Firefighters to make old fire station home for colleagues fighting cancer

When finished, the firefighter house will have three furnished apartments and room for expansion Original link

Fire destroys NY volunteer firefighters' home

Syracuse.com Brewerton, N.Y. — An early morning fire that rekindled from Wednesday has destroyed the home of two volunteer firefighters, according to fire officials. Firefighters responded to the 9495 Blaze Path home just after 5:30 p.m. yesterday to battle the initial fire, which began upstairs and destroyed the entire second floor, said Assistant Fire Chief Scott Leavery. Less than 12 hour...
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Deadline for 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Is October 3

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Watch the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Service Live Online

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IAFF Members Among Responders to the Washington Navy Yard Shooting

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Treasury Rejects Labor’s Top Obamacare Demand


Unions initially applauded the signing of the ACA in 2010, pictured here, but implementation of the new law has been a more complicated matter. (Pete Souza / Wikimedia Commons )   On Friday afternoon, following a major labor convention at which many union leaders forcefully advocated revisions in the Obama administration’s interpretations of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Treasury Department r...
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A New Blue-Green Coalition?

It may be difficult to imagine unions and environmentalists burying the hatchet. The high-profile divide over the Keystone XL pipeline is only the latest example of bruising blue and green conflict, fueled by a jobs-vs.-environment push-and-pull. But last week’s AFL-CIO convention, where labor formally embraced new partnerships with the Sierra Club, as well as worker centers and other progressive ...
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D.C. City Council Defeats Living Wage Bill


On September 17, supporters of LRAA gather to urge the city council to overturn the mayor's veto.   (Respect DC / Facebook ) On Tuesday, the D.C. City Council failed to overturn Mayor Vincent Gray’s veto of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA)—a bill that would have raised the minimum wage at large retail stores in the district from $8.25 to $12.50. The seven votes in favor (with six oppos...
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Solar panel rooftops and fire fighters

It is no secret that the solar industry is booming. Photovoltaic (PV) systems are reportedly being installed every four minutes. The number is only expected to increase with experts predicting that a system will be installed every minute and 28 seconds by 2016. In addition, the U.S. is expected to reach one million cumulative residential solar installations by that time. States like Arizona, Calif...
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A 98-Year-Old Labor Reporter Who Loved Avant-Garde Music

This week, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka ran unopposed for the presidency of the AFL-CIO—but only because his opponent, labor activist Harry Kelber, died before the election. While foul play is not suspected (he died from natural causes in late March), the death of 98-year-old union dissident Harry Kelber still came as a shock to me. Harry had gotten so good at living, and at finding beauty and...
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Unite Here and Hyatt Hit Hiccups in Peace Process

A widely heralded union peace agreement  that would end a global boycott of Hyatt Hotels Corp and usher in a new era of better labor relations at the sprawling lodgings chain is hitting some potholes on the road to completion, but both sides are still expressing confidence in its ultimate success. Announced July 1, Hyatt's "national agreement" with the Unite Here union was advertised as the way to...
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Ban Ki-Moon Accused of Union-Busting at UN


An UN security officer stands at a cell entrance of a jail in Bunia in the DRC. A new policy by Ban Ki-Moon would curtail security officers' ability to negotiate safer working conditions, even though their work brings them to high-risk areas.   (UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti) United Nations workers spend their time on the front lines of the global struggle for human rights, but now they are battling fo...
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Child Burn Survivors Learn to Heal and Thrive With Help of Fire Fighters at the IAFF International Burn Camp

Pat Morrison September 16, 2013 09:51 More than 40 teenage burn survivors from across North America will attend the 18th International Burn Camp  September 21-28 in the Nation’s Capital. The week-long program provides a unique support system for these young burn survivors. No one understands better than the fire fighters who serve as camp counselors that burns leave scars that last a lifetime and ...
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Nurses Taste Victory in Battle That Shook New York Politics


Nurses and supporters marched over the Brooklyn Bridge this summer to protest the closure of the Long Island College Hospital. (Photo from NYSNA).   The momentum in the fight to save Brooklyn's hospitals seems to have shifted decidedly to the side of the community, not the bosses. Not only did the fight over the hospitals prove central to the mayoral primary , helping sweep Bill de Blasio from the...
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D.C. Mayor Vetoes Bill To Lift Wal-Mart Wages


Respect DC is fighting to ensure a living wage for employees of six planned Wal-Mart stores in Washington, D.C. (Respect DC / flickr )   District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray disappointed labor supporters Thursday when he vetoed a bill that would have boosted the minimum wage for some retail workers at a time when Wal-Mart is moving forward with a major expansion in the nation’s capital. The bil...
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