Some say the press is the fourth branch of government. It serves as a "check and a balance" to our elected and non-elected leaders and informs the public of news for the greater good. But what if that was compromised by a corporate power grab?

That's exactly what the panel "Should the Koch Brothers Own The Tribune Newspapers?" will examine next Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. 

Clarence Adams from Brooklyn, N.Y., was fired by Cablevision for asking for a fair contract. He explains here why a functioning National Labor Relations Board is important for America's working families.

For the second time in the past few days, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an investigation into a chemical plant explosion in Louisiana. On Thursday, a plant in Geismar, La., exploded, killing one person and injuring 73. On Friday, a blast in Donaldsonville, La., killed one person and injured seven. The plant that exploded on Thursday hadn't been inspected by OSHA in 20 years. It is not yet known when the last inspection was done at the Donaldsonville plant.

According to an analysis by Think Progress, the Geismar, La., petrochemical plant that exploded on Thursday has not been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) since 1993. The blast at the Williams Companies Inc.'s olefins plant killed one person and injured 73. 

Update: After a second factory explosion in Louisiana Friday evening, OSHA has announced it will investigate the cause of the blast that killed one person and injured seven. More details can be found on the Washington Post. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an investigation into working conditions at Sewon America's LaGrange, Ga., facility after an employee, Teresa Weaver Pickard, died after allegedly being forced to work in extreme heat. Sewon, a company that provides auto parts to Kia, denies Pickard's death was work-related, but an anonymous source at the plant has disputed Sewon's account of the tragedy.

A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), called Corporate Pirates of the Caribbean, details how the CEOs who make up the group Fix the Debt, a group pushing for harsh austerity measures, are set to make even higher profits off of the policies they are pursuing in the name of "balancing the budget." Fix the Debt's members are pushing for cuts to Social Security, Medicare and earned social insurance benefits, while seeking to widen tax haven loopholes by creating a "territorial" tax system, which would earn them as much as $173 billion.

Walmart workers, with assistance from the OUR Walmart campaign, launched the first prolonged strike in the company's history, capping it with a rally on Friday outside the company's shareholder meeting in Bentonville, Ark. Workers began the strike more than a week ago and went on a freedom ride-inspired trek, called the “Ride for Respect,” to Walmart headquarters in Bentonville. The strike is planned to extend until after the shareholder meeting.

We all know that working for Walmart is no picnic. It pays low wages, slashes hours, offers little or no job security, exploits and intimidates workers and uses sweatshop labor. That’s why Walmart workers are on strike this week, to protest the corporation’s greedy behavior and shady business practices. Learn more about the strike here.

Declaring that a decision by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kathy Surratt-States amounted to “curb service” for Patriot Coal, Cecil Roberts, president of the Mine Workers (UMWA), told a crowd of more than 4,000 gathered here that the union will never stop its campaign for justice for miners and retirees abandoned by Patriot and its creators, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal.

The money that hasn’t been going into workers’ paychecks while wages have stagnated for decades has been found. It’s been diverted to corporate profits and, according to a new study, that money was rerouted because of a decline in union membership—not the technology and computerization that’s boosted productivity and eliminated jobs.