Thousands of union members, community activists, religious leaders and others turned out in Washington, D.C., today to confront Big Insurance and demand insurance companies stop plotting to kill health care reform even as Congress debates bills to reform the nation’s broken health care system. Read More>>

The jobless rate remained at 9.7 percent, with 36,000 jobs lost in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports today. The biggest hit came in construction, where employment fell by 64,000. Manufacturing remained steady but 18,000 jobs were lost in the information industry. Temporary help services added 48,000 jobs. Read More>>

 

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The AFL-CIO is calling for the United States and the entire international community, including the global union movement, to “do our utmost to aid our Haitian sisters and brothers in their moment of extraordinary need.” Unions are mobilizing their members to provide aid in Haiti and through donations. Here's how you can assist Haitians.

We recommend the following organizations for donating to Haiti:

• The AFL-CIO Solidarity Center’s Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers’ Campaign
• Partners in Health
• Doctors Without Borders
• American Red Cross International Response Fund
• United Way Worldwide Disaster Fund

Volunteer

If you or someone you know is a registered nurse, the National Nurses Union is coordinating volunteers to go to Haiti. Contact the RN Response Network: www.NationalNursesUnited.org.

Those interested in providing volunteer assistance should contact the Center for International Disaster Information, at http://www.cidi.org.

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Pictures from the 2009 SkillsUSA Virginia Leadership Conference and Skills Competition.

Visit www.vaskillsusa.org for more information on SkillsUSA Virginia.