Tomorrow marks the eighth anniversary of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a key piece of legislation passed to combat the dangerous corporate behavior that sparked the global financial crisis. A decade after the Great Recession, working people are fighting corporate assaults on these commonsense reforms. As AFL‑CIO President Richard Trumka said today, “The labor movement fought hard to win these protections for working people....We need more people whose financial decisions are protected and fewer hedge fund managers who gamble with our lives.”

At the AFL‑CIO Convention last year, working people recognized that Wall Street’s excessive wealth and power is corrupting our economy and our democracy. We resolved to fight back together, working to secure sound regulations that will reign in Wall Street excess, including:

• Protecting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects consumers from tricks and traps in consumer financial products like mortgages and credit cards.

• Closing the tax loophole for private equity and hedge fund managers that allows these millionaires and billionaires to pay rates lower than middle-class professionals.

• Closing the CEO performance pay loophole that encourages lavish executive pay packages at taxpayer expense.

• Levying a tiny tax on Wall Street trades to generate revenue for investments in jobs, education and infrastructure.

• Ending “too big to fail” banks by restoring a 21st century version of the Glass–Steagall Act’s division between commercial/consumer-oriented banks and investment banks.

• Taking on Wall Street firms like private equity funds and big banks when they behave in ways that harm working people.

• And fighting to expose corporate political spending and lobbying that undermines our democracy.

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s this week’s Working People Weekly List.

Trumka: True Patriotism in Missouri: "AFL‑CIO President Richard Trumka (UMWA) spoke at the Missouri AFL‑CIO’s 29th Biennial Convention yesterday, rallying a packed audience of local union leaders and working Missourians in the fight against Prop. A. He recalled the charge that President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered to Americans in the midst of the Great Depression: 'True patriotism urges us to build an even more substantial America where the good things of life may be shared by more of us.'"

18 Regional Hot Dog Toppings for Your Union-Made Cookout: "When you fire up the grill, there’s a good chance your hot dog was made by a United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) member. Oscar Mayer, Boar's Head, Ball Park, Hebrew National and Nathan’s Famous hot dogs are all made by hardworking men and women in union-represented processing facilities across America. While the hot dog might be quintessentially American, what you choose to put on your dog can say a lot about where you live."

Social Security Administration Management Launches All-Out Attack on Our Union, Employees: "In yet another example of an irresponsible, undemocratic, unprecedented attempt to wipe out labor unions from the United States, the Trump administration has ordered federal agencies across the country to begin implementing the three controversial executive orders to obstruct our work fighting discrimination, retaliation and injustices in the federal workplace."

A Dark Veil: "The Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded the Department of Labor’s “persuader rule” requiring companies to disclose any consultants or lawyers contracted for anti-union persuasion efforts. The most recent in a series of anti-worker regulatory rollbacks, the decision has drawn harsh condemnation from union leaders and working people."

Stay Cool with These Ethical Summer Essentials: "Summer’s officially here and it’s time to tame those rays. Whether you’re embracing the blaze on a summer hike, beating the heat by the pool or enjoying that good old fun in the sun somewhere else, Labor 411 has a list of essentials for all your summer adventures. And when you choose one or more items from the list below, you will be supporting ethical companies that treat their employees well and give them good pay and benefits."

Trumka on Crooked Conversations Podcast: 'Collective Action Is on the Rise': "On this week's episode of Crooked Conversations, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sat down in Missouri for a live recorded conversation with Let America Vote President Jason Kander. The pair discussed the importance of unions, the rise of collective action and the future of the labor movement."

I’ve Worked for Tips for 60 Years. D.C. Council Should Listen to the Voters Who Want to Raise My Wages: "When people ask me when I’m going retire, my answer is always the same: About 15 minutes before I’m dead. I turn 70 this year, and I’ve been working in D.C.—always for tips—since I was 12. My first job, at the concession stand at Arena stage in the early 60s, was one of the better ones. My bosses were kind, and I got to watch the shows that came through town. By the time I got my second job, my wages were 66 cents an hour—not exactly the stuff nest eggs are made of."

