The AFL-CIO condemns the violent invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military. We stand in solidarity with the workers and their families who are impacted by the devastation, and offer our condolences for lives that have been lost. 

We join the global labor movement and our allies in calling for an immediate end to President Vladimir Putin’s military aggression and we support extensive economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, particularly those focused on Putin and his protectors. These sanctions should be strengthened, by excluding Russia from the SWIFT international banking system and by taking effective multilateral action against tax havens and financial secrecy laws that protect Putin and his enablers. We further call on all U.S.-based corporations doing business in Russia to publicly condemn Putin’s government while calling for an end to the attack on Ukraine. We stand ready to assist the Biden administration in its efforts to implement and strengthen these measures, and we call on global leaders to build toward re-establishing peace and democracy in Ukraine and the region.

In his address to Congress tonight, President Biden outlined the challenging path toward recovery his administration has carved since taking office in January 2021.

President Biden's American Rescue Plan is injecting $1.3 trillion worth of federal funding into local economies to repair or rebuild roads, bridges, water systems, airports, buses, trains and schools. These important projects will have positive ripple effects through our communities as good-paying union jobs are created in the process which, research shows, raises living standards for all workers in the area, both union and non-union.

But OPEIU members, like most working Americans, are concerned: how rising wages due to a tight labor market are being nullified by inflation, driven in no small part by corporate greed; about the growing wage and health inequities exacerbated by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic; how corporate America continues to get away with union-busting, tax-dodging and destroying the planet; and how to cope with the ongoing student debt crisis that threatens to derail economic growth if the payment pause is ended.

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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA (Feb. 23, 2022) – The 56 employees of Impact Justice, a criminal justice reform nonprofit, received from management today voluntary recognition of their union with OPEIU Local 29.

"We are pleased yet unsurprised by our president's decision to do the right thing and recognize our union," said Bry Law, an Impact Justice United (IJU) spokesperson and a program coordinator at the criminal justice reform nonprofit since November 2020. "Impact Justice United is excited to work collaboratively to build a stronger organization and a more prosperous staff.

"That work begins at the bargaining table," Law added.

Earlier today, a supermajority of Impact Justice employees asked their president, Alex Busansky, to bypass the lengthy and arduous National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process in favor of a collaborative approach. In recognizing Impact Justice United, both management and employees can now focus on negotiating a first contract that benefits both the organization and the people who make it run.