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September features
Labor books and links!
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- The strongest bond of human sympathy, outside of the family relation, should be one of uniting all working people of all nations,
tongues and kindreds.
-----From the speeches of Abraham Lincoln
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD)
http://www.dwd.state.wi.us
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce
Development (DWD) is a state agency charged with building and
strengthening Wisconsin's workforce. The Department's primary
responsibilities include providing job services,
training and employment assistance to people looking for work. Under the
DWD umbrella, a wide variety of employment programs can be found which
range from securing jobs for the disabled, assisting
former welfare recipients as they make a transition into work, promoting
job centers, linking youth with jobs, protecting and enforcing worker's
rights, processing unemployment claims and ensuring workers compensation
claims are paid in accordance with the law.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
http://www.eeoc.gov
The mission of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) is to eradicate employment discrimination
at the workplace. The EEOC enforces provisions prohibiting employment
discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin; discrimination against individuals 40 years of age and older;
discrimination on the basis of gender in compensation for substantially
similar work under similar conditions; and discrimination on the basis of
disability.
The National Labor Relations Board
http://www.nlrb.gov
The National Labor Relations Board is an
independent Federal agency created in 1935 to enforce the National Labor
Relations Act. It conducts secret-ballot elections to determine whether
employees want union representation and is responsible for investigating
and remedying unfair labor practices by employers and unions.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
http://www.osha.gov
The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) is charged with preventing workplace
injuries and death and protecting the life and health of the American
worker. OSHA and its state partners establishs protective standards,
enforces those standards, and reach out to employers and employees through
technical assistance and consultation programs.
May Day History
http://www.mayweek.ab.ca/history.html
Ask most Americans when the worker's holiday is,
and they will tell you it's Labor Day, the first Monday in September. But
for the rest of the world, the real celebration of labor comes on May 1.
During the Cold War, May Day for Americans meant Soviet tanks rolling
through Red Square, now it merely heralds the arrival of spring, if it
means anything at all. So it may surprise you to learn that the holiday we
ignore was created in our honor. In 1886, the American Federation of Labor
declared May 1st the start of a nationwide general strike for the
eight-hour day. Although the strike was met with heavy police violence and
failed to secure an eight-hour day, efforts continued. And in 1889, the
Second International congress of labor and left-wing parties and trade
unions declared May 1st a day of solidarity in support of American workers
and their struggle for the eight-hour day. It's been celebrated by workers
around the world ever since. This site contains information and links
about May Day and labor history.
The Illinois Labor History Society (ILHS)
http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs
The Illinois Labor History Society (ILHS) web
page. The goal of the ILHS is to encourage the preservation and study of
labor history materials of the Illinois Region, and to arouse public
interest in the profound significance of the past to the present. Besides
Illinois-specific labor history materials, the site provides many
excellent articles and links on U.S. labor history in general, including A
Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers, an extensive and
excellent narrative of American labor history.
Labor Watch
http://www.zmag.org/LaborWatch.htm
Labor Watch on ZNet is updated every two weeks
to bring short news and information notes on organized labor and the world
of work. "Labor Watch" is produced by the Harvard Trade
Union Program, the premiere labor education program in the United States,
and the Mid-West Center for Labor, educational organization created by
labor leaders in 1982, and with support from union activists, labor
support organizations and unions.
CWCS at Youngstown State University
http://www.as.ysu.edu/~cwcs/
The CWCS at Youngstown State University in
Youngstown, Ohio, is the only center of its kind in the United States
devoted to the study of working-class life and culture. The CWCS creates
social spaces for civic and academic conversations on working-class life
and culture and its intersections with other identities and serves as a
clearinghouse for information on working-class culture, issues, and
pedagogy.
The CWCS is also engaged with the broader society, providing assistance
in creating a culture of organizing and education
within working-class institutions and society. The CWCS web site includes
information about working-class studies as a field of study; information
on courses, research, and programs at YSU; a bibliography on working-class
studies; plus links to other related web sites.
Payday
http://www.steamiron.com/payday
Payday is a website devoted to exploring working
class art and life, from a working class perpective.
It includes bibliographies of working class autobiography and fiction,
poetry and anthologies, and links writing by and about the working class.
Work Grrl
http://www.grrl.com/work.html
Work Grrl is for folks who want to bond with
their fellow working class members. It contains hellish tales of temping,
links to gripe pages where workers spout off about their jobs, bosses, and
customers, and other gems of workplace angst and humor.
AFL-CIO
http://www.aflcio.org/home.htm
The American Federation of Labor-Congress of
Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is the voluntary federation of
sixty-four of America's unions, representing more than 13 million working
women and men nationwide. If you are interested in
the current activities of labor unions in America, this is a good place to
start, since the overwhelming majority of unionized workers in America
belong to an AFL-CIO affiliate.
9to5, National Association of Working Women
http://www.9to5.org
9to5, National Association of Working Women is
the nation's largest non-profit membership
organization of working women and has more than 20 chapters and members
in all 50 states. For over 25 years, 9to5 has organized to end sexual
harassment and discrimination and to win better wages,
working conditions and family-friendly policies.
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