Louis Re-elected as Missouri AFL-CIO President: "The Missouri AFL-CIO has chosen Mike Louis to continue in his role as president of the organization. 'Thank you to all of my sister and brother delegates for your support,' Louis said in a statement. 'I will continue to fight as hard as I can to save Missouri from the lies of right to work and to ensure that Missouri’s working-class families live in dignity. It is my honor and a privilege to continue to serve along with Jacob Hummel Secretary-Treasurer and Reggie Thomas Vice President as the President of the Missouri AFL-CIO.'"

Are Tariffs Being Used How They Are Supposed to Be?: "U.S. steel manufacturing is supposed to benefit from the administration tariffs says AFL -CIO trade specialist Celeste Drake. 'The workers who are in the steel and aluminum industry and the businesses that employ them I think are going to be the primary beneficiaries.'"

Stiglitz: Benefits of Multiple Layers of Financial Regulation So Much Higher Than Costs: "Joseph Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University, who was the Nobel laureate in economics in 2001, spoke at a talk on Monday with Damon Silvers, the director of policy and special counsel at the AFL-CIO, part of a day-long strategy session on 'Bargaining for the Common Good in the World of Global Finance' held by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung office in New York, a non-profit political German foundation."

When you fire up the grill, there’s a good chance your hot dog was made by a United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) member. Oscar Mayer, Boar's Head, Ball Park, Hebrew National and Nathan’s Famous hot dogs are all made by hardworking men and women in union-represented processing facilities across America. While the hot dog might be quintessentially American, what you choose to put on your dog can say a lot about where you live.

Here are some of the most popular regional hot dogs, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council:

1. New York City: New Yorkers eat more hot dogs than any other group in the country. From downtown Manhattan to Coney Island, when you buy your hot dog in the Big Apple, it will come served with steamed onions and a pale, deli-style yellow mustard.

2. Chicago: The possible antithesis to New York dogs, Chicago dogs are layered with yellow mustard, dark green relish, chopped raw onion, a pickle spear, sport peppers, tomato slices and topped with a dash of celery salt and served in a poppy seed bun.

3. Atlanta and the South: Buying a hot dog at Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, or elsewhere in Atlanta and the South, you’ll find your dog topped with coleslaw and perhaps some delicious Vidalia onions.

4. Kansas City: Get the mints out—you’ll need them when you order up a hot dog in KC, as it is served with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese on a sesame seed bun.

5. The Rockie Dog: Served at Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies—is a foot-long dog with grilled peppers, kraut and onions.

6. The Fenway Frank: Served at none other than Fenway Park—is the only dog to eat while watching the Red Sox. It’s boiled and grilled and served in a New England-style bun with mustard and relish. New England dogs also can be found topped with Boston baked beans

7. Sonoran Dog: This Southwestern favorite features a grilled, bacon-wrapped hot dog on a sturdy bun, pinto beans, grilled onions and green peppers, chopped fresh tomatoes, relish, tomatillo jalapeno salsa, mayonnaise, mustard and shredded cheese.

8. The Texas Dog: Chili, cheese and jalapenos make this the favored item at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

9. Michigan Coney Island Dog (aka Michigan Coney): This favorite of Michiganders features a meaty chili sauce on top of a hot dog with mustard and onion.

10. West Virginia Dog: This favorite features chili, mustard and coleslaw atop a wiener on a steamed bun.

11. New Jersey Dog: A variety of hot dog styles can be found in New Jersey but the one most unique to the state is the Italian Dog. It’s a hot dog in thick pizza bread topped with onions, peppers and deep fried potatoes.

12. Philadelphia Dog: A classic Philadelphia dog is one of the most interesting ones you’ll find. It features the brotherly love of an all-beef hot dog with a fish cake inside the bun as well. It is often topped with a sweet vinegary slaw and spicy mustard.

13. Cleveland Polish Boy: Cleveland is home to two unique hot dog offerings. The Polish Boy is a kielbasa or hot dog served on a bun covered with a layer of french fries, a layer of sweet southern-style barbecue sauce or hot sauce and a layer of coleslaw. It is commonly found in carts around town. At Indians games and elsewhere in the city, you can also top your hot dog with Stadium Mustard, a type of brown mustard with similar flavor to a spicy Dijon mustard.

14. Cincinnati Coney: The home of famous chili is also the home of some delicious chili dogs. These are topped with Cincinnati-style chili and usually also feature a heaping mound of grated cheddar cheese on top.

