Political Action

The AFL-CIO has revealed an extensive set of formal recommendations for a major re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.   

The recommendations include changes to labor and procurement rules, as well as improved consumer protections and new rules to prevent currency misalignment and tax dodging.   

New research from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows that millions of low-wage workers are being priced out of affordable housing in the U.S.  The coalition’s Vice President for Research, Andrew Aurand, is one of the report’s authors:

The GOP plan to repeal the Prevailing Wage law in Wisconsin will cost taxpayers more than $300 million a year.

The Midwest Economic Policy Institute report “The Social Cost of Repealing Wisconsin’s Prevailing Wage Law” shows how construction wage cuts would affect overall state revenues and reliance on government assistance programs.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case from Wisconsin alleging that state political districts were drawn unconstitutionally by Republicans to illegally benefit Republicans.

The Supreme Court also granted a stay on an appeals court order sought by Wisconsin’s Republican Attorney General. Federal judges had ordered Wisconsin to re-draw the illegal political state Assembly districts by November 2017. The four more liberal Supreme Court Justices opposed the stay on that order.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten says Trump Education Secretary Betsy Devos is on a mission not to save and improve public education but to essentially destroy it.

Weingarten says Devos is part of America's billionaire class and they have no desire to improve the lives of working Americans - whether it's education, a voice on the job or healthcare.

Weingarten says on education billionaires are trying to seduce the public with false promises while systematically taking apart public education in the process.

When it comes to infrastructure smoke and mirrors or twitter BS won't get the job done. It's going to take real money to re-build real concrete and steel roads, bridges, airports and water systems.

The AFL-CIO says it's still waiting to see what Congress does on infrastructure investments. The labor federation says at least $1 trillion is need to get started.

AFL-CIO Government Affairs Representative Tom Trotter says the labor federation was hopeful it could work with Trump on at least one thing - a trillion dollar infrastructure investment.

But with only $200 billion in real federal money on the table in the Trump budget, it looks like any infrastructure investment from Congress will fall short of what's really needed.

The People's Summit convenes in Chicago this weekend. Senator Bernie Sanders is headlining the event, billed as "Beyond Resistance: A People’s Movement for a Just World".

The People's Summit says "At a time of tremendous turmoil and progressive opportunity, we invite you to participate in a historic convening of organizations and individuals committed to social, racial and economic justice."

Seventy percent of Californians support creating Medicare for all single payer health care statewide. That's according to a new poll done from May 25th to May 29th.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is strongly backing the bill in the state legislature to create a California Medicare for all type healthcare system.