Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Democratic corporate donors a top target at labor-sponsored forum
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Jan. 7, 2025
For workers and their allies it was no great surprise. In the AFL-CIO’s own analysis of the party chair’s race, issued in December, federation President Liz Shuler laid down a rule that “having leaders who prioritize big-money corporate donors is flatly unacceptable.” The hopefuls who spoke at the two-hour session on January 6 all agreed the party should not hire attorneys and “consultants” who are also union-busters. They also all agreed not to accept campaign contributions from corporations that engage in the nefarious anti-worker tactic.
Expiring Contracts Carry Strike Threats to Test Trump Dealmaking
Bloomberg Law
By Parker Purifoy
Jan. 7, 2025
Nearly 200 large union contracts are set to expire in 2025, opening up possibilities for labor unrest in the early months of Donald Trump’s second presidency and testing the negotiation skills of his administration. The contracts cover more than 1.5 million workers across a swath of industries, according to Bloomberg Law data available as of mid-December 2024. The earliest chance for a strike—and potentially the first labor test for the incoming administration—could come from 45,000 longshoremen at docks along the US East and Gulf coasts. Talks for a new labor pact resume this week ahead of the contract’s Jan. 15 expiration. About 18,000 Costco workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters could also strike if they don’t reach a deal by the end of January. Other expiring labor agreements this year cover 133,000 commercial singers and voice actors with SAG-AFTRA, over 122,000 Kroger Co. employees, and at least 52,000 health-care professionals at Kaiser Permanente. Those figures are likely to rise as more contract expiration notices are filed with the federal mediation service.
Biden signs bill to boost Social Security payments for some public sector workers
USA Today
By Bailey Schulz
Jan. 7, 2025
President Joe Biden signed a bill Sunday that boosts Social Security benefits for millions of public sector workers in what the White House described as the first expansion of such benefits in 20 years. The Social Security Fairness Act eliminates two decades-old provisions – the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset – that reduced Social Security benefits for some retirees who also received pension income. Police officers, firefighters, postal workers, and public school teachers are among the nearly 3 million affected by the provisions. "The bill I'm signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their lives to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity," Biden said.
Unions, allies form coalition to protect federal workers from Trump
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Jan. 7, 2025
Faced with the existential threat of Donald Trump’s plans to fire nonpartisan civil servants while politicizing the government by populating it with his non- and anti-union followers, unions and their allies created the Civil Service Strong coalition to protect the nation’s two million civil servants from the planned depredations of the Republican president-elect’s coming regime. And Civil Service Strong has a big threat to fear. After all, Trump, exposed as a political puppet of multibillionaire Elon Musk, who’s aided by multimillionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, wants to fire at least 50,000 top civil servants and replace them with his political hacks. Ramaswamy and Musk, in a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, want to fire 15 times as many. The coalition includes good government groups and the Government Employees (AFGE), AFSCME, the Teachers (AFT) and the National Federation of Federal Employees, a Machinists sector. It went public on December 24, seeking popular support, too.
NLRB
Google should be forced to bargain with contractor's union, US labor agency says
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
Jan. 6, 2025
Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) is facing a second complaint from a U.S. labor board claiming that it is the employer of contract workers and must bargain with their union, the agency said on Monday. The complaint issued by the National Labor Relations Board last week claims that Google is a "joint employer" of about 50 San Francisco-based content creation workers employed by IT firm Accenture Flex who voted to join the Alphabet Workers Union in 2023, according to board spokeswoman Kayla Blado.
Lucid to pay fired workers $258,000 settlement in a win for UAW organizers
Automotive News
By Laurence Iliff
Jan. 7, 2025
Dismissed Lucid workers have won a settlement with the automaker for reinstatement to their jobs, nearly $258,000 in back pay and a “cease-and-desist order that stops the company from committing a long list of unfair labor practices,” the UAW said Jan. 6.
