Jobs

Fighting for Fairness: Domestic Workers and the Fair Labor Standards Act Left: Ella Watson, FSA cleaning woman (1942). Bottom right: Margaret Hinchey and Laundry Workers Union members (1914). Upper right: SEIU workers (2021). In 1938, the groundbreaking passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) enshrined foundational protections for America’s workers. Yet when the law was passed, it excluded several

Making ‘Worker Voice’ Work, at Home and Across the Globe! Members of a workers’ organization protesting in Myanmar. Photo credit: AHS (a pseudonym to protect the photographer) Last month, my colleagues from the Bureau of International Labor Affairs and I visited the Forum Silaturahmi Pelaut Indonesia, a 2,300-member community-based organization supporting Indonesian migrant fishers in Taiwan. We sat with members

COBRA: Providing Stability in Uncertain Times COBRA (or the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) has been a lifeline for workers and their families facing the challenges of job loss, reduced working hours and certain other life changes by offering a way to maintain their health coverage during uncertain times.  As we observe COBRA’s 38th anniversary, here are five

Find Your Place in Space Space exploration impacts industries across the globe, including healthcare, agriculture, telecommunications and climate management. Astronauts may be the best-known space workers, but they hold few of the jobs. The logistics of space missions require a large team of workers with a variety of skills and training backgrounds. If you’re interested in space, you could channel

Transgender Day of Visibility 2024 – The Union Effect Transgender Day of Visibility 2024 shines a light on the resilience, achievements and presence of transgender persons worldwide. This year, we want to celebrate the pivotal role unions play in advocating for and protecting the rights and wellbeing of transgender workers across the country. Nearly half of transgender workers have experienced

Balancing Big Dreams and Financial Security         Everyone, at some point in their career, asks themselves if they should stay in their job or look for something else. I sometimes ask myself those questions. I am a young professional based in Washington, D.C. Growing up, my mom used to say, “You have a disability. You have challenges.

10 Well-Paying, Fast-Growing Jobs in Healthcare In the United States, employment in healthcare occupations makes up about 10% of total employment. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment in healthcare occupations is projected to grow much faster than the 3% average for all occupations from 2022 to 2032.  Employment growth for healthcare practitioners and technical support occupations

How One Partnership is Stabilizing the Healthcare Workforce Author Darnice Marsh, labor-management partnership coordinator in the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, opens an H-CAP conference. The Healthcare Career Advancement Program (H-CAP) is a labor-management partnership established by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and various national healthcare industry employers that currently serves over half a million workers. Its

A Roadmap for Responsible Business Conduct A farmworker in Sri Lanka. Photo credit: artiemedvedev  Three years ago, a Dalit woman was murdered by her supervisor at a garment factory in India. Her co-workers did not wait for the company to respond. They organized collectively and engaged major global fashion companies, developing an enforceable agreement between the buying companies, the factories

5 Safe Machinery Practices for Miners Machines are an integral part of the mining process but there are many dangers of working with heavy machinery – being struck or run over, being crushed or entangled in any part of the machine or driving into unmarked or unguarded holes in the ground, to name a few. In 2023, 16 miners died