Marking nearly one year since the first ever Raising Wages Summit, the AFL-CIO released a new report, Fighting for a Better Life:  How Working People Across America are Organizing to Raise Wages and Improve Work, detailing the successes, struggles and path ahead to raise wages for working people.

The report finds that over the last year income inequality has shifted from a problem we discuss to a problem we can solve, and points to clear and unequivocal steps for a path forward.  Armed with the solutions outlined in the report, the central conclusion is that America is ready to move beyond the discussion of income inequality and is beginning to write new rules that will shape the economy.

Click here for the rules and regulations for the 2016 OPEIU Scholarships, specifically the John Kelly Labor Studies Scholarship, the Howard Coughlin Memorial Scholarship, and the Romeo Corbeil/Gilles Beauregard Summer Camp. 

The deadline for the John Kelly and Howard Coughlin Scholarships have been extended to April 30, 2016.

The deadline for the Romeo Corbeil/Gilles Beauregard Summer Camp is May 16, 2016. 

The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, CLC, Executive Board named Richard Lanigan to serve as president, effective December 15, 2015, following the resignation of Michael Goodwin.  The appointment was made at the Executive Board’s meeting in New York City. Lanigan has served as Secretary-Treasurer of OPEIU Local 153 and as an International vice president for Region II since 1994.

“I would like to thank the Executive Board for its decision to appoint me as president,” said Lanigan when accepting the appointment.  “I’ve dedicated my life to OPEIU and its members, and I’m excited to embark on this next phase of service to the working people of this union.” 

“Richard is the fifth person to occupy the position of OPEIU president, and the board could not have made a better choice,” said Goodwin. “I know he will do a great job for the members of the union.”

Tucson, Arizona (October 28, 2015) – In a groundbreaking ruling, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Tucson, Arizona, has determined that more than 200 taxi drivers employed by AAA Transportation/Yellow Cab are employees and are therefore eligible for union representation.

As part of its commitment to empower union women, the Coalition of Union Women (CLUW)   provides its members with health information. To assist us in tailoring that information, we created a short survey with one of our Spread the Word campaign partners, HealthyWomen," announces CLUW President Connie Leak.

 

President Leak explains the survey results will allow HealthyWomen to work with CLUW to provide CLUW members with the health information they want on a regular basis, delivered via the communications format/s they prefer.

 

The short survey, which is going out via “Survey Monkey,” is called Getting to Know You and Your Health Needs: Audience Survey for Women. You can access it here: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/cluw-survey 

NEW YORK, NY (June 30, 2015) – The United Taxi Workers of San Diego (UTWSD) and Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, jointly announced today an affiliation between UTWSD and OPEIU. The UTWSD is an association in a group of more than 1,500 taxi driver professionals in San Diego, California.

The executive boards of both organizations approved an affiliation agreement that will add to the more than 2,500 taxi drivers in Las Vegas, Nevada, that are represented by OPEIU, an organization of more than 105,000 members.

New York, NY (June 18, 2015) – The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, today announced the formal affiliation of the New Jersey Podiatric Medical Society (NJPMS), who will become members of OPEIU’s First National Guild of Healthcare Providers of the Lower Extremity, Guild 45.  The NJPMS just completed a one-year trial affiliation with OPEIU.

The affiliation will bring 650 podiatrists into OPEIU Guild 45, which represents more than 4,600 podiatrists in various states.  NJPMS is a state component of the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA).

Nobody expects an internship to make one rich — but for many, the entire experience has become simply unattainable.

Reynaldo Leal tells NPR doing an internship was impossible. "I was going to school on the GI Bill, and when it came time to look at internships I couldn't make the pay (or lack of pay) work when it came to providing for my family," Leal says. "A couple of weeks of not getting paid meant affecting my family's budget to the point of not paying rent or bills. It seemed like internships were for kids with no major responsibilities."

Las Vegas, Nevada (May 28, 2015) – Taxi drivers employed by Yellow Checker Star (YCS) in Las Vegas, Nevada, will conduct a work stoppage on Friday, May 29, 2015, from 2-5 p.m. (PDT) in protest of Uber’s unsafe driver standards  and the company’s “surge pricing” policy.

The YCS drivers are members of the Industrial, Technical and Professional Employees Union (ITPEU), 
OPEIU Local 4873.  “Our members are professional drivers,” said ITPEU/OPEIU Local 4873 President Dennis R. Arrington.  “They are experienced drivers, fully insured, and have passed comprehensive background checks.

Why Uber is Bad for Everyone

Atlanta, Georgia (February 25, 2015) -- The AFL-CIO Executive Council today issued a statement in support of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU)’s doctors of podiatric medicine, calling on Congress to enact legislation amending Title XIX of the Social Security Act governing Medicaid to recognize DPMs as “physicians” in the same manner in which they are recognized in Title XVIII governing Medicare.  The statement also called for amendment of Title XVIII of the Social Security Act governing Medicare to recognize the ability of DPMs to independently certify the need for and prescribe appropriate durable medical equipment within their scope of practice.  The AFL-CIO represents 12 million workers.