Rana Plaza, the Bangladesh factory that collapsed three weeks ago, killed more than 1,100 workers, many of them young women. This tragedy adds to the more than 1500 Bangladeshi workers killed in preventable fires and building collapses since 2005. Documents found at the factory show that the workers produced for big names in global retail revealing the link between poor workers in Bangladesh and major retail brands.Obviously, the government must improve local laws and their enforcement to stop these tragedies, but brands must also take responsibility for their supply chains. They must be held accountable to the tragedy that happened in their supply chain. Read more >>>

Marcus Hedger will have to wait even longer to get his job back if Senate Republicans continue to block President Obama’s bipartisan nominees to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Call your senators toll free at 1-888-264-6154 and tell them to confirm the board nominations now. Hedger was illegally fired in 2010 from his pressman’s job at an Illinois printing company for his union activities on behalf of his fellow union members in the Graphic Communications Conference of the Teamsters. Last September, the full NLRB—two Democrats and one Republican, at the time—ruled he should get his job back with back pay. Read more >>>

Most voters agree that big corporations and the wealthy should start paying their fair share in taxes. But, of course, big corporations and the wealthy don’t want to do that. They want to pay less, and they are used to getting their way. So what do you do? Some people in Washington think the answer is a “grand bargain.” In a “grand bargain,” Republicans agree to stop protecting millionaires from having to pay a single penny more in taxes. In return, Democrats agree to cut Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits. Read more >>>

The partition that separates diners from the inner workings of the restaurant industry toppled for Saru Jayaraman shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Fekkak Mamdouh, one of the headwaiters of the restaurant housed on the top floor of the World Trade Center, approached Jayaraman seven months after the attacks. His former boss deemed him and his former crew “not experienced enough” to work in his new Times Square restaurant. Jayaraman, a 27-year-old organizer of immigrant women, took up the case to advocate for the displaced workers, organized protests and won—most of the workers were awarded the good jobs their former boss promised.

Jayaraman and Mamdouh formed Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United in April 2002 and were flooded with stories of workplace atrocities in New York City and, eventually, across the country. We spoke with Jayaraman earlier this month about her new book on the ills of the restaurant industry, Behind the Kitchen Door.

The statistics are shocking: 1 in 5 people in Pierce County must rely on food banks.  Most have jobs, but don't earn enough to support themselves and their families.  Peanut Butter is an excellent source of protein with a long shelf life.  Sadly, it is not cost-effective for the Emergency Food Network to purchase large quantities of it for distribution.  They must rely soley on what is dontated.

With that in mind, three years ago the Pierce County Central Labor Council began what has become it's annual Peanut Butter Drive.  Between National peanut butter day (Jan. 24) and the delegate meeting immediately prior to the Letter Carriers Food Drive (May 8) we will collect as much union-made JIF peanut butter as we can to donate to the EFN.

In 2012, we collected 3,904 pounds of JIF.  

Can it be beat? Read more >>>

Do you know a son or daughter of a union member who will be continuing their education after high school in 2013?

If so, they are invited to apply for the Jerry Beckendorf Community Service Scholarship.
This is the11th year the scholarship has been offered.

• Applicants must complete a 500-word essay describing their most rewarding volunteer activities and what they learned from the experience. They must also:
• Be a high school student in Pierce County, Washington.
• Have at least one parent or guardian who is a member of a labor union
• Plan to attend college or university, community college or junior college, trade or technical school in the fall of 2013.

Applications can be downloaded here, or picked up at the Central Labor Council office.

 

For Lapronda Eason and the other building service workers at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the link to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--who died in Memphis in 1968 advocating for the rights of city sanitation workers to form a union--is as real as the job they do every day.

 

Read more >>>

The time for immigration reform is now, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. This will be a focus for labor in 2013 as the country needs to create a common-sense immigration process with a road map to citizenship. Read more >>>

America was built on the promise of rewards for hard work, equal opportunity and holding cheaters accountable.

This list is current as of September 12, 2012. If a race or ballot measure does not appear on this list, there has been no endorsement in that race.
 

America was built on the promise of rewards for hard work, equal opportunity and holding cheaters accountible.

The Pierce County Central Labor Council and the Washington State Labor Council have researched and interviewed candidates for elected office.  Our delegate bodies then voted on recommendations for those that best represent these values for our members.

Read more >>>

The February 8, 2012, meeting of the Pierce County Central Labor Council has been rescheduled to February 15, 2012, by action taken by members of the Delegate Body on January 11, 2012.

Do you know a son or daughter of a union member who will be continuing their education after high school in 2012?

If so, they are invited to apply for the Jerry Beckendorf Community Service Scholarship.
This is the10th year the scholarship has been offered.

Applicants must complete a 500-word essay describing their most rewarding volunteer activities and what they learned from the experience. They must also:

• Be a high school student in Pierce County, Washington.
• Have at least one parent or guardian who is a member of a labor union
• Plan to attend college or university, community college or junior college, trade or technical school in the fall of 2012.

Applications can be downloaded here, or picked up at the Central Labor Council office.

The 2011 General election will be here soon. Over the past few months, your central labor council has done due diligence to see that those candidates who support working families are found and supported.

 

Don't get caught in the web of non-union candy this Halloween season ... print our handy guide to union made sweet treats to hand out to the goblins at your door.

The Pierce County Central Labor counci lis invited to hear WSLC President Jeff Johnson on Monday, November 7 at 7 p.m.

