Labor 2008: The Year In Headlines

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

The election, the election, the election…and the economy. Or maybe, by the end of the year, it was: The economy, the economy, the economy and the election.  Actually, it was both. As reflected in the headlines of the year in Press Associates Union News Service, the economy and the election became increasingly intertwined this year.  The very first headline in the first issue of January was a steep jump in joblessness, to 5%.  And after that, things only got worse.  Against that background, the campaign revved up. There were other key developments, including union membership increasing by 311,000 in 2007, the first substantial jump in years.  Senate GOP filibusters killed key pro-worker legislation, notably the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act -- to restore workers’ rights to sue employers for sexual pay discrimination -- and a $14 billion rescue package for the auto firms.  The Employee Free Choice Act was delayed.  With Overnite Transportation now part of unionized UPS, the Teamsters signed up more than 10,000 of its workers.  Bush’s DOT let anti-union Delta Airlines devour wall-to-wall-union Northwest.  2008 ended with a sit-down strike success in Chicago. But the top stories overall were a big labor win in the election, with Obama beating McCain, at least seven more Senate Democrats and a bigger pro-worker House majority -- and the economic crash the Illinoisan will inherit from Bush on January 20.  Click here for 2008 as told in the headlines of Press Associates Union News Service.
- Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer
 
Photo: Demonstrators march through downtown Chicago on December 10 in support of UE members staging a sit-in at Republic Windows and Doors. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert