Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa’s first black president, died on Thursday. Admiring Mandela’s “perseverance and determination and incredible courage,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said he was saddened by the passing on one of the leading world figures of the past century. In the United States, a new report on Friday said the official unemployment rate was 7 percent last month but that number told only half the story. Among those who held jobs but struggled to make ends meet were fast-food workers who staged a one-day strike on Thursday. 

Nelson Mandela, 95 Sanders remembered the former South African president who was imprisoned for nearly three decades before reshaping his nation and becoming a leader respected around the world.  Sanders attended Mandela’s inauguration in 1994. He also was involved in anti-apartheid activities in Vermont.

Unemployment The Labor Department announced on Friday that the official jobless rate in November fell to 7 percent, the lowest in five years. Behind the headlines was the fact that real unemployment stood at 13.2 percent under the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ broadest measure of unemployment. That number counts those forced to settle for part-time jobs and frustrated workers who stopped actively looking for jobs.

Jobless Benefits In an effort to prevent more than 1.3 million long-term unemployed workers from losing their unemployment insurance at the end of December, Sanders joined 31 other senators on Friday in urging Congress to preserve federal unemployment insurance for another year.

Fast-Food Strike Workers nationwide went on strike Thursday to protest insufficient wages and income inequality. Sanders is a cosponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. The Senate is expected to vote on that measure by the end of the year.

Health Care Success Stories Sanders traveled throughout Vermont this past week to meet with leaders of three new community health centers. The new centers in Arlington, Randolph and Bristol, Vt. – along with hundreds of others opening across the country – are funded by an $11 billion Sanders’ provision in the Affordable Care Act. With the new centers gearing up to operate next year, Vermont’s total of 11 health centers with offices at 51 locations will provide affordable primary care to one in four Vermonters. The centers also offer dental care, low-cost prescription drugs and mental health counseling.