Labor

President Bush has asked Congress for approval of “fast track” authority. Fast track means that the president negotiates a trade agreement and Congress cannot make any changes in it; they can only vote it up or down. For most workers, fast track is the code word for giving the capitalists the opportunity to move more jobs out of the country.

SEATTLE (PAI) — It took seven years, but 147 of the Seattle protesters against corporate-centered globalization finally won — in federal court.

The Senate voted 94-3 last week to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 over two years from the current $5.15 per hour, but in a maneuver by Republicans it tied the hike to corporate tax breaks and delayed passage of the bill into law.

Provocado por una compañía que quiere mantener a los obreros sin representación sindical, el gobierno hizo una redada en la carnicería de lechón más grande del mundo — Smithfield Parking, en Tar Heel, Carolina del Norte — el 24 de enero.

Los cítricos y otras cosechas en California han sido desvastados por las cinco noches consecutivas de heladas que tuvieron temperaturas bajo cero.

Will Dallas, Texas, overcome a long and shameful history of racism and injustice? Will it establish a reputation for even-handed and color-blind fairness? That’s the publicly stated goal of the first African American ever elected to the district attorney’s office in Dallas County, Craig Watkins. People here are watching to see if he can make it happen.

The continuing and relentless government and big business attacks on labor that started with Ronald Reagan’s destruction of the air traffic controllers union in 1981 have undoubtedly driven union membership down.

Dennis Gannon, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, opposes drastic Cook County budget cuts at a rally of hundreds in Chicago, Jan. 29.

Gov. Matt “Baby” Blunt — the jackass himself — will do anything to win the support of right-wing, anti-union forces in Missouri. This year he’s going to try to lay off state workers left and right. Currently, there are over 300,000 state workers. He wants to cut us down to 65,000.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (PAI) — Saying the future of the planet is at stake, union members and their allies gathered at a Labor and Sustainability Conference here Jan. 19-20 to discuss strategies to address the climate crisis and promote healthy development.