How Trump Could Disable the NLRB
On Labor
By Jason Vazquez
Jan. 7, 2025
It is difficult to predict what a second Trump administration may augur for the broader political economy, yet at least one thing is almost certain: in the near future—perhaps sooner than anticipated—Donald Trump’s appointees will recapture control of the National Labor Relations Board. There is little doubt the corporate attorneys Trump is all but guaranteed to nominate to lead the agency will swiftly move to dismantle the Biden Board’s prounion legacy and, in the traditional Republican fashion, reformulate national labor policy in management’s favor. As corporate interests begin to signal an appetite for more fundamental assaults on the Board’s regulatory capacity, however, the specter that that the incoming administration may pursue more novel and radical antiregulatory measures looms. These may include, as some have speculated, outright refusing to appoint members to the NLRB. Such a move would hamstring labor law enforcement and be extraordinarily tricky to challenge in court. Still, all things considered, it is not clear it would ultimately inure to management’s benefit.
ORGANIZING
Nurses at Three Legacy Hospitals Announce Intent to Unionize
Willamette Week
By John Rudoff
Jan. 6, 2025
More than 2,200 nurses at three of Legacy Health’s six hospitals announced their intent to join the Oregon Nurses Association today in what would be the largest organizing effort in the union’s history. Nurses from Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, and Randall Children’s Hospital delivered a letter to management petitioning for voluntary recognition of the union so they could start collective bargaining on issues that include patient care and staffing, ONA said. The union plans to file for an election with the National Labor Relations Board and set a date for it soon.
Principal, administrator unions rising steadily since COVID
K-12 Dive
By Anna Merod
Jan. 7, 2025
Unionization among principals and other school administrators has steadily risen since the height of the COVID pandemic. “There’s a huge growing percentage of school leaders that recognize that their voices aren’t necessarily being heard and are looking for a mechanism to have a stronger voice,” said Scott Treibitz, spokesperson for the American Federation of School Administrators, the largest union exclusively representing principals, assistant principals and central office administrators. “And if you’re a school leader in a district where you don’t have a voice, you don’t have any way of having input, then you’re finding work to be frustrating.”
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Duluth’s largest city union reaches agreement with administration, averting strike
Star Tribune
By Jana Hollingsworth
Jan. 7, 2025
City workers and administration here reached a tentative agreement late Monday night, averting a potential strike after months of negotiations. The union representing the city of Duluth’s largest body of employees authorized a strike in early December, a move last made by the unit 17 years ago. “This tentative agreement is a step in the right direction for the workers who keep Duluth running,” AFSCME Local 66 President Wendy Wohlwend said in a statement.
Philly theater ushers union set to strike, calls for higher wages, protections
NBC Philadelphia
By NBC10 Staff
Jan. 7, 2025
This past weekend, the union that represents about 100 ushers who work at the Kimmel Center, the Academy of Music and the Miller Theater threatened to strike as it seeks higher wages and better worker protections. In a statement shared Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, on social media, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local B29 said that more than 90% of its 100 strong membership had voted to reject a Dec. 30, 2024 contract proposal from Ensemble Arts.
As session approaches, Oregon legislative aides seek a better contract
OPB
By Dirk VanderHart
Jan. 7, 2025
With Oregon’s 2025 legislative session set to kick off later this month, all is not well in Capitol labor relations. A union representing legislative aides -- the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 89 -- has yet to hammer out a new contract after the previous agreement lapsed on Dec. 31. Without that agreement, roughly 150 aides who provide crucial services that make the Legislature run will not get a cost-of-living pay increase other legislative employees received Jan. 1. The union is pushing what it says are necessary improvements to make aides’ work life tenable: better parking and money that would allow every lawmaker to employ two staffers year-round.
Duluth reaches tentative agreement with largest union
Duluth News Tribune
By Staff
Jan. 6, 2025
The city announced Monday evening that following marathon negotiations, it had reached a tentative agreement with its largest union, the local American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees bargaining unit. AFSCME Local 66 represents nearly 500 municipal employees — nearly 60% of the city's workforce.
