Civil and Human Rights News
- February 02, 2012 Tennessee Tea Party ‘Demands’ That References To Slavery Be Removed From History Textbooks Tea Partiers would prefer students didn't learn George Washington owned slaves. In 2010, the conservatives who controlled the Texas Board of Education caused an uproar when they made radical changes to the history curriculum for the state’s 4.8 million public school students. The changes included referring to the country’s first black president as “Barack Hussein Obama,” and requiring students to “contrast” Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ inaugural address with Abraham Lincoln’s philosophical views.
- January 30, 2012 'Don’t Steal Our Vote!' On Saturday, January 29, Beaver County residents protested, in front of Senator Elder Vogel's Rochester office, a proposed voter suppression bill. Beaver County has no reported cases of voter fraud.
- November 02, 2011 AFL-CIO 2012 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HOLIDAY OBSERVANCE The 2012 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance will be held January 12 – 16 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit has a rich history that is emblematic of the theme of the Observance – We Are One: Worker’s Rights and Civil Rights.
- September 12, 2011 Al Franken Smacks Down Hans von Spakovsky Over Flawed Voter ID Stats Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) squared off with voting rights restrictions enthusiast Hans von Spakovsky at at Senate hearing on Thursday, accusing the Heritage Foundation fellow of leaving out a crucial piece of data that undermined his argument that voter ID laws don't suppress minority turnout.
- September 07, 2011 USW Applauds Sen. Durbin for Hearing on Voter ID Law The United Steelworkers (USW) today applauded Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Richard Durbin’s (D-IL) announcement that he will chair a Congressional hearing on Thurs., Sept. 8 to assess the potential impact of new voting laws passed by several states.
- August 31, 2011 An important Congressional hearing on voting rights will be held on September 8. Assistant Majority Leader Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) will chair a Congressional hearing to assess the impact of voting laws recently passed by several states. Among other things, these new laws will significantly reduce the number of early voting days, require voters to show photo identification before voting, and make it harder for volunteer organizations to register new voters.
- August 30, 2011 Civil Rights News and Links
- August 24, 2011 Memo: Clarence Darrow to Gov. Walker: Labor Rights ARE Civil Rights The year 2011 has already been a great and terrible year for the labor movement. In my home state, Wisconsin—as well as around the nation and in fact the world—workers and unions have been taking it on the chin.
- July 27, 2011 Proposed NLRB Rules Promote Transparency and Democracy The ability for workers to have a free and fair election process is essential to democracy, civil rights and labor advocates stressed as they testified in favor of the National Labor Relations Board’s recently proposed union election rules at a hearing last week.
- July 11, 2011 Employee Must Be in Close Physical Proximity to Ill Family Member to Satisfy FMLA "To Care For" Requirement Girard Baham requested and was granted FMLA leave to care for his daughter, who fell and suffered a serious head injury while the family was on vacation. The daughter was airlifted from Honduras to Miami, where the family remained in the hospital while their daughter recovered.
- July 01, 2011 Statement from the United Steelworkers (USW) International on Ohio HB 194 Make no mistake about it; the passage of HB 194 is another assault on the democratic rights of ordinary Ohio citizens. It is the latest attack by right-wing Republican extremists aimed at making political gains and suppressing voter turnout by falsely claiming voter fraud problems.
- June 30, 2011 USW Local 675 Member Recognized for Outstanding Work to Help Others A union member from United Steelworkers (USW) Union Local 675 has been recognized for volunteer work under difficult circumstances. Xochitl Cobarruvias was on loan from her local to assist as a Coordinator in the sorting and distribution of food collected for union families in need.
- February 08, 2011 Strength of Steel: USW, Exhibit Honor Trailblazing Steelworkers USW International Vice President Fred Redmond spoke at the opening of "The Strength of Steel: A Tribute to African-American Steelworkers in Pittsburgh." Click here for photos and a story.
- February 04, 2011 United Steelworkers Celebrate Black History Month Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. The event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans.
- September 03, 2010 Steelworkers Endorse Report by Human Rights Watch Criticizing European Companies’ Violations of Labor Rights in the U.S. The United Steelworkers (USW) union praised a report released today by Human Rights Watch documenting how many European companies publicly embrace workers’ rights under global labor standards while undermining their employees’ rights in their U.S. operations.
- August 17, 2010 USW Locals, Steelers Alum Distribute Free School Supplies Click here for a report from a USW school supply drive.
