More measures were introduced last week attacking bread and butter issues of organized labor, including one of its most important achievements, the eight-hour workday. "Right-to-work (for less)," gutting family leave and more sub-minimum wage bills are also in the hopper and under consideration by lawmakers.
People were giving double-takes at the parking lot of Machinists District Lodge 24 in southeast Portland March 6. That's because it looked like an invasion from another planet, as more than two dozen union members garbed head-to-toe in hazardous-material suits were training for how to respond in the event of a chemical emergency.
Admitting the AFL-CIO has not done enough in the past to reach out to and represent working women, the labor federation's Executive Council launched an outreach campaign aimed at millions of working women -- union and non-union -- nationwide.