15. Washington, D.C.: The nation’s capital is where you’ll find the half-smoke: a half-pork, half-beef sausage that is like a hot dog but with more coarsely ground meat and a little extra spice. A classic half-smoke is topped with chili, mustard and onions. You can find them in hot dog joints around the city as well as at Nationals Park.

16. California: There are many different hot dog varieties sold throughout the state of California, but the one most unique to the state is a bacon-wrapped dog with grilled onions and peppers. These are favorites from carts around Los Angeles and San Francisco.

17. Seattle: The Seattle dog offers a topping twist not found in many places around the country—cream cheese. The hot dogs are split in half and grilled before being put in a toasted bun and are also topped with grilled onions. Sriracha sauce and jalapeños are popular additions as well.

18. Alaska: True to its roots in the far north, the Alaska dog is commonly called a Reindeer hot dog or sausage, but it isn’t actually made from reindeer meat. Instead the meat is typically caribou. The hot dog is served in a steamed bun with grilled onions that are sometimes sautéed in Coca-Cola.

This post originally appeared at UFCW.

In yet another example of an irresponsible, undemocratic, unprecedented attempt to wipe out labor unions from the United States, the Trump administration has ordered federal agencies across the country to begin implementing the three controversial executive orders to obstruct our work fighting discrimination, retaliation and injustices in the federal workplace.

Following a July 5 memo issued by Office of Personnel Management Director Jeff Pon, on July 9 agencies started shutting union volunteers off their intranet and email systems and drastically cut down official time—the hours union volunteers use to respond to workplace disputes such as discrimination and retaliation complaints filed by employees against management. Agencies also prevent our union reps from taking documents off-site and block us from using unpaid leave to represent workers. 

Here’s what happening at Social Security Administration offices nationwide: 

• Union volunteers were told to evacuate space by July 31. Space includes union offices, filing cabinets and bulletin boards.

• SSA canceled all negotiated travel and per diem for union officials to travel to meetings with SSA managers, arbitration witnesses, etc.

• Official time was slashed by 88%. Taking away official time means taking away employees’ rights to protect themselves against abuses and injustices in the workplace. 

• Union officials can't use any agency equipment, including phones, computers, photocopy machines, faxes, etc., to communicate with employees, management and others in order to represent employees. 

• Management walked away from our contract ground rules agreement signed on March 19, 2018. They are imposing no travel reimbursement for negotiators, no caucus space or use of management equipment. They have imposed a shorter bargaining period into the ground rules. 

• Management eliminates grievance/arbitration option for terminations, performance appraisals and awards. These are now excluded from the grievance procedure.

• Management fast-tracks performance terminations—with a 30-day improvement period instead of the 150 days under the 2012 contract. 

Red for Feds Day of Action 

Our union has filed lawsuits against the administration. Our union also has been joined by other unions and even members of Congress who are disgusted by this administration’s behavior. The hearing is set for July 25, which is our Day of Action. We will gather in Washington, D.C., and take action in our communities nationwide.

Here's how you can stand up for workers like us on July 25: 

• Wear red to work. By all of us wearing #RedForFeds on Wednesday, July 25, we can show our strength and our solidarity.

• Join us in Washington, D.C. If you are able to travel, meet us for our rally outside the courthouse. We will meet on Wednesday, July 25, at 12:30 p.m. at John Marshall Park (333 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.). 

If you're able, join us for our day of action. Click here for more details and to RSVP.

The Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded the Department of Labor’s “persuader rule” requiring companies to disclose any consultants or lawyers contracted for anti-union persuasion efforts. The most recent in a series of anti-worker regulatory rollbacks, the decision has drawn harsh condemnation from union leaders and working people.

When the Labor Department issued the rule in 2016, it was hailed as a win for workplace transparency. Workers would have the right to know when their bosses hired outside union-busters to influence organizing decisions.

Then-Secretary of Labor Tom Perez explained it would “ensure that workers have the information they need to make informed decisions about exercising critical workplace rights….Informed decisions are the best decisions.”

In the wake of Tuesday’s announcement, AFL-CIO National Media Director Josh Goldstein slammed the administration’s decision to shield the “sinister practices of employers and their hired guns.”

