Videos

Union Town by Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman

Hundreds of thousands of public employees are peacefully defending their rights in states across the US, and they’re all up against GOP underhanded tactics pushing through dangerous bills. Each state faces their own battle for saving workers rights, but they all share in the belief that ending fundamental rights to organize does not balance budgets.

Visit http://saveworkers.org to join the fight and download “Union Town” for free. Video by Revolution Messaging. Directed and edited by Robin Bell. Tom Morello filmed by Sean Ricigliano Wisconsin convergence footage by Matt Wisniewski as well as the Transport Workers Union. LA Unity Rally footage by Chris Kissinger.

What’s It Really Like to Work at the ‘Happiest Place On Earth’

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The Service Trades Council, comprised of unions representing some 27,000 workers at Walt Disney World in Florida, and Disney management are meeting with a mediator today. Ahead of their scheduled meeting, the Service Trades Council aired a documentary about Disney workers, for which a trailer is available on YouTube.

JP Morgan Chase Greed Brings ‘Guilty’ Verdict

by Mike Hall, Mar 17, 2010 (from the AFL-CIO Blog)

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was found guilty yesterday of conspiracy to wreck the economy, destroy jobs and the immoral use of taxpayer bank bailout money for millions in Wall Street bonuses.

The courtroom was on a Madison Wis., street in front a JP Morgan Chase bank branch and the jury included dozens of union and community activists. The street theater was part of the AFL-CIO union movement’s two weeks of action across the country to Make Wall Street pay to create jobs and fix they economy they ravaged.

Jim Cavanaugh, president of the South Central Federation of Labor which organized the curbside drama says:

We bailed out Wall Street now its time for Wall Street to bail out Main Street.

More than 200 “Good Jobs Now, Make Wall Street Pay” actions are planned through March 25. The rallies and marches will demand that the Big Six Wall Street banks–Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia-Wells Fargo–take the following actions:

  • Pay their fair share to restore the jobs their actions destroyed.
  • Stop their multi-million dollar lobbying blitz to kill financial reform.
  • Start lending to communities, small businesses and others starved for credit.

Also yesterday, union members distributed leaflets in front of JP Morgan Chase branch in Baton Rouge, La., and rallied at a Bank of America office in Charleston, S.C. Today union activists in Butte, Mont., will march in the town’s St. Patrick’s Day parade carrying “Make Wall Street Pay” signs and banners. This afternoon, the West Virginia AFL-CIO, along with community allies, staged a rally in front a Wells Fargo/Wachovia Bank in Charleston.

Find out about events in your area here. If you take part in an event, be sure to send us your photo or video here.

You also can tell Wall Street executives to pony up and create good jobs by sending a letter urging them to do the right thing. Just click here.

Put a Union Label On It–IBEW Team Makes Super Bowl Work

Super Bowl XLIV was the most watched show in TV history. But before the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts took the field, a different kind of team was behind the scenes, making sure the game was seen around the world.

More than 500 broadcast technicians, all members of the Electrical Workers (IBEW), were in the stands, on the field, behind cameras and in the control room to make the Super Bowl work. In a new video (above), IBEW tells the story of this unseen but vital group that made watching the game possible.

There were 90 cameras alone. Neil McCaffrey, a member of IBEW Local 1212, has operated a camera at seven Super Bowls. He says:

Everyone wants to participate in it [Super Bowl] because it’s so big. So it’s a great sense of brotherhood.

Martin Febres, a freelance technician and member of IBEW Local 108 who was working his first Super Bowl, says:

[The other IBEW workers] are willing to share their knowledge. They’re willing to give you that experience. That’s one of the great things I like about IBEW.