Starting tomorrow and continuing next week, jobless workers in 15 states who face cut off of their unemployment insurance (UI) Feb. 29 will ask members of Congress to “Walk a Mile in My Shoes.” The mobilization is aimed at lawmakers who are back in their districts for the President’s Day Recess that begins tomorrow, and it’s a partnership between USAction, the AFL-CIO, the National Employment Law Project (NELP), community and other groups. Read more >>>

More than six months ago, American Crystal Sugar Co. locked out more than 1,300 sugar beet workers in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota. Two months ago, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. locked out more than 1,000 workers in Findlay, Ohio. Last week, Caterpillar announced it would shut down a plant in Ontario, just over one month after locking out 500 workers. Rio Tinto Alcan locked out 750 workers in Quebec Jan. 1. HealthBridge locked out 800 nursing home workers in Connecticut in December. As Laura Clawson at the Daily Kos notes, “For evidence of a war on workers, look no further than the rise of the lockout.” Read more >>>

The $25 billion foreclosure settlement with five of the nation’s biggest banks, announced this morning by federal and state officials, is a “step in addressing the housing and foreclosure crisis that plagues our country,” says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Read more >>>

 Henry Jenkins’ membership in the RWDSU helped ensure that he was entitled to fair wages, good benefits, and vacation time, things that many other southern workers – African American or otherwise – didn’t enjoy at the time. Jenkins has said that most importantly, union membership brought equality and fair treatment on the job. It was an equality that he and his African-American co-workers had yet to enjoy outside of work, during an era where disenfranchisement was still the norm.

UMWA International President Cecil Roberts will be our Special Guest Speaker. We are also very excited to have as our Master of Ceremonies, former Alabama star running back and NFL player Siran Stacy, who has a powerful message and testimony . As you are probably already aware, Brother Stacy lost his wife and 4 of his 5 children in a tragic accident in November of 2007, when a drunk driver hit their van less than 1 mile from their home.

There will also be special music provided by The Lamb Family, Carroline Shines, The Shelton State Singers, Holt's Second Baptist Church Mass Choir, Ronnie Blake, Kim Byram and Kenn Spencer.

The Memorial Service will be at 5pm with a FREE concert following.

 

2011 West Alabama Labor Day Parade in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is cancelled.