News

The fight for fair trade is now in the hands of the U.S. Senate, after a corporate-backed bill to give President George W. Bush “fast track” trading authority squeaked by in the House shortly before the lawmakers’ holiday recess.

When a Mississippi jury found a Canadian-based conglomerate guilty of fraud for trying to put a family-owned funeral home out of business, the Canadian company filed a claim against the United States for $725 million.

Worker safety has fallen lower than ever on the list of concerns in the Bush White House, as the president used the congressional recess to stealthily appoint an outspoken anti-union attorney as the Labor Department’s solicitor and is expected to pull the plug on any hope of an ergonomics standard.

New Era workers and their student and union supporters announced significant victories and a major escalation of their campaign for a fair contract at the cap manufacturer’s Derby, N.Y., plant, exactly six months from the date Local 14177 went on strike.

Philip Perkins, president of Local 6139 for the past six years, died of a heart attack Jan. 10 while attending the Committee on Equity meeting in Washington, D.C.