Free Republic

Ohio is an important swing state in next week's presidential election, and if Donald Trump fails to win the state, his path toward victory is very narrow. That's why AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was in the state making sure that working people know how important their vote is. Here is some of the media coverage of Trumka's visit:Toledo Blade: "Before volunteers spent their time canvassing local neighborhoods to urge those to vote, which consisted of two three-hour shifts, Mr. Trumka, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), stopped by in support of Hillary Clinton...

The Clinton campaign privately fumed that one of its surrogates told supporters that Hillary Clinton planned to betray labor groups by adopting the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal after the election, according to emails published by WikiLeaks. Labor Outreach Director Nikki Budzinski told senior campaign advisers on November 3, 2015 that labor leaders were complaining to her about Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D., Texas). The congresswoman, an early Clinton supporter, privately told supporters that Clinton had no intention of opposing the TPP free trade deal once she was president, according to a memo circulated by Budzinski after a meeting with AFL-CIO...

The Treasury Department on Friday rejected an effort by the Teamsters Central States Pension Plan to cut benefits for 270,000 retired workers starting in July. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a letter to members of Congress that while the decision blocks the pending pension cuts, it does not resolve the issue because the pension plan remains severely underfunded and is projected to become insolvent within the next 10 years. …

Almost 55 months after confessing felonious conduct, Teamster money-laundering scandal figure, Jere Nash, has finally been sentenced. U.S. Dist. Judge Thomas P. Griesa (S.D.N.Y., Nixon) sentenced Nash Apr. 9 to a mere two years probation for his role in a series of schemes which lead to the embezzlement of some $885,000 from the Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters' treasury and to $538,100 in illegal campaign contributions to the failed reelection campaign of expelled IBT president Ron Carey. The sentencing appears to have been hush hush: the four N.Y.C. major dailies and the two Washington, D.C., dailies apparently did not cover the...

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is backing construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in comments that downplay divisions among unions in the labor federation over the controversial project. “They are not divided on the pipeline itself,” Trumka said in a C-SPAN interview when asked about differences among unions over Keystone. “They are divided on how the pipeline is done.” ADVERTISEMENT “I think we are all unanimous by saying we should build the pipeline, but we have to do it consistent with all environmental standards, and I think we can work that out, I really do, and we are for...

President Obama addresses workers (White House photo) UNITED NATIONS – The Obama administration’s release Thursday of the more than 2,000 pages of the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, known more commonly as Obamatrade, has prompted a rash of criticism from both the political left and the right. Critics charge the pact undermines U.S. sovereignty by establishing a secret, unaccountable TransPacific Partnership Commission with sweeping regulatory powers over 40 percent of the world’s economy while sending jobs abroad. “This trade agreement would allow foreign corporations to challenge our health, safety and environmental protections in a foreign tribunal outside our...

One of the nation’s top labor leaders on Wednesday called on the Obama administration to immediately release the text of a far-reaching trade deal that spans the Pacific Rim to Latin America. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka wrote a letter to President Obama arguing that stakeholders, lawmakers and the American public need to see the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to start what is expected to be a long process of evaluating the deal brokered by the United States and 11 other nations. House and Senate Democrats have made similar appeals since the pact was brokered a week ago...

DEMS ANSWER WALKER WITH LABOR LAW BILL: Two days after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his plans to eliminate the NLRB and take right-to-work national, congressional Democrats will today propose legislation developed with the AFL-CIO to stiffen penalties for employers who violate the National Labor Relations Act. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Bobby Scott will introduce a bill that they say would “help ensure workers are able to have a voice in the workplace and would crack down on employers who break the law when workers exercise their right to collective action.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will stand alongside the...

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told Hardball host Chris Matthews, “I don’t know what the difference is between a Democratic Socialist and a Democrat.” During an appearance on the MSNBC program last week, Trumka was asked by Matthews about Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. […] “I don’t think people care,” Trumka replied. “I don’t know what the difference is between a Democratic Socialist and a Democrat. I don’t really know what the difference is and I think most voters don’t care.” …

In remarks that show how much Donald Trump may resonate with Reagan Democrats in a general election, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka conceded that probably all of his union members say “amen” when they hear Donald Trump blasting unfair trade deals that hurt American workers. On Sunday, Meet The Press host Chuck Todd asked Trumka, “how many of your members hear Donald Trump talk about bad trade deals and say ‘amen?'” Trumka responded that “probably every one that hears him say it’s a bad trade deal… they say amen that bad trade deals are bad for the country.” Trumka mentioned that...

