AFL-CIO

Richard Trumka Elected AFL-CIO President

Richard Trumka was just elected President of the AFL-CIO.

Why is this important? Because Trumka has been heavily focused on large economic, labor and trade policies which affect not only union members, membership, but also the middle class as a whole.

What I find scary is this concept to build a global union:

From his speech:

A labor movement that understands that, in a global economy, we have no alternative but to build truly global unions.

Unions with the ability to confront corporate power wherever it rears its head.

Whether it’s a call center in Bangalore.

A shoe factory in Vietnam.

Or a coal mine in Colombia.

Brothers and sisters, the corporate agenda doesn’t end at the water’s edge – and neither can ours!

New AFL-CIO Executive Pay Report

The AFL-CIO has new data on executive pay.

Even as the U.S. economy went into a tailspin, the median salary for CEOs of 200 large corporations increased by 4.5 percent to $1.08 million. On top of that, these corporations keep plying executives with generous freebies, despite the public outcry over private jets and other executive perks.

The 2009 AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch site, which launches today, points out that the perks for executives rose on average by 12.5 percent in 2008 to $336,248—or nine times the median salary of a full-time worker. Even more appalling is the practice of rewarding executives who drive their companies into the ground.

Same ole game, the executive class makes out like bandits all the while squeezing the middle class.

Illegal Labor is somehow Good for Labor? AFL-CIO Endorses Illegal Labor Agenda

It seems the AFL-CIO and the SEIU have made a deal. In the past the SEIU, insane as they are, have promoted illegal labor and the AFL-CIO has been more true to labor economic realities. Now it appears they struck a deal. No increases in guest worker Visas in exchange for amnesty for illegals.

Here are the details of this Faustian bargain:

The nation’s two major labor federations have agreed for the first time to join forces to support an overhaul of the immigration system, leaders of both organizations said on Monday. The accord could give President Obama significant support among unions as he revisits the stormy issue in the midst of the recession.

Action Alert for modifying bankruptcy law on mortgages

The AFL-CIO has put out an action alert:
The U.S. Senate is considering a bill (S. 2636) with a key provision that would fix bankruptcy policies to allow borrowers to restructure their mortgages in bankruptcy court.

You can protect thousands of families from losing their homes by asking your senators to support "Pay and Stay" (also known as Title IV of the Foreclosure Prevention Act, S.B. 2636)