Today's AFL-CIO
POLITICS
Trump appeals judge's block on mass layoffs at federal agencies
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
May 23, 2025
The administration of President Donald Trump appealed on Friday a federal judge's decision that extended a block on mass layoffs by federal agencies, a key piece of the Republican president's plans to downsize the U.S. government. In an order late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston barred agencies from mass layoffs pending the outcome of a lawsuit by unions, nonprofits and municipalities, saying Trump needed permission from Congress before reorganizing federal agencies.
Judge extends order blocking Trump’s mass federal worker layoffs
The Washington Post
By Victoria Craw
May 23, 2025
A federal judge has extended her freeze on President Donald Trump’s plan for mass layoffs and reorganizations at 22 federal agencies until a lawsuit against his administration is resolved, saying the president “likely must” seek approval from Congress before carrying out such widespread changes.
Judge extends order preventing Trump administration from laying offs of thousands of federal workers
CBS News
By Melissa Quinn
May 23, 2025
A federal judge on Thursday continued to block the Trump administration from moving forward with its plans to lay off thousands of government workers at more than 20 federal agencies, providing federal employees a lifeline as a legal challenge to President Trump's bid to restructure the federal government moves forward. The preliminary injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston covers 21 federal agencies and the White House's Department of Government Efficiency and prevents them from implementing reductions-in-force, placing employees on administrative leave and proceeding with job cuts that are already in motion.
Judge blocks Trump DOGE plans for mass firing of federal workers
CNBC
By Dan Mangan
May 23, 2025
A federal judge further blocked the Trump administration from sharply cutting jobs and reorganizing the structure of many major federal agencies as part of its so-called Department of Government Efficiency effort under billionaire Elon Musk. The order issued late Thursday granted a preliminary injunction that pauses further reductions in force and “reorganization of the executive branch for the duration of the lawsuit.”
‘Unbought, Unbossed, Unstoppable’: Coalition of Black Trade Unionists convention opens in Orlando
People’s World
By Cameron Harrison And Eric Brooks
May 23, 2025
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler didn’t mince words: The first 120 days of Trump’s billionaire-backed agenda have been “designed to put workers in the background and the billionaires in the driver’s seat.” Shuler warned that the administration’s policies aren’t just an assault on unions—they’re a deliberate attack on Black workers and history itself. An example of the attack on history is the lies about “anti-white violence” that Trump used to attack South African President Ramaphosa, as well as those he uses to validate his crusade against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Republicans are dodging fired federal staff: ‘They will not even look in our direction’
The Guardian
By Michael Sainato
May 23, 2025
Workers hit by the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts of federal government jobs, programs and services turned to congressional Republicans for help. But Republicans don’t want to talk about it, according to people who have tried to reach the politicians.
What historic Medicaid, SNAP cuts in House Republican bill would mean for coverage
CNBC
By Lorie Konish
May 23, 2025
The multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday includes historic spending cuts to Medicaid health coverage and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Now, it is up to the Senate to consider the changes — and to perhaps propose its own. As it stands, the legislation — called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — would slash Medicaid spending by roughly $700 billion and SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, by about $300 billion. “Bottom line is, a lot of people will lose benefits, including people who are entitled to these benefits and who are not the target population of this bill,” said Jennifer Wagner, director of Medicaid eligibility enrollment at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
HPAE statement on the federal budget
Insider NJ
By Staff
May 23, 2025
“The budget deal passed by the Republicans in the House of Representatives strips away support programs from the people who need it most in order to give large tax cuts to those who need it the least. The impact, especially on delivery of healthcare, will be devastating, especially to the most vulnerable in society. We are calling on the U.S. Senate to undo the damage done by Congress. We are also calling on New Jersey legislators to be ready to plug gaps created by these draconian budget cuts. Nearly 1 in 5 patients enrolled in FamilyCare will lose their coverage. Overall, our state could lose $3.6 billion in funding and we can not afford to sacrifice the health of our citizens.
Mine workers president says he told RFK Jr. that cuts to worker safety agency are wrong
WV Metro News
By Brad McElhinny
May 25, 2025
Cecil Roberts, the West Virginian who is president of the United Mine Workers union, wound up on the telephone recently with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to express his position that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is essential. Roberts told about the call during a stemwinder to NIOSH supporters during a rally in Washington, D.C., striding in front of dozens of people who gathered.