“By repealing the persuader rule, the Department of Labor is siding with corporate CEOs against good government and transparency,” Goldstein said. “They have thrown a dark veil over the shady groups employers hire to take away the freedoms of working people.”

AFL‑CIO President Richard Trumka (UMWA) spoke at the Missouri AFL‑CIO’s 29th Biennial Convention yesterday, rallying a packed audience of local union leaders and working Missourians in the fight against Prop. A. He recalled the charge that President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered to Americans in the midst of the Great Depression: “True patriotism urges us to build an even more substantial America where the good things of life may be shared by more of us.”

Working people in Missouri are speaking out and mobilizing their neighbors against a corporate-backed attack on our fundamental economic rights. As union leaders gather in St. Louis, the state’s labor movement is continuing to embody the spirit of collective action currently sweeping the country.

Faced with a right-wing “right to work” law passed by the state legislature, working Missourians took the fight to workplaces and living rooms across the state. As Trumka explained:

You see, the Missouri labor movement defines extraordinary. You needed 100,000 signatures to get right to work on the ballot. You got over 300,000. 213,000 of those were collected by volunteers. Now you are in the process on knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors. Don’t let up. The next three weeks will make the difference.

Trumka connected the efforts in Missouri to the larger fight working people in America face:

We face our own decision today...our own test of progress. And just as FDR had to battle the forces of wealth and greed in his time, we now must confront a corporate onslaught of historic proportions. They want to rip apart the New Deal piece by piece. They want to bankrupt our unions. They want to leave us poor and weak and divided. And the Supreme Court just did their bidding, flushing 41 years of fairness down the toilet in Janus v. AFSCME.

These corporate leeches, wrapped in the American flag and hijacking words like “freedom” and “rights,” have brought the fight here to Missouri. They think they can steamroll us into submission. They think they can send us running for the hills. Well, brothers and sisters, I’ve got news for them: The only place we’re running is to the polls on Aug. 7 to defeat Proposition A!

Trumka also spoke about the impact working people can have on these battles:

You know, I'm a student of the Civil War. History books talk a lot about the leaders. General A did this. General B did that. They don’t talk a lot about the people who really won battles and won wars. They don’t talk about a private or a corporal who sacrificed their own lives for a brother or a sister next to them. You see, the uncommon heroes are workers. People like us. The rank and file. The soldier who's in the trenches. Because when ordinary people come together, we can do extraordinary things.

One of these heroes is Quiema Spencer, a pipe fitter in Kansas City. As a gay, black woman...she hasn’t had it easy. She's always had to work that much harder to build a better life. But she says it wasn't until she joined a union that she truly found her voice. Locking arms with her brothers and sisters in Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 533, she realized that we don’t have to take the crumbs we’re being handed anymore. Together, we can demand better. Now Quiema is knocking doors and making calls so every working person in this state and across the country can find their voice, just like she did.

Trumka closed out with optimism and a call to arms:

The labor movement, we are that bull in the ring. We’ve been getting hit over and over again. Every day. From every direction. They’ve held down our pay. They’ve attacked our health care. They’ve tried to kill our pensions, destroy our jobs and leave us begging for scraps. They want national right to work. They want to make the Supreme Court a corporate boardroom.

Well, guess what? Their time is up. Unions are on the move. In every city and every state. Young and old. Black and white. Immigrant and native-born. Gay and straight. Rural and urban. Republican and Democrat.

We’re spoiling for a fight. I say, bring it on! We've taken their best shot, and we're still standing. We’re the true American patriots. We’re fearless. We’re strong. We’re powerful. We’re united. We’re rising in solidarity…real solidarity…where your picket line is my picket line, and my picket line is your picket line. And we won’t stop until we take our country back.

Summer’s officially here and it’s time to tame those rays. Whether you’re embracing the blaze on a summer hike, beating the heat by the pool or enjoying that good old fun in the sun somewhere else, Labor 411 has a list of essentials for all your summer adventures. And when you choose one or more items from the list below, you will be supporting ethical companies that treat their employees well and give them good pay and benefits.

