Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
SEIU Joins AFL-CIO to 'Unleash a New Era of Worker Power' as Trump 2.0 Looms
Common Dreams
By Jake Johnson
Jan. 9, 2025
The 2-million-member-strong Service Employees International Union announced Wednesday that it is joining the AFL-CIO, bolstering the ranks of the largest labor federation in the United States as unions prepare to fight the incoming Trump administration. "CEOs and billionaires want nothing more than to see workers divided, but we're standing here today with greater solidarity than ever to reach the 60 million Americans who say they'd join a union tomorrow if the laws allowed and to unrig our labor laws to guarantee every worker in America the basic right to organize on the job," AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said in a statement. With SEIU included, the unions that make up the AFL-CIO represent roughly 15 million workers across the nation. April Verrett, SEIU's international president, said union members "are ready to unleash a new era of worker power, as millions of service and care workers unite with workers at the AFL-CIO to build our unions in every industry and every ZIP code."
Service workers union rejoins AFL-CIO after 20 years just ahead of Trump's inauguration
Spectrum News
By Associated Press
Jan. 9, 2025
The Service Employees International Union is returning to the AFL-CIO after 20 years, betting that a united labor movement will do more to help workers overcome legal challenges to organize and join unions. The union groups’ executive boards each unanimously approved the combination on Wednesday, with plans to formally announce the affiliation at a Thursday roundtable discussion in Austin, Texas, with workers who are attempting to become union members. There are roughly 2 million SEIU workers in the health care, janitorial and food services sectors, among others. Their addition would bring the total number of AFL-CIO members to nearly 15 million, helping increase the political heft of a federation already composed of 60 unions. Both AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and SEIU President April Verrett were careful to say in interviews Wednesday that the combination was not a consequence of Republican Donald Trump winning the November election and returning to the White House. But their shared goal is to be a political presence in a Trump-dominated Washington that has at times courted organized labor without necessarily backing the policies on wages, overtime and unionization that the movement’s leadership has supported. “We are amassing our forces, building our strength and our power before the inauguration,” Shuler said. “Working people will continue to demand that our voices be heard.”
SEIU and AFL-CIO join forces ahead of expected Trump anti-worker agenda
Michigan Advance
By Jon King
Jan. 9, 2025
On Wednesday, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) announced that it would reunite with the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the country. The two groups split in 2005. With the reaffiliation, the AFL-CIO’s membership will expand from 13 to 15 million workers. “It is damn past time for unions for all,” said SEIU International President April Verrett, speaking at a roundtable discussion Thursday in Austin, Texas. “It is time for working people to be at the center of this economy and this democracy, not victims to its whims. It is beyond time to end union-busting for once and for all. And another thing that it is past time for, and that is to end poverty, wage work, for once and for all.” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler expanded on that theme, saying that the “divide-and-conquer strategy” that has been a hallmark of politics, is best addressed through unity at the bargaining table, which the reaffiliation makes possible.
After almost 20 years of division, Service Employees rejoin AFL-CIO
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Jan. 9, 2025
After almost 20 years officially on the outside, the gigantic Service Employees are formally bringing their two million members back into the AFL-CIO. The result is a larger, more unified labor movement materializing just before the anti-labor Trump administration takes hold in Washington. The January 8 joint announcement by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and new SEIU President April Verrett culminates months, if not years, of unofficial cooperation, however, especially in political action, between SEIU and the federation, which now has more than 13 million members in 60 unions.
LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
Deadline
By Dade Hayes
Jan. 9, 2025
It didn’t take long into a key Labor Innovation & Technology Summit panel before the prevailing sentiment among Hollywood workers was given voice. “The fear of replacement is very real at this moment and in this room,” said Linda Powell, EVP of SAG-AFTRA and moderator of the session, titled “Negotiating AI Contracts: How Unions Can Advance All Protections Across Sectors.” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator, noted the positioning of the LIT Summit during CES, the major tech confab where a range of AI wares are on display. “CES has helped us identify trends coming down the road and separate the wheat from the chaff” in terms of focusing resources and energy, he said. NFTs, he noted, “were the last thing everyone was freaking out about” but labor leaders were able to see it lose steam among the technorati.
IMMIGRATION
Trump’s immigration plans could imperil long-term care workforce
Roll Call
By Jessie Hellmann
Jan. 9, 2025
“Mass deportations or targeting immigrants would have devastating impacts on the care economy, in addition to the trauma and separation of families,” said Arnulfo De La Cruz, president of SEIU 2015 in California, the largest union representing long-term care workers, half of whom are immigrants. “I think the ultimate cost and impact would be to American citizens who already struggle to find a caregiver.”
