Labor: Wow, What a Week!

There's too much going on this week to focus on one topic. So here's a rundown from the world of working people and their unions.

• Hilda Solis made her first public appearance as labor secretary during the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting in Miami, where she toured an Electrical Workers (IBEW) union training facility and held a meeting in the inner city with 700 community members. Solis vowed to fully enforce the laws that protect workers and, as one of the first supporters in Congress for the Employee Free Choice Act, said she would work to pass and then enforce the legislation if it becomes law. As AFL-CIO President Sweeney said of Solis: ''She is the only labor secretary in recent memory from a working family, union background.

• A new report shows in 30 percent of union elections, one or more workers who try to form a union are fired. Released in conjunction with the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting, the new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is another strong argument for passing the Employee Free Choice Act and restoring the freedom to form unions and bargain.

• President Obama, speaking via DVD to the Executive Council meeting, reiterated his strong support for America's working families and for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act: "[A]s we confront this crisis and work to provide health care to every American, rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, move toward a clean energy economy, and pass the Employee Free Choice Act, I want you to know that you will always have a seat at the table."