Drinks

• Blumers Root Beer
• Crystal Springs Water 
• Dr. Pepper 
• Gatorade 
• Hawaiian Punch
• Minute Maid Lemonade

Beer

• Bud Light 
• Budweiser 
• Dundee Summer Wheat Beer 
• Henry Weinhards Summer Wheat Ale 
• Sam Adams Whitewater IPA

Hats 

• Hatco 
• Korber Hats 
• Unionwear

Ice Cream 

• Breyers 
• Creamland 
• Good Humor 
• Hiland 
• Perry’s 
• Tillamook

Sunscreen 

• Bain de Soleil
• Coppertone

This post originally appeared at Labor 411.

America’s 60 national parks are filled with treasures that often rival those around the world. Right in our own backyards, union families can experience wonders from glaciers to coral reefs. With so many to choose from, we picked our favorite features and found that “Made-in-America” has never looked so stunning!

1. Endangered Glaciers: North America was once covered in glaciers.

• The last of America’s glaciers are mostly in Alaska at Denali, Lake Clark, Glacier Bay, Kenai Fjords and Wrangell-Saint Elias national parks.
• And, perhaps surprisingly, also in Glacier National Park, Montana, and Mount Rainier, Washington.

2. Fantastic Forests: 

• King’s Canyon, Redwood and Sequoia national parks in California all have giant sequoia and redwood trees, including some of the largest trees recorded. 
• Joshua Tree, California, is a desert landscape populated by vast stands of Joshua trees. 

3. Amazing Rock Formations: 

• Find impressive natural sandstone arches, spires, mesas and other rock formations at Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion national parks in Utah. 

4. Grand Canyons: 

• Yellowstone, Wyoming, is home to its own 24-mile long Grand Canyon. 
• Grand Canyon, Arizona, where the 277 mile-long canyon is the second most visited national park in the U.S. and is often listed as one of the Wonders of the World.

5. Hot Springs and Geysers: 

• Yellowstone which sits in three states—Wyoming, Montana and Idaho—has about 10,000 geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud pots and hot spring terraces.
• Hot Springs, Arkansas, has 47 hot springs that provide the famous Bathhouse Row with therapeutic waters.

6. Vast Sandy Deserts: 

• Death Valley, which sits in both California and Nevada, is the hottest lowest, and driest place in the U.S. It’s so infamous that almost 100 movies and television shows have featured Death Valley. 
• Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, boasts the tallest sand dunes in North America.

7. Sublime Lakes: For some truly great lakes look to these national parks:

• Crater Lake, Oregon, is home to the deepest lake in the U.S., a magnificent blue lake within an ancient volcano.
• Isle Royale, Michigan, is the largest island in Lake Superior.
• Voyageurs, Minnesota, is home to four major lakes well-known for canoeing, kayaking and fishing.

8. Coral Reefs: Tropical marine life may not spring to mind when thinking of national parks but there are several dedicated to preserving endangered coral reefs including: 

• Biscayne Bay and Dry Tortugas Islands national parks in the Florida Keys.
• American Samoa Islands and the Virgin Islands national parks.

9. Massive Caves/Caverns:

• Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, has more than 100 caves with impressive calcite formations.
• Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, where more than 400 miles of passageways make this the world's longest known cave system.
• Wind Cave, South Dakota, has unique calcite formations called boxwork and frostwork.

Before you leave town, be sure you're taking advantage of all the Union Plus travel benefits—including:

• Up to 25% off base rates, plus bonus savings on Avis, Budget and Hertz rental cars (terms and conditions apply.)
• Information on unionized hotels.
• Savings on national park vacation tours.
• Discounts on dining, theme parks, sightseeing, events and more.

This post originally appeared at Union Plus.

On this week's episode of Crooked Conversations, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sat down in Missouri for a live recorded conversation with Let America Vote President Jason Kander. The pair discussed the importance of unions, the rise of collective action and the future of the labor movement.

See a few highlights below, and check out the full episode here.

On Unions:

Trumka: My son was about 4 years old at the time, and we were in the backyard. And he had one of those little motorized jeeps. He and his buddy were riding around in the back, and I was on the phone talking to somebody about the union, and he heard me say that. So he pulls up in the jeep and he said, "Dad, what's a union?"

And I said to him—there was a little hill there—I said, "Both of you get out of the jeep." I said, "Rich, push that jeep up the hill." And he'd pushed it up a little bit, and he'd slide backward...and he finally gives up. And his buddy Chad was with him. And I said, "Chad, now you help him." And the two grunt a little bit, but they get the jeep to the top of the hill.