President Johnson will speak about current labor and working class issues facing Washington state today.

Where:  
Firefighters Hall
1109 South 50th Street (50th and South L Streets)

Follow this link to see the invitation.

Join our brothers and sisters of the four employee unions of the United States Postal Service and members of the community at the offices of the following members of Congress on Tuesday, September 27th, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., to send a message to Congress to SAVE AMERICA’S POSTAL SERVICE!

 

Join Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa, International Vice Presidents, community members and elected leaders for a march and rally in support of Teamsters at Fred Meyer.

Let's tell Fred Meyer to Stop Hurting Washington's families!! 

When: Friday September 9, 2011
Time: 2 p.m.
Where: Puyallup Recreation Center
               808 Valley Ave NW
               Puyallup 98371

Click to read the message from PCCLC Secretary Treasurer Patty Rose.

The 2011 Primary is fast upon us. Over the past few months, your central labor council has done due diligence to see that those candidates who support working families are found and supported. 

 

No region has a more dramatic and consequential labor history that the Pacific Northwest. The Labor Archives of Washington State was founded in 2010 to preserve and make accessible the records of working people and their unions, documenting the local, national, and international dimensions of the labor movement in this region.

Do you know a son or daughter of a union member who will be continuing their education after high school in 2011?

If so, they are invited to apply for the Jerry Beckendorf Community Service Scholarship.

This is the 8th year the scholarship has been offered.

Applicants must complete a 500-word essay describing their most rewarding volunteer activities and what they learned from the experience.  They must also:

• Be a high school student in Pierce County, Washington.
• Have at least one parent or guardian who is a member of a labor union
• Plan to attend college or university, community college or junior college, trade or technical school in the fall of 2011.

Applications can be downloaded here, or picked up at the Central Labor Council office.

The 2010 election is fast upon us. Over the past few months, your central labor council has done due diligence to see that those candidates who support working families are found and supported.

What does Labor Day mean to you? The last 3-day weekend of summer? The start of the football season? Last minute shopping for school clothes?

In 1892, it meant so much to union workers in New York City that they took an unpaid day off and marched around Union Square demanding a national holiday honoring American workers. Two years later and after many brutal labor struggles, Labor Day was born.

Each year the Pierce County Central Labor Council and the Washington State Labor Council recommends candidates that support working men and women. The attached file contains our endorsements for 2010.

On November 11, 1919, there was a showdown in Centralia, WA between members of the American Legion and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

Four Legionnaires were killed and an IWW organizer, Nathan Wesley Everest, was tortured and lynched. Eight IWW members were sentenced to 25-40 years in prison for shooting the Legionnaires, but no community members were ever brought to trial for the lynching of Everest. This year marks the 90th anniversary of this tragedy.

See the full story and download the .pdf for details.

Your elected delegates and other members have been working hard to interview and screen the candidates for positions across our county. The process focuses on how candidates will stand up for the rights of the working men and women of all sectors in our economy.

Their recommendations were then voted by the delegate body.

You can click here to download a .pdf of the recommendations:

General Election 2009 Endorsements.

Labor Day -- the last 3-day weekend of the summer or an opportunity to take a few minutes to remember Ralph Chaplin and all our own local labor leaders who helped keep the spirit of trade unionism alive for our generation?

Please take a few minutes this Labor Day to join us at our annual memorial ceremony honoring the life and accomplishments of longtime labor activist and songwriter, Ralph Chaplin. Among his many contributions to the labor movement is the writing of the words to "Solidarity Forever," the national anthem for organized labor. This short memorial service will be held at Calvary Cemetery, in Tacoma, at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, September 7, 2009. See the attached flyer for additional information.

Bring the whole family to the annual Labor Day picnic starting at noon in Wright Park. Enjoy a free barbecue (hot dogs and hamburgers), live music by "Loose Gravel and the Quarry," and lots of fun kids' games. The highlight of the day is the annual tug-o-war between Unions. Who will take home the bragging rights this year? Put together a team from your Union -- no experience necessary -- or just cheer for your favorite. Contact Todd Iverson at America in Solidarity (253) 473-1123 or todd@americainsolidrity.org for more information.

To learn more about the life of Ralph Chaplin and his role as a leader of the union movement in the early part of this century, read Witness to History: The Life and Times of Ralph Chaplin, by Maria Pascualy, on the Washington State Historical Society's web site: http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/magazine/articles/2001/0201/0201-a2.aspx.

Health Care Can’t Wait!
This week, Congress goes back to work on important health care legislation that could address our country’s health care crisis by lowering costs, making private insurers play by fair rules, and providing affordable coverage for everyone.

Can you make a quick call to your Members of Congress and ask them to stand firm for health care reform that provides quality, affordable health care to everyone in America?
CALL 1-877-264-HCAN (4226)
TO BE CONNECTED TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Here is a sample of what you could say to Senators or Representatives:

I’m calling from Health Care for America Now to make sure that Sen. Cantwell knows that we need real health care reform in 2009.

Please tell Senator Cantwell to support the legislation from the HELP Committee that provides:

• Coverage we can afford;
• Comprehensive benefits we can count on;
• Choice of a private or public health insurance plan; and
• Equal access to quality care.

Join the Pierce County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO and Independent Unions from around the Puget Sound for the 29th annual Solidarity Day and food drive at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Sunday, July 26, gates open at noon.

The Pierce County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO is the county federation of labor representing over 50,000 members of 85+ unions throughout Pierce County. The mission of the Pierce County Central 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.

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