Three years into the war, tens of thousands of American troops remain targets of a growing Iraqi insurgency.

From its onset, the labor movement has been at the forefront of the fight to improve working conditions and workplace safety. At the local level, knowing their union has their back gives workers the confidence and support they need to stand up and report harassment, poor working conditions, or workplace safety violations.

Workers should not be prevented from bargaining with the companies that help set their wages, benefits, schedules, and workplace conditions.

Instituting equal pay is especially important because families in our country increasingly rely on women's wages to make ends meet. When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families - groceries, rent, child care, and doctors' visits.

I have enough music coming out of my kids' bedrooms when I'm at home.

I remember my own life as a small boy, son of Jewish immigrants, in a janitor's flat on Orchard and Stanton streets on the Lower East Side of New York City. My father made pants and doubled as janitor of a tenement - before he made janitoring at $30 a month, plus rooms, a career.

My mom has made it possible for me to be who I am. Our family is everything. Her greatest skill was encouraging me to find my own person and own independence.

It's always great to be home and play in front of family and friends, especially for a big game.