Winners can be found in the Communications Contest page. Congratulations to all! Come pick up your awards at the Metro Convention – May 30th. Register today!

Registration form for our May 30th Convention can be found under Annual Convention.

The Center for Community and Ethnic Media at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism is partnering with Metro NY Labor Communications Council to host a panel discussion on covering labor issues.

Thursday, May 1st, 2014 @ 6:00 p.m.

CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
219 West 40th Street (Between 7th and 8th Avenues), Room 308
New York, NY 10018

Panel members:
Cara Noel, Communications Director, NYC Central Labor Council, Co-Chair, NY Metro Labor Communications Council
Lenore Friedlaender, Assistant to the President 32BJ SEIU
Richie Steier,  Editor of the civil-service newspaper “The Chief-Leader”

Moderator: Garry Pierre-Pierre, Executive Director, Center for Community and Ethnic Media

In recent years, new Americans have become the bedrock of labor union membership. These members are essentially your readers. And soon, the de Blasio administration is set to begin negotiations with municipal unions whose contracts expired long ago. So how do you cover labor issues and what exactly do your readers need to know about their unions? Please join us for a conversation with labor leaders and journalists about labor’s continuing role to empower new Americans.
Food and drinks will be served

Click here to RSVP

For questions, email

Breaking: McDonald’s workers mount class action suits in three states – Salon.com.

Fast food strikers’ struggle takes a new turn, which could force sketchy franchise system into spotlight

Josh Eidelson

Big Apple Area Airport Workers Take a Stand – 32BJ SEIU.

At Newark Liberty International (EWR), John F. Kennedy International (JFK) and LaGuardia (LGA) airports, about 15,000 low-wage subcontracted airport service workers provide crucial services such as cabin cleaning, terminal security, baggage handling, wheelchair assistance, and sky cap services. They work for contractors hired by airlines and terminal operators and they struggle to get by on wages as low as $8.00 per hour with no affordable healthcare and no paid sick days in one of the most expensive cities in the country.

These service positions were once directly filled by airline carriers, and included paid sick days and holidays, vacation and health insurance benefits. In a bid to cut costs, airlines shed those jobs in favor of a race-to-the-bottom system where contractors fill jobs by reducing wages and doing away with employment benefits. These low-wage jobs, where workers may have to fill the gaps with government assistance programs such as food stamps, cash assistance, Section 8 rent support, and Medicaid, are not what New York City and New Jersey need.

The workers are struggling for justice, respect and a voice in their workplaces.

How Dark Money Flows Through the Koch Network.

By Al Shaw, Theodoric Meyer and Kim Barker, ProPublica
Fundraising by the libertarian billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch supports a tangle of nonprofits, sometimes referred to as the Kochtopus, all aimed at advancing conservative causes…

The Bill » New York Dream Act.

What is the New York DREAM Act?

The New York DREAM Act would allow undocumented students who meet in-state tuition requirements to access state financial aid and scholarships for higher education. It would also open 529 tuition savings accounts to all New York youth, and establish a Dream Fund Commission to raise private funds for a college scholarship program for children of immigrants…

Building Bridges Radio: Your Community & Labor Report.

WORKERS OF THE WORLD TUNE IN! Introducing “Building Bridges: Your Community & Labor Report”

Over the years Building Bridges has produced a weekly one hour program, Mondays from 7-8 PM EST, covering local, national and international labor and community issues over radio WBAI-Pacifica 99.5 FM in New York. We also produce half hour version, Building Bridges National, which is distribtued to over 40 broadcast and internet radio stations…

Membership forms and the Call for Entries for this year’s awards have been mailed out. If you haven’t received the material please contact Denise Shavers at .

Please have your union/association take out an ad for this year’s journal. Or if you’re an individual member you can purchase a business ad. You can download the Journal Ad Form in the Annual Convention page.