You see their handiwork on the backs of fashionable people all over the United States and Europe. But what you don’t see are the sweatshops in developing countries where workers toil long hours for little or nothing to produce that new jacket or overpriced pair of jeans. But a growing coalition of student activists, community groups, unions and people of conscience are taking up the cause of those workers and demanding respect, along with decent wages and working conditions, from the companies that profit from their labor. They also are demanding that these companies, many of them headquartered in this country, use their power to enforce standards of conduct among subcontractors that violate workers’ rights.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed today that passage of the Employee Free Choice Act will be a top priority when Congress returns from the Presidents Day recess. In a press conference in San Francisco, Pelosi said House Democrats, as part of their first 100 hours agenda, passed an increase in the minimum wage and now it’s time to restore the right of American workers to join a union without harassment from employers.The San Francisco event was part of a weeklong series of actions around the nation as workers met with members of Congress and community leaders to push for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800).

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) joined union members to pledge to continue her support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Workers explain to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and workers' rights board in Burlington, Vt., why the Employee Free Choice Act is needed. In New Hampshire, Pittsburgh, Pa., Vermont and across the nation, momentum continues to build for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Where do the Democratic candidates for president stand on issues that affect working families? You can see and hear them answer questions that are on the minds of America’s workers in a televised forum sponsored by AFSCME.More than 500 AFSCME members and retirees will attend the forum in Carson City, Nev. The forum will be moderated by ABC commentator George Stephanopoulos and will include Sens. Joseph Biden (Del.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Christopher Dodd (Conn.), former Sens. John Edwards (N.C.) and Mike Gravel (Alaska), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.) and former Gov. Tom Vilsack (Iowa). The other announced candidate, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), is in Iowa today.

The Employee Free Choice Act would give all workers the freedom to make their own choice about whether to join a union, but for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers, the bill has special importance. In 32 states, LGBT workers can be fired for no reason unless they are protected by a union contract, says Nancy Wohlforth, co-president of the AFL-CIO constituency group Pride At Work. In a new video (left), Wohlforth urges LGBT workers to join in the week of action to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Bush administration’s Department of Labor is not going to be able to duck a suit filed by the AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) over the department’s failure to finish a safety rule requiring employers to pay for workers’ personal protective equipment (PPE). Protective gear, such as specialized clothing, lifelines, face shields, gloves and other equipment, is used by an estimated 20 million workers to protect them from job hazards.

Rep. John Yarmuth sports a button showing his support for workers' freedom to choose a union.   Members of Congress across the country are hearing from thousands of working family activists that it’s time to end the unfair process that denies workers their freedom to join unions and bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions. Over the weekend, workers launched a week of action to push for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800). In nearly 100 cities, at news conferences, worker roundtables, rallies and other gatherings across the country, workers and union and community leaders are connecting with more than 130 members of Congress—thanking those who support the Employee Free Choice Act and demanding better from those who don’t.

Nobody said it would be easy. And after 10 years without increasing the incredibly shrinking value of the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage, nobody really thought congressional Republicans would abandon their never-ending quest for business and corporate tax breaks.

Imagine you’re working in the attic of a new house under construction, putting in air conditioning ducts. It’s more than 100 degrees in the shade, and you’ve been at it for hours without a break. And you could easily fall and get hurt or, worse, die.You need a drink of water, safety equipment and a union.