"A Mexican immigrant's story" By JOE ATKINS OXFORD, Miss. – In some ways “Jercy” seems a fairly typical 20-year-old guy in a university town. He works in a restaurant during the day, helps out at one of the bars at night. He enjoys socializing. He’s not a university student now, but he’d like to be.

Steelworkers pledge to change Sappi's anti-worker practices USW The United Steelworkers union (USW) and the South African Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood & Allied Workers union (CEPPWAWU) pledged mutual support in meeting their members’ needs, achieving mutual goals and taking concrete steps to change Sappi’s labor practices.

Andy Stern Scores Publicity Coup As Labor’s Savior on 60 Minutes LaborTalk By Harry Kelber Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, appeared in a 15-minute segment of “60 Minutes,” the highly popular CBS program, on Sunday, May 14. It was the first time in living memory that any television channel had featured a full-length portrait of a union leader.

AFL-CIO HOUSING ARM TO INVEST MILLIONS IN NEW ORLEANS Press Associates, Inc. WASHINGTON (PAI) –The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust will invest millions of dollars in rebuilding Katrina-smashed New Orleans, centered on an union-built hotel with more than 1,000 rooms and employing hundreds of union workers, HIT Director Steve Coyle said.

IMMIGRANT RIGHTS COALITION UNVEILS MASS MOBILIZATION, LOBBYING PLANS By PAI Staff Writer Mark Gruenberg WASHINGTON (PAI) – Leaders of the immigrant rights coalition that mobilized masses of people for demonstrations nationwide on April 10 and May 1 announced a stepped-up campaign that includes lobbying lawmakers, more marches and plans to register and mobilize at least a million new voters around the immigration issue.

STEELWORKERS, ALLIES LOBBY FOR EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT By Press Associates, Inc. Staff Writer Mark Gruenberg WASHINGTON (PAI) – Using data aided by personal stories, Steelworkers and their allies, marshaled by the pro-labor Americans for Democratic Action, lobbied lawmakers’ aides on the merits of the Employee Free Choice Act.

CWA Ad Campaign Promotes Cingular – the Only Unionized Wireless Company From the Communications Workers Of America The Communications Workers of America this week launched an online and radio advertising campaign urging the public to switch their wireless phone service to Cingular – the only unionized wireless company.

REPORT: CRIME AT WAL-MART STORES, PARKING LOTS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN AT COMPARABLE STORES Press Associates, Inc. DeKALB, Ill. (PAI) – There’s a Wal-Mart store at 2300 Sycamore Boulevard in DeKalb, Ill. In 2004, the latest year for which comprehensive local crime data is available, police were called there to handle 844 “incidents,” which could range from shoplifting on up. That’s more than two incidents a day, 365 days a year.

Top Union Officers Refuse to Recognize 1,000 Activists at Labor Notes Conference LaborTalk By Harry Kelber About 1,000 labor activists, including dozens of representatives from 17 countries, attended a weekend conference in Detroit on May 5-7 under the auspices of Labor Notes, a left-wing publication. Attending this unusual educational forum were young local union leaders and active rank-and-filers from virtually every international union.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Lane Windham, AFL-CIO 202/637-5018 lwindham@aflcio.org Carole Florman 202-721-6045 carole.florman@changetowin.org

SPEAKER: MEDIA UNDER SIEGE FROM CORPORATE GREED, BUSH ADMINISTRATION By Press Associates, Inc. Staff Writer Mark Gruenberg WASHINGTON (PAI) – The nation’s news media, and particularly newspapers, are under siege from two directions: Corporate greed which produces cost-cutting and less news coverage, and the Bush administration, which needs a new “enemy” in the run-up to the 2006 elections, a noted columnist told The Newspaper Guild.

Pelosi is in for a Surprise in November By Dave Lindorff Democratic leaders in Congress may be afraid of impeachment, but if Democratic voters oust Republicans in the fall, it will because they want a street fight, not because they want their party to begin compromising with Bush.

ILO: CHILD LABOR DROPS WORLDWIDE By Press Associates, Inc. Staff Writer Mark Gruenberg WASHINGTON (PAI) – The number of child laborers worldwide dropped by 28 million, or 11.4 percent, from 2000 through 2004, with much of that decline in Mexico and Brazil, the International Labour Organization reported.

Sappi workers demand fair deal USW Sappi refuses to allow workers to deliver signed petitions to North American CEO Ronee Hagen; security barred entry

UNIONISTS MARCH NATIONWIDE FOR IMMIGRANTS, VS. WAR, FOR NEW ORLEANS By Press Associates, Inc. Staff Writer Mark Gruenberg CHICAGO (PAI) – Just call May Day weekend “Marching Season” as far as working men and women are concerned.

APRIL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT 4.7% Press Associates, Inc. WASHINGTON (PAI) – The nation’s unemployment rate in April stayed at 4.7 percent, and 7.123 million people were out of work, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

New labour laws look to the Soviets Michael Costello, The Australian Australia's trade unions are set to become the kind of powerless, empty shells that unions were under communist dictatorships. Full story

RNC Attack on John Conyers Demands Action from Democrats By David Swanson The Republican National Committee (RNC) has launched an aggressive campaign to smear Congressman John Conyers.

USW does not expect Medco to maintain Q1 profit USW While analysts expect Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MHS) to announce tomorrow a first-quarter profit of $165 to $180 million, the company cannot be expected to maintain that rate of profit through 2006 unless it ends its illegal lockout at its Las Vegas mail-order pharmacy, says the United Steelworkers (USW) union.

J. Jill, Ann Taylor, Liz Claiborne: Made By Slaves, Backed by Congress By David Swanson The Spring 2006 issue of Ms. Magazine contains an article by Rebecca Clarren about some beautiful tropical islands described by disgraced House Majority Leader Tom Delay as "a perfect petri dish of capitalism."