WHAT IS THE LABOR COUNCIL?
The South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council is currently celebrating over a half-century as a chartered organization. The Labor Council represents over a hundred unions in Santa Clara and San Benito counties and over 110,000 union members.
The Labor Council is involved in many programs that are directly intended to improve the lives of working families in the Bay Area.
LABOR COUNCIL NEWS
Added February 3rd, 2010
Richard Trumka, new president of the AFL-CIO, will visit San Jose and the South Bay on Wednesday, Feb. 10 as part of a national tour discussing the need for more good union jobs and ideas about how to create them.
Trumka's visit will include stops at the Pipe Trades Training Center, the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council and a ticketed luncheon at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall. While at the Labor Council, he will be briefed on the exciting policy initiatives that have created good union jobs in the South Bay including Team San Jose and green jobs. The lunch is a chance for him to talk with union members and leaders about his vision and their perspectives.
Trumka, 60, was elected president last September at the Federation's 26th convention in Pittsburgh, Pa., following 15 years' service as secretary-treasurer. A Pennsylvania native, he worked side-by-side with his father in that state's coal mines for seven years while also attending Penn State University, from which he earned his undergraduate degree in 1971. He received his law degree from Villanova University in 1974 and worked on the legal staff of the United Mine Workers for four years before returning to work as a miner in 1979.
During his return to mining, he provided pro bono legal assistance to families in the Nemacolin, Pa., area. Trumka was elected the youngest president in United Mine Workers history when he led a reform slate in 1982 at the age of 33, and he brought the mine workers into the AFL-CIO. After three terms as UMWA president, Trumka moved to the AFL-CIO national office in 1992 as secretary-treasurer on the John Sweeney ticket, the position he held until September.
Permalink Comments
Get involved! Sign up for updates!
The South Bay Labor Council Rapid Response program is your opportunity to get involved with every aspect of labor activism - rallies, advocacy, working on campaigns and more!
Enter your email address below to receive our bi-weekly newsletter.
Do not show this again.
Added February 5th, 2010
Journalist Gabriel Thompson spent a year working alongside Latino immigrants from Arizona lettuce fields and an Alabama poultry plant to the kitchens of New York City restaurants, forced to live with chronic pain for $8 an hour.
His co-workers initially thought he was crazy or as an undercover immigration agent. He was really working on his just-published book, "Working in the Shadows: A year of doing jobs (most) Americans won't do."
Come hear him speak about the book at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at First Christian Church, 80 S. Fifth St., in San Jose. The event is sponsored by Working Partnerships USA, First Christian Church, the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform and San Jose Peace and Justice Center. For more information, call (408) 836-5756 or email hietala.s@gmail.com.
Permalink Comments
Added February 3rd, 2010
The same coalition that created the nation's first health insurance program for all children -- Working Partnerships USA (WPUSA), the Santa Clara Family Health Plan and Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System -- has now developed Healthy Workers, an affordable employer-based health plan for small businesses and their employees.
Healthy Workers offers comprehensive coverage with low premiums and no deductibles at roughly half the cost of competitive plans. The Santa Clara Family Health Plan will begin enrolling employers and employees in Healthy Workers on March 1, 2010.
For more information, call Ann Gray at the Santa Clara Family Health Plan at (408) 410-0811 or email at agray@scfhp.com.
Permalink Comments
Added February 3rd, 2010
Are you due a tax refund?
IRS-certified tax preparers will get you the refund you deserve at more than 180 Bay Area sites. If you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, your refund could be more than $5,000 for a family of five.
The United Way of Silicon Valley is sponsoring these free tax sites for a limited time. To find a site near you or more information, call 211 or (866) 896-3587.
Permalink Comments
Added January 15th, 2010
Sen. Joe Simitian and Sen. Alan Lowenthal will co-host an important State Senate informational hearing on high-speed rail at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21 in the Palo Alto City Council Chambers.
Sen. Simitian, Sen. Lowenthal and others need to hear from us that:
-- High-speed rail between San Jose and San Francisco will create thousands of jobs and add 21st Century green transportation to the Peninsula.
-- We applaud elected officials and all citizens working to find constructive ideas for bringing high-speed rail to Peninsula communities.
-- It would be irresponsible to delay this project and cause our region to miss out on the unprecedented opportunity to bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to our local areas to support local jobs and sustainable, green transportation.
Join us for this important hearing and please pass this on to anyone who will help us get this vital message out. To learn more, please visit www.alliancestj.com.
Permalink Comments
Added January 15th, 2010
Monday, Jan. 18, is Martin Luther King Day, which many people will honor as suggested by his widow, the late Coretta Scott King: "The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others."
Join Assemblymember Paul Fong in honoring Dr. King's legacy by helping clean up the Ulistac Natural Area in Santa Clara between 9 a.m. and noon Monday. The Ulistac Natural Area is on Lick Mill Boulevard between Hope Drive and Tasman Drive. For more information, call (650) 210-2000 or (408) 277-2003.
Permalink Comments
Need to search endorsement info on the go?
