Sharing Amy B. Dean's latest piece from Truthout: The outsourcing of good jobs, the elimination of pensions, rampant home foreclosures; skyrocketing higher education costs and mounting debt: Given these stark realities, the American middle class seems to be sinking fast. The renowned reporting team of Donald Barlett and James Steele insists it is no accident.

Sharing this piece by Yana Kunichoff and Jesse Menedez, Truthout and Vocalo: "Workers responsible for moving an estimated $1 trillion worth of goods a year through the global economy are paid low wages, often denied breaks and basic protective gear, and are employed primarily through temp agencies."

"The way forward is to create abundantly resourced public school systems that will push economic growth in cities and regions. Innovating and improving public schools helps attract middle- and upper-income families to cities and regions to build a healthy tax base. Mayors such as Emanuel should be funding public education and supporting what is already working -- including strategies invented by unionized teachers -- within public schools." Amy Dean

Amy is a Fellow of the Century Foundation and co-author, 'A New New Deal: How Regional Activism Will Reshape the American Labor Movement'; President and founder, ABD Ventures

 A registered nurse from Pennsylvania writes about her experience when hearing Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's statement shared with rich donors to his campaign. She was on the job at the time and heard it from one of the TVs in one of the patient's rooms. While Romney has made mention that the statement was "off the cuff," the guess is that he has no idea how irate, small and insignificant those "off the cuff" remarks made so man workers feel - including Cathy Stoddart, BSN, RN - the author of this piece. 

Health care workers have a long history of supporting public health initiatives, and most strongly support the goal of immunizing health care workers against Influenza. However, given the current scientific evidence, immunization should remain voluntary, with an “opt-out” option for those with medical, religious, or philosophical objections.

Mandating that all healthcare workers be vaccinated, without an option to decline for medical, religious and/or personal philosophical reasons, is a violation of the rights of providers. Mandating that those who choose not to receive the vaccination wear surgical masks ignores scientific evidence, jeopardizes patient care, and demonstrates a lack of respect for hard working health care employees.

When I received the blog post leading to Amy Dean's commentary on Prop 32, I requested and was granted permission, within minutes, to cross-post her piece here to Union Review. This is so important on so many fronts, whether you are in California or not. Prop 32 is so adamantly anti-union and anti-worker it is amazing that more and more voices aren't rising to the top about this ballot measure. In brief (and because Amy is better at this than me), Prop 32 will basically silence working people -- if you thought we were hard to hear now, with Prop 32 we would be totally mute. Please read this, comment on this, and pass it along.

"Most Labor Day parades have one grand marshal," Berry Craig writes, "but the Paducah-based Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee decided 15 was more like it."  The theme of Monday's parade is "Honor the Women in the Workplace," and all of the grand marshals this year are women who belong to unions.

Nine hundred and four days into a lockout of kitchen workers by the Castlewood Country Club, Adminstrative Law Judge Clifford Anderson handed down a decision that the workers at Castlewood had amazing faith was coming:  Castlewood had maintained an unlawful lockout for two years; Castlewood had bargained in bad faith; Castlewood's attorney was not credible; Castlewood maintained 'animus' towards its locked out workers; Castlewood management violated numerous other labor laws.  This piece originally appeared on Daily Kos.

Workers at Ace Tomato voted for a union in 1989 -- more than two decades later, they are STILL waiting for their contract. On July 25, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board ordered the company to implement the final mediator's report as the contract. Ace is ignoring the Board's order. Please sign and share the workers' petition.

Union Review contributor, Berry Craig, shares with us his piece on Mitt Romney's praise for Solidarity in Poland -- while pushing an anti-union agenda for workers here in the United States.

United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard writes in his blog about how steelworkers organized to save 1,200 jobs and create 1,000 construction and 200 new permanent jobs.  

Today, more than 250 workers employed at a Florida-based fresh tomato company voted to join the United Farm Workers of America. 

Workers at Palermo’s Pizza in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have been on strike for two weeks in response to the company's threats and retaliation against workers engaged in a unionization drive, including reporting employees to immigration enforcement for possible deportation.  This piece is cross-posted from Crooks and Liars.  

United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard writes in his latest USW Blog about China's economic downturn. In May, he writes, "China resumed purposely devaluing its currency, which is a tactical maneuver that tilts trade in its favor. American industry, American workers and the American economy suffer from China’s currency manipulation." 

Hundreds of thousands of workers enter the U.S. every year on temporary visas through the U.S. guestworker program, only to find themselves working in deeply exploitative conditions that frequently rise to the level of forced labor and involuntary servitude.  Mexican guestworkers at a seafood processing plant in Louisiana walked off the job recently because their employer forced them to work up to 24-hour shifts and refusing to pay them overtime.  They reached out to the National Guestworker Alliance, an advocacy group whose members organize in labor camps across the U.S. to win collective dignity at work.