Today in 1935 The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is approved by Congress. President Franklin Roosevelt proposed the WPA during the Great Depression of the 1930s when almost 25 percent of Americans were unemployed. It created low-paying federal jobs providing immediate relief, putting 8.5 million jobless to work on projects ranging from construction of bridges, highways and public buildings to arts programs like the Federal Writers’ Project.
• The past, present, and future of work • What happened to the Apple store union campaign? • Most unionized occupations • ‘UAW just made it easier for auto workers to strike • Organizing a top topic at Steelworkers convention • Business Insider: 6 issues that could push UPS Teamsters to strike • US labor leaders say underfunding at NLRB has ‘reached crisis stage’ • Booming US cannabis industry seen as fertile ground for union expansion • Teamsters enact historic agreement to organize Illinois cannabis industry • Exclusive: Biden’s emergency board calls for railroad wage hikes to resolve contract talks • Watch: O’Brien to join Sen. Sanders and AFT’s Nelson at major rallies this weekend
