This week, workers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, gained new protections for making sure they are paid fairly and on time. On March 14, city manager Richard Rossi signed an executive order establishing certification requirements for vendors bidding on city contracts. The measure seeks to prevent wage theft, which is the improper withholding of payment from employees and the failure to pay employees according to required schedules. Wage theft most often involves employers paying less than the minimum, contracted or prevailing wage, not paying for all hours worked, or not paying overtime for hours exceeding 40 per week. But wage theft can take many forms—employers may never send the final paycheck or may misclassify workers as independent contractors.

Following the U.S. Department of Labor sending the much-needed overtime rule to the Office of Management and Budget, the AFL-CIO renewed its call for final action on these worker protections to improve the lives of working people across the country. These regulations include rules on fiduciary responsibility, silica and the persuader rule.

"How do you expect anyone to pay for their own poison?"

That's the question Flint, Michigan, resident Keri Webber is asking while in Washington, D.C. Webber and other families affected by the Flint water crisis are at the nation's Capitol to demand answers and solutions from Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who is in town to testify before Congress on the crisis.

On March 3, human rights activists denounced the assassination of Berta Cáceres, a leader for indigenous rights and environmental justice with the Council of Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras. The Ides of March in Honduras demonstrated once again that the shocking level of violence against activists since the 2009 coup—with some 200 murdered—has reached crisis proportions.

A new report released by the AFL-CIO reveals that more than half of working women spend less than four hours a week on themselves after fulfilling their work and caregiving responsibilities. The report is based on the results of a survey on women, which received nearly 25,000 responses from union and nonunion women across the country.

The Chicago Transit Board awarded a contract this week to CSR Sifang America JV to build the newest generation of Chicago Transit Authority rail cars as part of the city's modernization program. CSR has pledged to build a new rail car assembly facility in Chicago, the first new assembly of its kind in 35 years. The investment of $40 million is expected to generate 170 jobs, while also reducing maintenance costs and reducing power use through the use of more efficient technology.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement in response to President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a letter sent last week, the North Carolina State AFL-CIO demanded that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson end the ongoing practice of immigration raids that are terrorizing our communities and requested protection for the Central American teenagers who are enrolled in the state’s public schools.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) will soon be in Washington, D.C., to give testimony to the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee about the Flint water crisis. But he won't be the only one arriving in the nation's capital to talk about his disgrace. Five Flint, Mich., families coping with the aftermath of the crisis also will be in Washington to share their stories. AFL-CIO and the community group Flint Rising are working to ensure these families have their voices heard, too.

Each week, we take a look at the biggest friends and foes of labor. We celebrate the workers winning big and small battles, and we shame the companies or people trying to deny working people their rights.