Labor

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has introduced legislation, the Healthy Americans Act (HAA), that purports to guarantee “universal, private health insurance for all Americans.” The HAA is, in fact, one of the most radically destructive proposals ever put forward to address the failings of the American health care system.

Jim Adams started at Smithfield Packing on the hog kill floor assembly line. He was hurt on his first day, and by the time his second shift ended he knew he’d better keep his mouth shut and try to ignore the pain if he wanted to keep his job.

Two prominent labor organizations have sued the Bush administration for failing to protect nearly 20 million workers from job injuries.

California’s citrus and other crops have been devastated by five consecutive nights of sub-freezing temperatures that struck Jan. 12, dealing a sharp blow to growers and putting thousands of farmworkers out of work, especially in the Central Valley.

MINNEAPOLIS (PAI) — Hundreds of janitors jammed a meeting Jan. 13 to overwhelmingly authorize a strike if a settlement cannot be reached with Twin Cities cleaning contractors

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The walls of the meeting room were lined with photos of dozens of women, their warm and friendly faces contrasting sharply with the close-ups of their swollen, work-scarred hands, mounted below.

CHICAGO — The battle to fund human needs instead of war or tax breaks for the super-rich found its expression right in the heart of the Midwest.

Development projects anywhere in the world often have a high human cost. In Colombia, the price is often measured in human lives and blood.

Last week, Americans marched, rallied, petitioned, held community service events and worshipped in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

CUCUMBER, W.Va. — James “Butch” Thomas, 47, and Pete Poindexter, 33, were working a mile and half inside the Brooks Run Company’s Cucumber mine, Jan. 13, when the roof collapsed, killing both miners.