AFL-CIO groups gear up
for '12

Voices of the
Unemployed

North of 49°
Nav Canada Employees Ratify Two-Year
Agreement

Au nord du 49° parallèle
Les employés de NAV CANADA ratifient leur convention collective d'une durée de 2 ans

December IEC minutes

In an unprecedented signal of continuing attacks on workers that began a year ago, the Indiana state legislature's Republican majority opened its session in January with the goal of strong-arming through right-to-work legislation.

Reminiscent of Madison, Wis., where thousands of citizens occupied the Capitol for weeks, and the grassroots movement that brought down an unpopular Ohio law restricting bargaining rights, thousands of Hoosiers came to Indianapolis to bear witness on the opening day of the session.

Hoisting signs and banners emblazoned with slogans like "NO on RTW" and "Hoosiers Want Union Life Lines, Not State Bread Lines," citizens from across the spectrum — including building trades members, teachers, firefighters and private sector work — peacefully demonstrated in the statehouse Jan. 4.

The renewed struggle in Indiana began garnering national attention in December. Pro-worker advocates took to blogs and newspaper opinion pages to voice opposition to what they saw as a GOP and big-business power grab, and economists outlined the real-life effects of right-to-work on middle-class Americans' wallets. Talk show hosts Ed Shultz and Rachel Maddow also profiled the issue on their television shows.

The lawmakers began their session with the hope of making Indiana the first state to adopt right-to-work laws in more than a decade. Gov. Mitch Daniels came out in support of the measure in December, and the state Chamber of Commerce announced late last year that getting the law on the books was the group's highest priority.

Hill: The Growing Gap
Chilia: Smart Choices in Obama's Recess Appointments

Thanks for the Support; Our Creed; Are Unions Worthwhile?; In Tribute to
a Mentor

Donald Crevier; Laurence Cohen; Wesley 'Jimmy' Sunvison

December 2011

Ind. Retirees Restore Power to Neighbor in Need