Thursday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released a video calling unspecified Republican candidates “hateful and racist” for their immigration policies. Trumka said, “Hi, I’m Rich Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. In the last several weeks, the subject of immigrants living and working in the U.S. has become a major part of the political debate.

Over the last week, as videos emerged of executives at the abortion factory known as Planned Parenthood allegedly selling aborted baby body parts, Planned Parenthood has, rightfully, come under heavy fire. Now, however, Planned Parenthood’s allies on the Left are circling the wagons to defend the abortion factory. For example, rather than investigating the potentially illegal practices of Planned Parenthood, Barack Obama’s new Attorney General, Lorretta Lynch, has announced that she is going to investigate the group that exposed the heinous actions. In addition to the DOJ investigation, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has come forward to defend Planned Parenthood. “Planned...

"Scott Walker is a national disgrace," reads the entirety of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka's statement. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is one of the most hardcore right-wing extremists in America. His slash-and-burn policies have gutted Wisconsin workers' collective bargaining rights, defunded Planned Parenthood and more – all of which has made him a prime punching bag for progressives around the country. For some reason, the Republican zealot is hell-bent on conducting a doomed campaign for president in 2016, a painfully obvious fact which he "revealed" Monday morning after months of tedious teasing, including one recent public appearance in which he bizarrely...

The president of the largest alliance of unions in the United States offered just six words in response to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker formally jumping into the 2016 presidential race. “Scott Walker is a national disgrace,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement released ahead of Walker’s formal announcement on Monday. There isn’t much love to lose between Walker and unions.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka testified before the Senate Finance Committee against fast-track authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement with Japan, Australia, and nine other Pacific Rim countries. RICHARD TRUMKA: Key to reforming our trade policies is abolishing the outdated, unaccountable, and undemocratic fast-track process. The Trans-Pacific Partnership now being negotiated by our government includes 12 countries and about 40 percent of world GDP. The TPP is designed to be infinitely expandable. So it could very well be the last trade agreement we negotiate. So it’s especially crucial that we get the terms of this one right. And Mr. Chairman, the...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The head of the largest U.S. trade union federation said Monday that a bad deal is worse than no deal, and he urged Congress not to support fast-track legislation that would let President Barack Obama present Congress with proposed trade agreements that lawmakers can ratify or reject, but not amend. That would make it easier for Obama to get congressional approval for a trade deal between a dozen Pacific Rim nations. Trumka spoke Monday at a news conference about 10 miles from Nike Inc. headquarters in Oregon, the spot where Obama recently defended the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Gerardo Hernandez, a spy for Communist Cuba and the man responsible for the murder of four humanitarian workers (three of whom were American citizens) over international waters, was freed from prison last year by the Obama administration, due in part to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). This was revealed at a February 6, 2015, celebration of Hernandez’s release, along with two of his fellow Cuban agents (collectively known as the “Cuban 5.. At the beginning of the event, an IPS official thanked all who who took part in the 17-year campaign and singled out a number of organizations that...

A federal judge in Texas Monday temporarily blocked President Obama's November executive action on immigration. The judge’s action threatens immigration relief for as many as 4 million people. The Obama administration will appeal the ruling. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement.This temporary setback will not deter the AFL-CIO’s work on the ground to ensure that as many workers as possible are eventually able to gain protections and work authorization under the new deferred action programs. Around the country, we will continue educating workers, training union activists and helping eligible applicants gather the documents they will need to qualify.This lawsuit represents...

Sen. Rand Paul and House Republicans have introduced legislation to strictly limit the ability of unions to force workers to have to pay them dues. Both right-to-work bills would amend the National Labor Relations Act to prohibit contracts between labor unions and businesses that force all of a company's workers to join a union or at least pay it a fee as a condition of employment. (SNIP) "Every American and their employer should have the power to negotiate the terms of their employment, and no American should be forced to pay union dues just to get or keep a job....

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Union workers were on strike for a second day on Monday at nine U.S. refineries and chemical plants as they sought a new national contract with oil companies covering laborers at 63 plants. The walkouts were the first in support of a nationwide pact since 1980 and targeted plants with a combined 10 percent of U.S. refining capacity. One of the plants, Tesoro Corp's (TSO.N) 166,000-barrel-per-day Martinez, California, refinery, was being shut because it was in the midst of planned maintenance work. The other refineries appeared set to continue running normally as operators initiated contingency plans, calling...