5,000 Providence healthcare workers in Oregon intend to go on strike this Friday
KPTV
By FOX 12 Staff
Jan. 7, 2025
On Tuesday, nearly 5,000 healthcare workers in Oregon announced their plans to go on strike, starting Friday, Jan. 10 at 6 a.m. According to a statement from Oregon AFL-CIO, picketing will be held at eight hospitals across Oregon. Workers on strike include nurses, physicians, physician associates, certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, clinical staff, and other healthcare professionals.
Chicago Teachers Union vows to 'fight' Trump at 'every turn' amid contract negotiations
Bakersfield Now
By Kristina Watrobski
Jan. 7, 2025
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) on Monday vowed to "fight" President-elect Donald Trump at "every turn" once he enters the White House, pointing to successfully negotiating its contract as a way to do so. CTU shared a video to X explaining how it expects to be "threatened" once Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20. To the union, those threats include, among other things, a "mass deportation agenda" and a "voucher mania agenda."
Brecksville firefighters sign first-ever collective bargaining agreement after unionizing in 2024
Cleveland.com
By Bob Sandrick
Jan. 7, 2025
The city’s full-time firefighters, under their very first collective bargaining agreement, received 3.5 percent raises in December. Brecksville’s firefighters voted to unionize in July, joining the International Association of Firefighters. Matt Rapkin, vice president of the new Brecksville firefighters’ union, couldn’t be reached regarding why and how many firefighters voted to unionize. “This is the first time the city has had a negotiating team for (firefighters), and I personally think it worked out quite well,” Law Director David Matty told City Council Dec. 17.
IN THE STATES
Poll: Labor unions viewed more favorably than unfavorably in Tennessee
Chatanooga Times Free Press
By David Floyd
Jan. 7, 2025
Although a large percentage remain neutral, more Tennessee residents have favorable opinions of labor unions than unfavorable, according to new polling. The Beacon Center, a Nashville think tank, released the results of a wide-ranging poll Monday that included questions about the likelihood of an economic recession and the outcome of the presidential election. More than a third of the 1,200 respondents, 39%, also said they feel very or somewhat favorable about labor unions, 20% said they feel somewhat or very unfavorable and 34% said they were neutral. Another 7% said they were unsure.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
‘Disheartening’: Firefighters association slams county response to Castle Hayne cancer concerns
Port City Daily
By Peter Castagno
Jan. 6, 2025
The International Association of Fire Fighters is requesting the county remove personnel from a Castle Hayne fire station after finding a high concentration of severe health issues among the facility’s personnel. The county maintains it has taken necessary action to ensure safety.
EDUCATION
American Federation of Teachers president to visit UNLV's teacher program
News 3 LV
By Jenelle Vannoy
Jan. 6, 2025
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, will visit the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Tuesday, January 7. She plans to observe the Nevada Forward program, a teacher apprenticeship initiative that serves as a national model for addressing the teacher shortage and diversifying the educator workforce. According to a Learning Policy Institute analysis, there are 42,000 vacant teaching positions across the United States, with 2,900 in Nevada.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Families celebrate tradition and diversity at Three Kings Day event in Hunts Point
Bronx Times
By Michelle Rachel Mullen
Jan. 7, 2025
The event, held in partnership with a range of organizations, including the Transport Workers Union of America and the United Federation of Teachers, featured presentations sharing the story of the holiday’s roots, and a toy drive. Parents in attendance recalled celebrating the holiday as children in their home countries, such as the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. They noted similarities between the festivities they participated in as children and how they mark the day with their kids in the United States, but some said traditions have faded.
OTHER UNION NEWS
College athletes were ready to unionize before Trump’s election. What now?
Vox
By Rachel Cohen
Jan. 7, 2025
In March, Dartmouth basketball players made history with a 13-2 vote to unionize and be classified as college employees — the first successful union election by student-athletes in US history. After Dartmouth rejected the bid, the two sides began litigating the path forward. But last Tuesday, well before any contract was reached, the players ended their union efforts by withdrawing their federal labor petition. The athletes “have pushed the conversation on employment and collective bargaining in college sports forward,” said Chris Peck, president of Service Employees International Union Local 560, in a statement. “While our strategy is shifting, we will continue to advocate for just compensation, adequate health coverage, and safe working conditions for varsity athletes at Dartmouth.”