Feds chop enforcement staff and halt rules meant to curb black lung in coal miners
CNN
By Taylor Sisk
May 26, 2025
That same day, the Trump administration paused implementation of a rule that would help protect coal miners from an aggressive form of black lung disease. Enforcement of the new protections is officially halted until at least mid-August, according to a federal announcement that came a few days after a federal court agreed to put enforcement on hold to hear an industry challenge. But even if the rule takes full force after the delay, the federal agency tasked with enforcing it in Appalachia and elsewhere may not be up to the task after sweeping layoffs and office closures.
Letter: The House passed a bill that will bring hardship to children, farmers, rural communities (Opinion)
Grand Forks Herald
By Landis Larson
May 25, 2025
In a time where working families are struggling to pay for the basics of food, housing, child care, health care and prescriptions, Republicans in the House voted against helping working families on these basic issues. Instead, House Republicans voted for a budget that cuts vital programs to pay for Trump's tax breaks for a few super wealthy families. Cuts to Medicaid and other health care programs will strip health care away from 13.7 million workers. Not only that, but we will lose nearly half a million healthcare jobs across the country, mostly in rural areas, next year.
Veterans Group Attacks Trump Cuts in Memorial Day Message
Newsweek
By Aliss Higham
May 26, 2025
Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said in a statement shared with Newsweek in March regarding VA staffing cuts: "The VA has been severely understaffed for many years, resulting in longer wait times for veterans in need. The DOGE plunder of career VA employees, adding to the illegal mass firings of thousands of probationary employees, can only make matters worse. Veterans and their families will suffer unnecessarily, and the will of Congress will be ignored."
Trump’s mass federal cuts disrupt LA wildfire recovery: ‘It’s coming tumbling down’
The Guardian
By Hilary Beaumont
May 26, 2025
But the cuts are already being acutely felt in LA’s burn zones. Disaster relief is composed of many different agencies at the local, state and federal levels, and the federal support is now being pulled out. “Jenga is one of the best ways to describe it,” said Kelly Daly, AmeriCorps employees union AFSCME Local 2027 president. “It’s going to come tumbling down.”
Senators eye more budget bill cuts despite House speaker’s plea for few changes
The Washington Post
By Mariana Alfaro, Lori Rozsa and Drew Harwell
May 25, 2025
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Sunday that he’s made one plea to Senate Republicans as the upper chamber begins its work to pass President Donald Trump’s massive tax and immigration bill: Do not make large changes to the measure.
Trump Suggests Giving Trade Schools Money Taken From Harvard
The New York Times
By Stephanie Saul
May 26, 2025
President Trump floated a new plan on Monday for the $3 billion he wants to strip from Harvard University, saying in a social media post that he was thinking about using the money to fund vocational schools. “I am considering taking THREE BILLION DOLLARS of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media platform.
IMMIGRATION
As a boy in El Salvador, Abrego García feared gangs, avoided recruitment
The Washington Post
By Samantha Schmidt
May 24, 2025
Fourteen years later, Abrego García has found himself back in his home country, less than two hours from his former school, deported to a Salvadoran prison because of a self-described “administrative error” by the Trump administration. He was one of about 260 migrants deported to El Salvador in March and put in a maximum-security mega prison. His case is now at the center of one of the Trump administration’s biggest court fights.
SUPREME COURT
Chief justice temporarily blocks access to DOGE records in FOIA suit
The Washington Post
By Justin Jouvenal
May 23, 2025
Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. temporarily blocked a government watchdog group from obtaining records from the Trump administration’s cost-cutting U.S. DOGE Service, whose inner workings have largely been shielded from public view. The brief administrative stay issued Friday will give the court more time to consider the underlying issues. Trump officials asked the high court to block a judge’s order requiring DOGE’s administrator, Amy Gleason, to give a deposition and disclose details about its operations.
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump administration to shield DOGE documents
NBC News
By Lawrence Hurley and Gary Grumbach
May 23, 2025
The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily allowed the Trump administration to shield Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from freedom of information requests seeking thousands of pages of material. Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay that puts lower court decisions on hold while the Supreme Court considers what next steps to take.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Trump supports Nippon Steel's bid for US Steel, shares jump 21%
Reuters
By Steve Holland and Svea Herbst-Bayliss
May 23, 2025
Following an earlier CFIUS-led review, then-President Joe Biden blocked the deal in January on national security grounds. The companies sued, arguing they did not receive a fair review process. The Biden White House rejected that view. The companies argued Biden opposed the deal when he was running for reelection to win support from the United Steelworkers union in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The Biden administration had defended the review as essential to protecting security, infrastructure and supply chains. Trump also initially opposed the deal, arguing the company must be owned and operated in the U.S. The United Steelworkers were against the deal as recently as Thursday when they urged Trump to block the deal despite the $14 billion investment pledge from Trump.
