Deutsche Telekom workers represented by the German union ver.di are again trying to help T-Mobile workers in the United States win a voice at work with CWA. T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom, has waged a fierce anti-union campaign against its U.S. workers -- something it can't do in Europe. In fact, union representation is a key part of the company's culture in Germany, where union members even sit on the DT board.

The Guild and Thomson Reuters management have settled all of their remaining PIP-related disciplinary disputes, bringing to a close, at least for now, a tragic year-long saga that touched the lives and careers of 33 journalists, and unsettled hundreds more. Under the agreement, verbal warnings that were given in 2012 to 15 journalists immediately before they received PIPs (performance improvement plans), will expire on their anniversaries this year if no further discipline has been issued. Photo: Colleagues celebrate the Feb. 4 return to work of PIP victim Carole Vaporean.

Sick and tired of the "union thug" stereotype? The fact is, union members do important and difficult jobs all over the United States, and now there's an AFL-CIO web page highlighting your hard work and the many ways unions give back to their communities. Too many people don't know, says AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, "That innovative work by union members fuels today’s green technology. And that union members supply a great deal of the man- and woman-power, as well as the funding for community service programs, from running food drives to disaster recovery and winning health care benefits for people who don’t belong to unions."