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
$340M Solar Project to Power Top Las Vegas Casinos with Clean Energy
Gambling News
By Silvia Pavlof
Jan. 9, 2025
Covering 900 acres, the facility will feature 389,000 high-tech bifacial photovoltaic panels. These panels can catch sunlight on both sides to boost productivity. JinkoSolar will provide the panels, while Tesla will supply and set up the battery storage system. Bechtel Infrastructure and Power Corporation leads the solar array construction, and Dashiell Corporation handles substation and transmission upgrades. The project will have a big impact on the local economy. Throughout its life, Escape is set to bring in $80 million in tax money for Lincoln County. Also, the build uses union workers from several local and national groups. These include the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Laborers’ International Union of North America.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Vox Media Lays Off 12 More Employees Just 1 Month After Last Round of Cuts
The Wrap
By Sean Burch
Jan. 9, 2025
The Writers Guild of America, East, which represents the Vox newsroom, told TheWrap 12 employees lost their jobs as part of Thursday’s cuts. Vox Media is laying off an undisclosed number of employees on Thursday. The job cuts are the second round of layoffs to hit the company in the last month. “Today, Vox.com announced layoffs on several teams, a difficult but necessary step as the industry evolves,” a Vox spokesperson said in a statement shared with TheWrap.
NLRB
Starbucks Union Files 34 Federal Complaints, Signaling Renewed Hostilities
Bloomberg (through Yahoo! Finance)
By Josh Eidelson
Jan. 9, 2025
Starbucks Corp.’s union filed 34 US labor board complaints against the company this week, signaling rising tension between the coffee chain and the labor group that had agreed last winter to try to end their hostilities. The complaints were filed with the National Labor Relations Board by Starbucks Workers United, which has organized around 500 of the company’s roughly 10,000 corporate-run US cafes over the past three years. The filings accuse Starbucks of violating federal labor law at stores in 16 states, including by singling out and firing employees over the last several months because of their union activism.
ORGANIZING
UAW petitions for union election at Ford joint venture plant in Kentucky
Fast Company
By Reuters
Jan. 9, 2025
The United Auto Workers union is petitioning the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election at a Kentucky battery plant run by a Ford Motor joint venture, the union said in a release Wednesday. The BlueOval SK plant, owned by a partnership of South Korea’s SK On and Ford, is the latest battery battleground for the union as it seeks to grow its decreasing membership and secure jobs as the industry electrifies.
CHI St. Francis Health nurses vote to join union
KVRR
By Jim Monk
Jan. 9, 2025
Registered nurses at CHI St. Francis Health in Breckenridge have voted to join a union. The nurses will join AFSCME Council 65, which represents 15,000 workers in government, non-profits, and healthcare facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “As larger and larger healthcare systems continue to run small hospitals like ours, it’s important to have meaningful input from professionals who work directly with our community. In a union, we have more resources and confidence to speak up at work,” said registered nurse Connie Okeson.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Park City Strike Ends With Increase in Wages for Ski Patrollers
The New York Times
By David Goodman
Jan. 9, 2025
Ski patrollers at Park City Mountain in Utah triumphantly returned to the slopes on Thursday, after ending a nearly two-week strike over union wages and benefits. The strike hobbled the largest U.S. ski resort during a busy holiday period and sparked online fury about deepening economic inequality in rural mountain areas. Late Wednesday, the Park City Professional Ski Patrollers Association ratified a contract with Vail Resorts, which owns Park City and more than 40 other ski areas, that raises the starting pay of ski patrollers and other mountain safety workers $2 an hour, to $23. The most experienced patrollers will receive an average increase of $7.75 per hour. The agreement also expands parental leave policies for the workers, and provides “industry-leading educational opportunities,” according to the union.
Striking ski patrollers at the biggest US resort return to work claiming victory
ABC News
By Mead Gruver
Jan. 9, 2025
Two hundred Utah ski patrollers returned to work Thursday after voting to accept a new labor contract and end a nearly two-week strike that closed many trails and caused long lift lines at the ones that remained open during a busy time of year at the country's biggest ski resort. The Park City Ski Professional Ski Patrol Association claimed victory, saying in a statement that Colorado-based Vail Resorts, which owns Park City Mountain Resort, acceded to its key demands including a $2-an-hour base-pay increase and raises for senior ski patrollers.
At striking Pittsburgh news workers’ hearing, less is more, and there’s more to come
Pittsburgh Union Progress
By Steve Mellon
Jan. 9, 2025
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers in four unions have been on strike now for 27 months; the fate of workers in three of those unions was the focus of Wednesday’s hearing at the Joseph F. Weis Jr. U.S. Courthouse. Bissoon is tasked with deciding whether to grant an injunction that would get those employees back to work under a contract that expired in 2017 and force the company to bargain a new agreement in good faith. Testimony from two attorneys filled the day. First up was Joe Pass, who represents union mailers, advertising workers and pressmen. Anne Tewksbury, attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, methodically walked Pass through a series of documents that showed the vast gulf between the unions’ expired contracts and those put forth by the PG.
New Haven school food workers on expired contract picket for better wages
New Haven Register
By Brian Zahn
Jan. 9, 2025
For more than 20 years, Jasanea Hernandez has served school lunches to thousands of city children. And when she's off the clock she said she has her own children to feed. "I have kids and they go to New Haven Public Schools," she said. "I'm a resident, parent and staff. I work really hard to support my family." Hernandez was one of more than 30 school food service workers and community allies affiliated with UNITE HERE! Local 217 who picketed outside the school district's Meadow Street main office in strong winds amid below-freezing temperatures Thursday afternoon. The unionized workers used the event to escalate their campaign to pressure the district to negotiate a new contract with wage increases to match or outpace inflation.
