Working America: AFL-CIO to mobilize unemployed voters—Working America is launching a campaign that will organize and mobilize hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers across the nation for the November elections. The campaign will engage unemployed Working America members who are registered voters by reaching out to them in their homes, on the street and in unemployment offices, with the goal of rallying voters around the crucial issues of jobs and trade. During this past year, Working America has spoken to more than 25,000 people a week about jobs and the economy through door-to-door canvasses, and through a combination of face-to-face and mail campaigns. In addition to talking to everyday voters on the streets, field organizers in 12 cities are talking to unemployed workers at unemployment offices and job training facilities. Workers at these facilities will have the chance to fill out “Help Wanted” petitions to send to Congress asking them what they’ve done to create jobs and help unemployed workers.

The survey says … Good news about union approval ratings—The latest Gallup survey on public attitudes toward unions shows a modest increase in approval ratings since last year, but the new ratings are still barely above 50 percent. Despite that finding, however, the long-term outlook for union popularity remains good, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress Action Fund. The poor economy is clearly the reason for the relatively low approval ratings—which have tended to be about 60 percent in the Gallup survey—according to David Madland and Karla Walter in their paper, “Why Is the Public Suddenly Down on Unions?” One more recent factor is a concerted anti-union campaign being waged by some conservative groups, which may have had some influence on public opinion. Likewise, the report points out, the government bailout of GM and Chrysler was highly unpopular, and unions’ reputations suffered as well. “Unions may need to work on their public image in order for approval ratings to return to pre-recession levels,” the report notes. In response to the latest Gallup numbers, American Rights at Work has put together talking points that draw heavily from other research and can be used to help counter some of the negative news. The research shows that Americans (especially African-Americans and Hispanics) continue to see the value of unions. Conversely, the public has much higher negative opinions of big corporations and financial institutions, compared with unions.

The poll is online at http://www.gallup.com/poll/142007/Americans-Approval-Labor-Unions-Remains-Near-Record-%20Low.aspx.

From OSHA: AFT gets grant to expand health, safety training —The AFT has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that will help the union expand the capacity of its health and safety program. OSHA announced Sept. 9 that the AFT will receive $220,000 as one of the 45 winners of Susan Harwood Capacity Building Grants. The grant will help the AFT to: build stronger health and safety committees at the local level; and expand its network of health and safety trainers and get basic information to workers on preventing work-related injuries and illnesses. OSHA awarded nearly $6.7 million to 30 organizations—including the AFT—that already are providing occupational safety and health training, education and related assistance to their constituents.