We’re not seeing in the numbers a return to the union valhalla of the 1950s and 1960s. But if unions could increase their membership despite a series of assaults, imagine what could happen with friends of labor in policymaking positions and with new rules designed to help collective bargaining rather than harm it.

1.  Yes, I’ve seen it.

2.  I was arrested for protesting against the Keystone Pipeline, so no, I don’t agree.

Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), a Hong Kong-based group, reports that Apple’s major manufacturing contractors in Asia routinely subject employees to forced overtime, wage theft and no breaks — and even unprotected exposure to toxins.

Labor commentator, and former union staffer, Steve Early draws on years of trade union activism to shed light on labor’s troubled path over the last decade. His recent book, The Civil War’s in US Labor, examines the internal conflicts which have wracked the labor movement over the last decade: the 2005 split of several international unions from the AFL-CIO to form the Change to Win coalition, the subsequent fracturing of Change to Win, and the internal conflict within the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

The White House is getting an early jump on the House Republicans’ next potential hostage-taking event, and perhaps learning something in the process. In an event today, flanked by AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka, Chamber of Commerce COO David Chavern and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, President Obama will call for a clean extension of the Highway Trust Fund, which is set to expire at the end of September. Rather than cutting the surface transportation budget, rather than pre-compromising on a level of cuts, the President will demand a clean bill at present levels.

Just about the only specific piece of the Gang of Six proposal, as explained well by Rep. Peter DeFazio in the video, is the move to chained CPI, a benefit cut for Social Security, veteran’s benefits and any program with a cost of living adjustment, along with a regressive tax cut. So that should give you a flavor for the biases of the Gang of Six, and where their proposal is headed.

It’s practically a rite of passage for a labor leader to stress their independence from the Democratic Party. In the end, the alarm bells almost always go off, and labor runs back into the waiting arms of the Democrats. Not to mention that labor is intimately intertwined with the Democratic Party. They have seats on the DNC, fercryinoutloud. So will this time be any different?

One of the tradeoffs made by the US administrations to gain support for entering into Free Trade Agreements is that these agreements impose certain standards on the parties – to protect the environment, human rights and union rights.

So what will the Obama administration do when the terms of one of those agreements are blatantly violated?

Conservatives have successfully demonized the idea of organized labor to the extent that a lot of people probably think that unions are merely there for self-aggrandizement or shaking down taxpayers. In truth, a labor-led working environment is one that can bring benefits to the worker and lift them out of poverty.

When we last left Ohio, the state Senate had passed a bill, SB 5, that would severely restrict collective bargaining for all public employees, including police and fire. It would all impose criminal penalties for strike actions, and allow local officials to determine arbitration disputes rather than an independent third party.

At the time, there was credible speculation that the Ohio House, which has a 59-40 split for Republicans, would quickly take up and pass the same bill, moving it on to Governor John Kasich for signing. But a funny thing happened on the way to Columbus. The House Speaker, William Batchelder, announced hearings. The first occurs today, coinciding with Kasich’s State of the State Address. Labor groups have scheduled a rally at the state Capitol for later today. Thousands are expected to attend, though it may not be as large as the estimated 20,000 who protested SB 5 last week.