And I said, "Son, that's what a union is." It allows people to come together to do things together that they can't do individually. That's a union.

On Young Workers:

Trumka: We organized 262,000 new members last year. And 75% of those members were under the age of 35. Young people are starting to get it more and more and more. They're coming along and saying, “Look, this economy isn't working for us.” So how do we change it? We change it by coming together with our fellow workers, getting the ability to bargain collectively, so we can get a fair share of the wealth that we produce.

On Running for Office:

Trumka: If you’re running for office out there, here’s my advice to you. Stick to kitchen table economics. What are you going to do to help people with their wages, with their health care, with their pension, with their school district, with their retirement?

On Training Workers:

Trumka: One of the best-kept secrets in the United States is that...the labor movement trains more people every year than anybody else other than the military.

Kander: And often times, they’re training folks who just came out of the military as well.

Trumka: We have a special program for that called Helmets to Hardhats. We bring people coming out of the military. We bring them into our apprenticeship program….They are the best skilled people out there. Our building trades people are second to none in the world. People from around the world come and ask us to train them.

On Collective Action:

Trumka: I'm more optimistic right now than I've been in a lot of years, because what we see is collective action is on the rise….People are starting to look for change, and they've decided—rightfully so—that the best way for them to get change is to join with their fellow workers and their neighbors and demand change.

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s this week’s Working People Weekly List.

After Janus, Electrical Workers Show the Power Is in Our Hands: "The Supreme Court’s recent Janus decision was despicable, spitting in the face of decades of common-sense precedent. There’s no question about that. But Janus is not the end of our fight."

Trump's Supreme Court Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh Is Deeply Troubling: "Working families deserve a Supreme Court justice who will respect the rights of working people and who will enforce decades of legal precedent that protect us in the workplace. On Monday night, President Donald Trump rejected working men and women by selecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy created by Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement."

Thousands Rally for Private Pension Fix: "'An attack on one worker is an attack on all workers, and seeing working people come together to fight for what’s right, to have the American people rally with us to protect the benefits we’ve earned is a beautiful thing,' Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga told the crowd that filled the lawn in front of the Statehouse and wound around both sides of the building. 'Nothing is more sacred than the promise of a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work,' he said."

Could Missouri's Right-to-Work Vote Be a 'Turnaround' for Labor? Unions Hope So: "'Everyone is wanting to write the labor movement’s obituary,' AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler said at a Kansas City rally Tuesday. 'Are we going to let that happen?' The crowd of about 250 union members and volunteers returned a resounding, 'No.' They were gathered for rally at a local pipe-fitters union hall before setting out for a canvassing effort. Shuler flew in from Washington, D.C., to visit what she called the 'ground zero' in the fight over labor."

AFL-CIO Chief Warns Red to Blue Candidates That Being a Democrat Isn’t Enough: "House Democratic candidates in town this week for training at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington got a visit from AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka for some tips on how they can win back working-class voters. 'I don’t have to tell you that you can’t count on the D next to your name to gain our support,' Trumka told Democratic leadership and a room full of candidates on Red to Blue, the DCCC’s program for its strongest candidates."

Belabored Podcast #155: The Future of Collective Action: "But it’s worth remembering that for every devastating Supreme Court decision, anti-union executive order or rollback to public benefits, glimmers of hope are present on the front lines. In the belly of the political beast in D.C., grassroots organizers gathered at the AFL-CIO headquarters to discuss collective action under Trump, beyond the beltway. Activists representing teachers, housekeepers, graduate students and airline workers talked about union power in the wake of the Janus decision and keeping hope alive for the next generation of young labor leaders."

If You Live in Missouri, Vote 'No' on Proposition A: "On Aug. 7, Missouri voters will have the chance to vote against Prop. A, a divisive attack on working people funded by big corporations and their wealthy allies. The misleading measure is a direct attack on the rights of the working people of Missouri."

Are We in a Trade War?: "TV pundits keep repeating that we’re in a 'trade war.' What does that even mean?"

U.S. Trade Deals Mean Justice for Some, Not Justice for All: "2017 was another banner year of justice for sale, reveals the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s annual review of investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases. What does the report say? It reveals lots of new ways global investors are undermining democracy in private tribunals."

Introduction: How Should Unions Deal With Free Riders?