- June 16, 2010 Embattled Striking Miners in Mexico Are Led from BC The lip of an enormous copper mine pit looms behind the dusty streets of Cananea in Sonora, Mexico. Walk those streets, and you encounter outsized memorials and tributes to the mine and its workers, the kinds of markers you might find in the British Columbian communities of Kimberley
- February 19, 2010 Widows Lawsuit Seeks Damages over Disaster that Killed 65 Mexican Miners Four Years Ago Today Families of deceased coal miners killed four years ago in an explosion at the Pasta de Conchos coal mine in Coahuila, Mexico, today filed suit in U.S. federal court in Arizona seeking damages from Grupo Mexico Inc. and related companies.
- February 06, 2010 Our union celebrates Black History Month Click here to read a celebration of Black History Month.
- January 29, 2010 Tell Firestone to Play Fair in Liberia - Take Super Bowl Action This year's Super Bowl Halftime sponsor, Bridgestone/Firestone, exploits workers on its rubber plantation in Liberia. Click here to take action against this.
- January 29, 2010 USW fighting for pay equity The USW is joining efforts to ensure pay equity. Click here for more.
- January 27, 2010 Want to help Haiti? Click here for info Many Steelworkers have asked what they and the union can do to help after the horrible earthquake in Haiti. Click here to find out.
- January 04, 2010 Civil and Human Rights Videos Worth Viewing Videos that were shot at the 2009 Civil and Human Rights Conference in Pittsburgh.
- January 04, 2010 Providing Community Service during the 2009 Civil and Human Rights Conference Participants at the USW’s 15th Civil and Human Rights Conference experienced first-hand the joy and meaning of community service, a theme of this year’s call for “Building Strength and Power through Action.”
- December 22, 2009 Evaluate the 15th Civil and Human Rights Conference Please click here to fill out the evaluation for the USW's 15th Civil and Human Rights conference.
- December 18, 2009 Take Action: Help children forced to pick cotton in Uzbekistan Every year, the government of Uzbekistan forces thousands of children and teachers out of the classrooms and into the fields to harvest cotton. Click here to take action to help the children!
- December 15, 2009 15th Civil & Human Rights Conference Calls on Committees to Get Active The 15th Civil & Human Rights Conference was a great success. Delegates promised to answer the call to become activists and help our communities. Click here for more.
- October 14, 2009 USW Blasts Seizure of Mexico's Electricity Plants by Federal Police as Another Attack on Labor Rights The United Steelworkers (USW) today sharply criticized the actions of the government of President Felipe Calderon for his announcing the liquidation of the Central Light and Power Company of Mexico (LyF) and the termination of the workers following the seizure of plants by the Mexican Federal Police.
- October 05, 2009 Honduran Doctor Returns to Homeland Providing free medical care for thousands in his poverty-ridden homeland was one huge undertaking. But returning home to fight for freedom -- and face arrest or worse -- represents the latest challenge from which Dr. Luther Castillo says he will not wilt.
- August 27, 2009 Civil Rights History: 19th Amendment Gives Women the Right to Vote August 26 marked the 89th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ratified in 1920, the amendment gave women the right to vote. Women had been gaining suffrage, or the right to vote, on a state-by-state basis throughout the early 20th century, but the amendment granted all U.S. women full voting rights.
- August 27, 2009 USW Mourns ‘Workers Champion,’ U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy "Senator Kennedy fought for us through nearly five decades and authored more than 2,500 bills -- beginning in the sixties for civil and voter rights, and ending with his last vote on President Obama’s economic recovery plan. He never wavered in his support of working families and left his imprint on every major piece of social legislation to pass Congress during his years in the Senate.
- August 18, 2009 National Summit on Diversity II Please join union members and leaders, AFL-CIO constituency groups and AFL-CIO Convention delegates to discuss diversity and full participation in the labor movement.
- August 13, 2009 Steelworkers Celebrate Sotomayor Confirmation The United Steelworkers (USW) today lauded the U.S. Senate confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- August 12, 2009 15th Biennial Convention of the Coalition of Labor Union Women Join us at CLUW's 15th Biennial Convention October 14-17, 2009 and the Education Workshops on October 14 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 404 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles
- June 10, 2009 Leahy: Sotomayor Confirmation Hearing To Begin July 13 The hearings to consider the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court will begin July 13, Sen. Patrick Leahy says. Read more here.
- January 26, 2008 Union Privilege Scholarship Program Helps Develop Leadership Diversity Applications for the Union Leaders of the Future Scholarship are now available.
- January 01, 2008 CLUW Joins Global Pearl Of Wisdom Campaign To Prevent Cervical Cancer Marking Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in January, the Coalition of Labor Union Women has joined a coalition of women's health and advocacy organizations in the United States and Europe in a new, united effort to prevent cervical cancer worldwide.