Federal spending cuts cause a labor market riptide in D.C. area, data shows
The Washington Post
By Federica Cocco and Dana Munro
May 24, 2025
Federal spending cuts are beginning to have a more pronounced impact on the Washington region’s job market, new data suggests, with fewer white-collar jobs available while thousands of residents who’ve lost theirs are looking for work.
ORGANIZING
Whole Foods Union Certified by US in First for Amazon’s Grocer
Bloomberg
By Josh Eidelson
May 23, 2025
A union has been certified at a Whole Foods Market store in Philadelphia, marking a US first for the Amazon.com Inc. grocery chain. The regional director of the National Labor Relations Board backed the union, overruling objections from Whole Foods, which, like other parts of Amazon, has campaigned against unionization among its staff. The decision tees up a legal battle.
Hearst reporters vote in favor of unionization
Hartford Business Journal
By Harriet Jones
May 23, 2025
Staff at the state’s largest newspaper company, Hearst Connecticut Media Group, have voted to form a union, some nine months after starting an organizing drive. Leaders of the Connecticut News Guild say of 85 ballots counted, 80% voted in favor of unionization. The vote included reporters, photographers, editors and digital producers.
Editor & Publisher
By Staff
May 23, 2025
Reporters, photographers, editors and digital producers working for Connecticut’s largest print/digital news organization have voted overwhelmingly to form a union with The NewsGuild-CWA, joining newsrooms around the country by claiming a voice in decisions about their working conditions, pay, protections against unfair discipline and more. The Connecticut News Guild only needed a simple majority to win our NLRB election. We far surpassed that: Of the 85 ballots counted, 80% (or 68 total) voted ‘YES’ to a seat at the bargaining table with Hearst.
Faculty at New York’s School of Visual Arts form union
The Art Newspaper
By Anni Irish
May 23, 2025
After two years of organising, faculty at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York voted 77% in favour of forming a union with the United Auto Workers (UAW). The newly formed union, SVA Faculty United–UAW, will represent around 1,200 instructors at the revered art school. Issues that pushed SVA faculty to organise include pay equity, mounting workloads that have outpaced compensation and the loss of key benefits like retirement account contributions and sabbaticals.
Abrams Employees Vote to Unionize
Publishers Weekly
By Sam Spratford
May 23, 2025
Abrams Books employees overwhelmingly voted to unionize in their National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election and will join United Auto Workers Local 2110, according to a UAW announcement today. The union will be officially certified in approximately a week, after which Abrams editors, designers, product managers, and other non-supervisory positions will begin the process of contract negotiations with the New York City–based publisher.
Workers at meatpacking plant in Cactus get pension, 'significant' raise under new contract
KVII
By Jamie Burch
May 23, 2025
Workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Cactus are getting a pension and a "significant" raise. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), announced the ratification of a new contract. It creates a pension fund. According to UFCW, it's the first to be offered by a meatpacking employer since 1986. Workers will now make $23-$24 an hour on average, get paid sick leave, and more paid vacation.
These Tacoma hospital physicians vote to unionize ahead of move to new campus
The News Tribune
By Debbie Cockrell
May 25, 2025
Pediatric physicians at MultiCare’s Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma have voted to unionize, according to an announcement released Thursday. One hundred physicians at Mary Bridge voted Wednesday to organize with Northwest Medicine United “so they can formally engage with hospital administrators through a collective bargaining agreement on decisions that will improve patient care,” according to the release.
