Upper Peninsula Regional Labor Federation

 

Tefere Gebre’s American journey: From refugee camp to labor leader

Gebre was still a boy when he was forced to flee Ethiopia, a country that suffered political turmoil and famine during the 1980s.

Trump’s Power to Fire Federal Workers Curtailed by Judge

A federal district judge in Washington struck down most of the key provisions of three executive orders that

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Lyndon Baines Johnson Signs the Medicare Bill

Strengthen Medicare and Medicaid

Tell Congress to repeal the tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations instead of cutting the vital programs that benefit nearly one-third of the U.S. population.

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Help Protect Michigan's Prevailing Wage Law

A small group of special interests are threatening our lawmakers if they don’t take steps to slash pay for skilled construction workers by eliminating prevailing wage laws. Michigan lost many skilled trades workers during the last recession and these workers are just starting to get back on their feet.

Common-sense prevailing wage policies mean that the state will have a more skilled and educated workforce, as well as safer local construction jobs for Michigan men and women. Michigan Prevails supports those Michigan construction companies and workers who help keep the state and economy running.

You can make a difference. Send a letter telling your Representative to support Michigan workers by supporting Michigan’s Prevailing Wage law.

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Recent News

2018 Endorsements

Below are the Upper Peninsula Regional Labor Federation's endorsements in upcoming races. The general election is Tuesday, November 6.

STATEWIDE OFFICE

  • Governor & Lt. Gov: Gretchen Whitmer & Garlin Gilchrist (D)
  • Secretary of State: Jocelyn Benson (D)
  • Attorney General: Dana Nessel (D)

FEDERAL OFFICE

  • US Senator: Debbie Stabenow (D)
  • US House, DIstrict 1: Matt Morgan (D)

STATE LEGISLATURE

  • State Senate, District 38: Scott Dianda (D)
  • State House, District 107: Joanne Galloway (D)
  • State House, District 108: Bob Romps (D)
  • State House, District 109: Sara Cambensy (D)
  • State House, District 110: Ken Summers (D)

STATE BOARDS

  • State Board of Ed: Judy Pritchett and Tiffany Tilley
  • U of M Regents: Jordan Acker and Paul Brown
  • MSU Trustees: Brianna Scott and Kelly Tebay
  • Wayne State Governors: Bryan Barnhill and Dr. Anil Kumar

STATE SUPREME COURT

  • Sam Bagenstos
  • Megan Cavanagh

STATE BALLOT MEASURES

  • YES on Prop 2 to end partisan gerrymandering
  • YES on Prop 3 to protect voting rights and make our elections more secure

DELTA COUNTY 

  • Bay Community College Board of Trustees: Bill Milligan

DICKINSON COUNTY

  • Board of Commissioners, District 4: Geno Alessandrini, Jr.

MARQUETTE COUNTY

  • Marquette City Commission: Jenna Smith
  • Marquette City Commission: Jenn Hill
  • Negaunee City Council: Edward Karki
  • Marquette Area Public Schools, School Board: Brandon Canfield
  • Marquette Area Public Schools, School Board: Erich Ottem

Download 2018 Endorsement List HERE:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GiKTzE2vyydKjagc_C9TzFbUf4ZpsjqH

A Manufactured Crisis

Eight hundred thousand workers. That is the number of government employees and contractors impacted by President Trump’s shutdown of the federal government. The average take home pay of impacted workers is around $500 per week, and any financial uncertainty is sure to cause stress and anxiety over how to make ends meet. Each day of this manufactured crisis, working families lose money for housing, healthcare and groceries — the essentials we need to get by.

‘Pay the Workers, Furlough Trump’: Federal Workers Rally for End to Shutdown

Furloughed federal employees and out-of-work contractors greeted one another Thursday with a sarcastic nickname that, on the 20th day of a partial government shutdown, captured their feeling of powerlessness: “Hello, fellow pawns.”

They shouted it to one another over the brutal wind and bitter cold on Thursday in downtown Washington, where hundreds gathered to demand government leaders put an end to the shutdown and allow them to get back to work.

The 8 Most Important Labor Stories of 2018

1. Janus dealt a heavy blow to labor—but public-sector unions didn’t crumble overnight.

In June, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling in Janus v. AFSCME—and it was just as bad as everyone feared. In a 5-to-4 decision, the court found that public-sector unions violated the First Amendment by collecting so-called fair-share fees from workers who aren’t union members but benefit from collective bargaining regardless.

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AFL-CIO Blog

Mortgages for Union Families

Union Plus Mortgage Company is owned by the AFL-CIO Union Privilege and a group of unions.

Read the Report

Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, 2018

PowerTools

A resource for union members and organizers.

Defend and Resist

A toolkit for organizers and advocates on workplace raids and audits.

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