Employment, wages, training, on-time project delivery, taxpayer  savings are among the many benefits - While Massachusetts’ economy emerges from the Great Recession in better shape than many other states, thousands of people – particularly construction workers – are still unemployed. Thankfully, Gov. Deval Patrick recognizes what some industry insiders, such as the Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts, do not: Project Labor Agreements increase employment pathways and save taxpayers money.

Elizabeth Warren addressed thousands of building trades men and women at the BCTD Legislative Conference on Tuesday. The crowd roared with approval at Warren’s contention that the Republican Party has moved the culture of our nation to one defined by the notion of “I’ve got mine, the rest of you are on your own.”

The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, announced today its enthusiastic endorsement of the 2012 re-election bid of President Barack Obama.  The announcement comes on the heels of a unanimous vote of the Department's Governing Board of Presidents.

President Obama spoke at the Building and Construction Trades Department Conference about creating good jobs for American workers, who can help our economy grow by rebuilding our nation's roads, bridges, train tracks, and airports. April 30, 2012.

Because today, our values of pride, performance and professionalism truly reflect an altogether higher level of ambition for our unions and our industry.  Our unions have proven, and will continue to prove, that America can, and should be, a country where labor and management can successfully work together in cooperative fashion to achieve great results for business, for workers, and for the community at large.

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO Scholarship Program awarded over 715 scholarships totaling $1,189,285 at it's annual dinner on May 10th. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO has awarded more than $11.6 million in scholarships since 1999.

Each day in 2010, 13 workers on average were killed on the job—some 4,690 workers—and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases, according to the AFL-CIO's annual report, “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.” Released today, the report shows the number of those who died in 2010 (the most recent year for which data are available) is up from the 4,551 people who perished in 2009. This trend that has continued since 2004, the first year in a decade that saw the number of deaths on the job increase.

Today, working people from around the United States and the world are coming together to commemorate May Day.  The message is the same everywhere: Workers' rights should be universal and every person - no matter what nationality, ethnicity or gender - must have equal rights and the opportunity to achieve a better life.

America’s top labor leader plans to help commemorate the centennial of Lawence’s famous 1912 “Bread and Roses” strike today, saying workers are “still fighting for the same exact things” 100 years later.  “We’re still striking for bread and roses,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who’ll give the keynote address at a symposium about the walkout — which got its name because strikers wanted to afford food and small luxuries like flowers.

A century after 20,000 Lawrence millworkers launched the largest strike of their time, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will deliver the keynote speech at the Bread and Roses Centennial, recognizing the contributions of the Bread and Roses strikers towards better working conditions and a fair wage, while laying out how their collective action can be an inspiration in the struggles currently facing the American worker.