Abortion care workers form union to address their issues and get ‘a seat at the table’
Pittsburgh Union Progress
By Steve Mellon
May 25, 2025
Providing that care, however, has become more difficult the past several months, she said. And that’s why Kirksey, several of her co-workers and their supporters were standing along Kirkwood Street and singing the labor standard “Solidarity Forever.” On Tuesday of last week, they announced that more than 80% of the 23 nonmanagement employees had voted to join the Office and Professional Employees International Union as Local 98236. They call themselves the Allegheny Reproductive Justice Union.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Mass General Brigham residents union approves new contract
Boston Globe
By Jonathan Saltzman
May 23, 2025
The union representing about 2,600 doctors-in-training at Mass General Brigham overwhelmingly approved its first contract with the state‘s largest health system, a three-year deal that will raise wages by a total of 7.5 percent. Ninety-eight percent of all voting members of the local chapter of the Committee of Interns and Residents, or CIR, approved the deal. The vote came nearly two years after the doctors joined the union. Under the terms of the contract, union members will get a 2.5 percent raise retroactive to July 1 of last year, another 2.5 percent this July, and an additional 2.5 percent in July 2026. The agreement expires at the end of June 2027.
Pratt & Whitney union members will vote on new contract on May 27
WSFB
By Zoe Strothers
May 23, 2025
Pratt & Whitney union members will vote on a new contract on May 27. According to Pratt & Whitney, the company presented the union with a revised contract offer that addressed key points of interest among union members. “Those eligible are encouraged to participate in the upcoming contract ratification vote happening on Tuesday, May 27 at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut,” Pratt & Whitney said.
United Airlines reaches ‘industry-leading’ labor deal with flight attendants, union says
CNBC
By Leslie Josephs
May 23, 2025
United Airlines reached an “industry-leading” tentative labor deal for its 28,000 flight attendants, their union said Friday. The deal includes “40% of total economic improvements” in the first year and retroactive pay, a signing bonus, and quality of life improvements, like better scheduling and on-call time, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said. The union did not provide further details about the deal. United flight attendants have not had a raise since 2020.
United Airlines and its flight attendants reach tentative contract agreement, union says
Reuters
By Reuters
May 23, 2025
Flight attendants at United Airlines (UAL.O) have reached a tentative agreement with the company for a new contract, their union said on Friday.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents United's flight attendants, said the deal provides industry-leading compensation and retroactive pay.
United Airlines & AFA Reach "Historic" Tentative Agreement
Simple Flying
By Channing Reid
May 23, 2025
Chicago-based United Airlines announced a new tentative labor agreement with its 28,000 flight attendants on Friday. The deal, referred to as “historic” by the union representing the inflight workers, will reportedly boost compensation and other improvements. The development comes after the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) announced last Fall that nearly 100% of its members voted in favor of strike authorization. The union and United have spent years negotiating a fair agreement that appeases both parties.
New union contract reached for 1100-plus restaurant workers at Las Vegas airport
News3LV
By Matthew Seeman
May 23, 2025
More than 1,100 workers at Harry Reid International Airport's restaurants will soon have a new labor contract. The Culinary Union said it reached a tentative agreement Thursday night on a five-year contract with HMSHost. The company operates several dining establishments at the airport.
Culinary Union secures historic contract with Cosmopolitan Las Vegas
KSNV
By News 3 Staff
May 24, 2025
The Culinary and Bartenders Unions announced a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with MGM Resorts International's Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, covering nearly 2,500 hospitality workers. The deal, reached on May 21, 2025, includes the largest wage increases in the Culinary Union's 90-year history, following the standards set during the 2023 Citywide Contract fight and the Virgin Las Vegas 69-day strike.
Will Smith Music Video Makes Union Deal With IATSE After Strike
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
May 23, 2025
Producers of a Will Smith music video have reached a deal with IATSE over a union contract after facing a picket line from dismissed workers. The shoot, which was taking place at Quixote’s West Hollywood studios, fired workers on Thursday night after they attempted to unionize the project, sources told The Hollywood Reporter. The workers responded by picketing the Breathe Entertainment production on Friday morning. Non-union crew members that had been brought in to replace the dismissed workers also joined the picket line.
Safeway, Albertsons union workers to vote next weekend on possible strike
KDVR
By Heather Willard
May 25, 2025
Union employees of Safeway and Albertsons locations across the state are being asked to consider striking during a series of scheduled meetings that begin Friday. According to UFCW Local 7, which represents the union workers of Safeway and Albertsons, the company and union have been negotiating for eight months, most recently meeting on Friday, May 23. The union stated in an update posted to Facebook that Safeway agreed to “important language items” sought by the bargaining committee, “including a new drug and alcohol rehabilitation policy and protection of Drive Up and Go shopper work.”
