Resource:
AFL-CIO website
Submitted by:
Jane McDonald-Pines, Language, Literacy, and Culture, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Citation:
In what context have you used it?
The AFL-CIO website is a source of information on current issues of concern to workers and their families. This includes national and state policy and political issues, legislative actions on issues of concern to workers, corporate watch as well as information on how to join a union
Description:
The website is organized to support a variety of interests. It is formatted according to certain key areas, including the following:
Issues – included in this section:
- Jobs, Wages and the Global Economy - specific sections on working women, living wages, overtime pay, the global economy, unemployment help and workers rights
- Retirement Security – Social Security, pension plans and retirement savings
- Facts and Stats - National and state-by-state facts on unemployment, health care, bankruptcy rates and more through the AFL-CIO's easy-to-use and regularly updated Facts & Stats database
- Health Care - This site provides information about the nation’s health care crisis and how you can take action
- Safety and Health at Work - This site is designed to help all workers learn about their rights to safe and healthy workplaces. It also provides the latest job safety and health information and resources for union and nonunion workers, local union safety representatives and job safety and health professionals
- Civil and Human Rights - From marching side-by-side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 at the March on Washington to today's civil rights battles, including standing up for voting rights, America's unions are part of the fight for civil and human rights
- Education - Learn more about the key issues affecting public education and how you can get involved improving schools
- Work and Family - Information here on bargaining for work and family benefits, child care and early childhood education , elder care, family and medical leave and more
Legislative Action Center and People-Powered Politics
- The AFL-CIO and its affiliate unions combine their resources to counterbalance big business’ money advantage by educating, mobilizing and engaging union members in politics. The link to “Get Involved” provides the user the ability to send emails to elected officials on a range of issues and legislation
Join a Union
- Information on the benefits of unions, how to join a union, links between faith and worker justice as well as information on the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute
Corporate Watch
- Contains top websites used by union researchers in their campaigns to investigate corporations violating workers' rights
Media Center
- Current press releases, speeches, testimony, AFL-CIO Convention and Executive Council resolutions
National Labor College (NLC)
- At the NLC workers can take continuing education programs; enroll in bachelors and masters degree programs as well as online programs. The Meany Center Archives located on the NLC campus provide researchers and teachers with print, audio-visual and electronic materials related to union.
WORKING AMERICA
- Is a community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Workers who are not union members can join Working America. It uses professional research, communication, education, canvassing, lobbying and community organizing to lobby politicians to address the priorities that matter most to working people. For example, Working America provides Job Tracker exposes more than 200,000 corporations on job exporting, health and safety violations and cases involving workers' rights violations.
How it could be used
The site is valuable for workers, researchers and teachers. For example, on the site users can learn about political issues important to workers, learn how their member of Congress voted and send an email to an elected official on an issue of concern like minimum wage. Workers can learn how to form and join a union and the impediments to union organizing. Users can take surveys like the “Ask A Working Woman” survey; can compare what they would lose in retirement benefits if Social Security were privatized and see which jobs are being exported in their communities. Unemployed workers can learn about unemployment benefits and how to survive a layoff. The AFL-CIO blog provides daily updates on issues of concern to workers and their families.