Work and Family
Although the “traditional” family—a father who works outside the home and financially supports the children and a mother whose work is keeping the house and raising the children—has been disappearing for more than a generation, our workplaces and government policies have not kept pace with America’s new reality.
Most children are growing up in homes with both parents working or with single parents. One-third of workers don’t have access to paid sick leave, and only 42 percent have paid personal leave. What’s the impact on public health when working people can’t afford to take sick days during a flu epidemic? Who takes care of a sick child? Who’s home to fix dinner and help with homework? Who can dedicate time to a sick elderly parent?
The recession and jobless recovery have complicated life further for working families, when having to leave work for a family emergency could lead to long-term unemployment.
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When you buy union, you’re supporting good jobs in American communities, jobs that provide living wages and benefits, safe working conditions, and dignity and respect for work. Look for these quality products, produced by union members, when preparing for your Thanksgiving feast.
In this week's elections, working New Yorkers made their voices heard, voting in support of candidates who will stand up for working families and engaging voters one on one through our NYC Labor Votes! Campaign and the efforts of our affiliate unions.
The Union Veterans Council, an AFL-CIO Constituency Organization, brings working-class veterans together to speak out on the issues that impact us most, especially the need for good jobs and a strong, fully funded and staffed VA.
Union members at HarperCollins, one of the largest publishers in the country, started an indefinite strike yesterday, with workers and supporters gathered outside the company's New York City offices to make their demands.
"This is my dream job. But I will not risk getting infected with bed bugs or sick due to mold." said Kent, a baker at the NYC Roastery at a rally held by Roastery workers and their supporters at the location at 61 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan on Thursday.
NewsGuild of New York members at Thomson Reuters have announced that a supermajority of union members voted in favor of authorizing their bargaining committee to call a strike if their employer continues bargaining in bad faith.
Actors’ Equity Association is currently at the bargaining table with the Broadway League to determine the next iteration of the union's largest contract, which covers work on Broadway shows.
Across the country, overworked and underpaid Chipotle workers, organizing with 32BJ SEIU, have been fighting to form a union.
Over 200 union journalists across 14 Gannett owned-newsrooms from New York and New Jersey to Arizona and Southern California collectively walked off the job for a one-day strike last Friday.
Yesterday, working New Yorkers made their voices heard, voting in support of candidates who will stand up for working families and engaging voters one on one through our NYC Labor Votes! Campaign and the efforts of our affiliate unions.