We’re watching closely to see if the U.S. Senate begins its debate on health care this week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will unveil the Senate bill tonight and we could see the first vote to begin debate as early as Saturday. Read More>>

Today at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and other leaders joined together to call for urgent action to create jobs and rebuild the economy. In a live webcast panel discussion, the consensus was clear: Without quick action, an entire generation could be mired in economic turmoil. The nation can, and must, put people back to work—while addressing critical needs for the future of our communities. Read More>>

With successful passage of a historic health care reform bill this weekend, experts are weighing in on the benefits that the bill would bring to working families. Read More>>

This information came from Don Siegel of IBEW, which he recently sent to his members, I have taken the liberty to edit it to be more inclusive to the entire labor movement.

We need to organize a new generation of workers into unions. While we tend to believe that this new generation is indifferent to unions we also know that they know very little about unions.

Mr. Siegel found this link to a video about a protest against the CEO of Whole Foods who recently wrote an op ed in the Wall Street Journal about health care reform. Needless to say the CEO, John Mackey, didn’t think that the health care reform that was being proposed was worth consideration and went on to say among other things that health care is not a right but rather a privilege.

This link will take you to a 6 minute video that I think is worth your time for two reasons. Number one it takes John Mackey to task for his public denunciation of the cu rrent health care reform proposal and number two and much more importantly please take notice of the age of most of the protesters. They are certainly not from my generation and we should take some comfort in that. This group could teach some of us some new things about civil disobedience not to mention the raw courage it takes to expose your self publicly for a cause you believe in. I encourage you to watch the whole video and consider that this is the generation that we need to bring into our union.

They may not know much about unions but they sure know how to engage in concerted activity. They are creative, committed, energetic and determined when they find something that they can believe in. They are an example of what the labor movement can become if we can connect with their passions. The challenge is ours to reach out to a new generation of union members and I hope that this video shows that they are ready, if we are willing to take the time to listen to their concerns and explain how unions can be a part of the solution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APs76Cd6fbI 

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When we talk to our elected or appointed officials in our area, it is helpful if we know if they are or have been a member of organized labor. The AFL-CIO has designed a form named the Target 5000 Survey that would make it easier for us to track those individuals and use them as our first point of contact at their level of public service, if needed.   We encourage members of organized labor who are seeking public office to also complete this form. Read more...

The Northwestern Pennsylvania Area Labor Federation produces a quarterly newsletter for the delegates of the NWPA ALF, the ten (10) Central Labor Councils and their Affiliated Local Unions. You must sign in to view this article. To view it you must be a registered member of our site! To register for the first time click the "Not registered" link and sign up. After completing your registration you can return to the article and view it.

 

The Indiana-Armstrong-Clarion Central Labor Council is an AFL-CIO affiliated organization that represents 5,173 members of 59 affiliated local unions in the Indiana, Armstrong, and Clarion Counties of Pennsylvania.