Champaign County employee union considering strike-authorization vote as negotiations drag on
The News-Gazette
By Jana Wiersema
May 26, 2025
As contract negotiations continue between Champaign County administrators and AFSCME Council 31 Local 900, the union is taking the first steps toward a potential strike. “Our members are still frustrated and have decided to move forward with a strike-authorization vote,” said Natalie Nagel, a staff representative with the union. She said the vote may occur early this week.
UFCW members at Hyrum JBS plant help secure pensions, paid sick leave and raises
The Herald Journal
By Corbin Allen
May 26, 2025
Workers at Hyrum’s JBS Foods plant, also members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, helped secure a new contract between union members and JBS Foods, guaranteeing pensions, paid sick leave and “significant” raises, the UFCW announced Thursday. According to the press release, this is the first-ever such contract and it will benefit 26,000 JBS workers at 14 different facilities across the country. Regarding wage increases, the press release states, “The contract also includes significant wage increases for UFCW members, including retroactive pay and a ratification bonus.
Griffin MSI union workers demand first contract
Hyde Park Herald
By Marc C. Monaghan
May 26, 2025
More than two years after Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) employees overwhelmingly voted to unionize, workers were out on the museum’s front steps Thursday evening demanding a first contract with management. "We want to show them that we mean business," said Langston Swiecki, a Griffin MSI employee and member of the union’s bargaining committee. Swiecki was joined by about 50 coworkers and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, which Griffin MSI workers voted to affiliate with in June 2023. Picketers carried posters and chanted and as they walked an informational picket line along the 57th Drive steps, moving to the sidewalk after officers from the Chicago Police Department ordered picketers off of museum property.
Nursing home workers strike on Memorial Day Weekend
WGRZ
By Dave McKinley
May 25, 2025
As they seek a new contract, employees of several local nursing homes spent this Memorial Day weekend on the picket line. It was the continuation of a week long strike authorized by their union, which is set to end on Tuesdaybut could go longer. The workers are represented by Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has recently settled contracts with several for profit nursing homes locally.
Ashland AFSCME union workers get wage hikes, stipends
Ashland Source
By Dillon Carr
May 25, 2025
City of Ashland union members not within police and fire departments will receive wage hikes this year through 2027 and experience stipends, according to a contract inked with city officials. Council unanimously voted to adopt the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union contract during its May 20 meeting. It takes effect June 1. The agreement, which expires again on May 31, 2028, also includes an entirely new section on working conditions for transit employees.
STATE LEGISLATION
Bill would make Ohio employers pay people with disabilities minimum wage
Dayton Daily News
By Sydney Dawes and Avery Kreemer
May 26, 2025
As the federal government weighs the future of a program that allows some employers to pay workers with disabilities less than minimum wage, a Dayton area lawmaker has proposed phasing out the practice in Ohio over the next five years. “We have a workforce that needs to be paid a same level, at least the minimum wage, as everyone else,” said state Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp.
Protesters fill Capitol ahead of vote on bill to require ICE cooperation from Texas sheriffs
KVUE
By Adam Bennett and Daniel Perreault
May 24, 2025
Saturday’s protest included immigrant workers and members of Workers Defense Action Fund, Texas AFL-CIO, Grassroots Leadership and Texas Civil Rights Project.
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
Wood County Technical Center students sign to join Laborer’s Union Apprenticeship Program
WTAP
By L.V. Hissem
May 23, 2025
Seniors from the Wood County Technical Center signed up to join the Laborer’s Union Apprenticeship Program at the Wood County Technical Center Friday with their family, instructors, and union representatives there to cheer them on. The Laborer’s Union Apprenticeship Program will allow these students to work while being trained in the field of their choosing. Given that they are seniors, the students will be able to begin their work soon after their graduation next week.
VOTING RIGHTS
Prove citizenship to vote? For some married women, it might not be so easy.
The Washington Post
By Patrick Marley and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez
May 24, 2025
Some Republican-led states are moving to require voters to prove their citizenship, as Texas advances a controversial measure that could make it harder for eligible voters to get on the rolls because of changed names, mislaid paperwork or database errors. Voting rights advocates and Democrats warn the plans could prove particularly tricky for people who change their names, including women who do so when they get married or divorced, because their legal names don’t match the ones on their birth certificates. Supporters call the criticism overblown, saying most Americans can readily show they are citizens.