JOINING TOGETHER
Community group urges Queen’s to avert nurses strike
Star Advertiser
By Nina Wu
Jan. 8, 2025
A group of community members are hoping to avert a nurses strike at Queen’s Medical Center next week. The strike is imminent, as the Hawaii Nurses’ Association, which represents more than 1,900, has notified Queen’s of a planned, three-day strike starting 11 a.m. on Monday over unfair labor practices at both its downtown and West Oahu campuses. Members of the nonprofit Hawaii Workers Center gathered at Queen’s downtown campus this morning to deliver a letter to President and CEO Jason Chang in support of the nurses, and asking hospital leaders to negotiate in good faith.
Adult entertainers pledge support for Culinary Union strike at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
KTNV
By Justin Hinton
Jan. 9, 2025
Labor leaders from across the country have joined the picket line to stand with Culinary Union members in their fight for a new, five-year contract at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Jan. 9, 2025, marks day 56. It's the union's longest strike in more than two decades. We've already seen a comedian cancel a show and lawmakers and the NFL Players Association stand in solidarity with the union. Now, union members are getting support from another group: adult entertainers.
STATE LEGISLATION
NAALC asks lawmakers to prioritize workers, families in 2025 Legislative Session
Alabama Political Reporter
By Alex Jobin
Jan. 9, 2025
On Monday night, Madison County lawmakers gathered at Huntsville City Hall to hear citizens’ policy concerns ahead of next month’s legislative session. Among those who spoke at the Madison County Legislative Forum were three union members from the North Alabama Area Labor Council (NAALC), AFL-CIO, who brought labor issues to the forefront of the meeting. Whitney Washington, a member of the Communication Workers of America Local 3908, spoke in support of SB22, sponsored by State Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, which would revoke tax incentives from companies who violate Alabama’s child labor laws.
IN THE STATES
Illinois among states most affected by Social Security Fairness Act
WSIU
By Charlie Schlenker
Jan. 8, 2025
Illinois is among the states with the largest proportion of workers affected by the Social Security Fairness Act. That law signed this week by President Biden eliminates the so-called Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduces or even eliminates social security payments to some retired workers who have public pensions and potentially their spouses. Illinois is among the 12 states with the largest proportion of affected workers because public pensions in this state do not contribute to Social Security. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) said those are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas.
N.C. Supreme Court tries stealing election to add another MAGA Republican to its ranks
People’s World
By John Bachtell
Jan. 9, 2025
“Instead of gracefully conceding, her opponent, Jefferson Griffin, is attempting to throw out tens of thousands of votes – many of which were cast by members of our military – in an attempt to undermine our democratic process, said North Carolina State AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan. “Every vote counts, and now that every ballot has been tallied multiple times, it is clear that Allison Riggs is the winner. It’s time for Judge Griffin to concede that he lost in a free and fair election.” McMillan cited a previous election in which Chief Justice Cheri Beasley had to concede after losing by 401 votes in 2020.
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
Union apprenticeships are good gateway to skilled trade options
The Mining Journal
By Gabriel S. Martinez
Jan. 8, 2025
Brett Gierak, the secretary-treasurer of the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 2 and a trustee of Schoolcraft College in Livonia, said anyone who goes into Schoolcraft’s apprenticeship program automatically gets 25 credits towards an associate’s degree in construction management. “It’s a way for some of our members to spend a few years in the trade, and then be promoted into an office position,” Gierak said. “Anytime you’re on a construction project, there’s usually a general contractor who has a field superintendent.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Hyatt to pay $2.25M to settle ‘Housekeepers’ Bill of Rights’ lawsuit
Hotel Dive
By Noelle Mateer
Jan. 9, 2025
Hyatt Hotels will pay $2.25 million to settle a lawsuit under a “Housekeepers’ Bill of Rights” law in Long Beach, California, hospitality union Unite Here Local 11 shared in a release obtained by Hotel Dive. The suit was filed in February 2023 by union housekeepers at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach who claimed their employer did not comply with the Long Beach Hotel Working Conditions Initiative, a law guaranteeing protections for housekeepers in the Southern California city. The rule also mandates panic buttons and other measures designed to protect hotel employees from sexual assault.
Workers' union implores Goodyear to reduce Niagara Falls carcinogen emissions
WBFO
By Emyle Watkins
Jan. 9, 2025
On Thursday, the United Steelworkers union (USW) called on Goodyear to reduce their emissions of a dangerous carcinogen being released into the Niagara Falls neighborhood adjacent to their chemical plant. "Up until this point, Goodyear has been willing to hide behind outdated federal regulations, but this is simply not good enough. Goodyear must reduce exposure to the lowest possible level – inside and outside the plant," USW District 4 Director David Wasiura said in a statement. Jim Briggs, the sub-district director for USW’s District Four Buffalo office and a retired Goodyear employee, told WBFO on Thursday the union wants Goodyear to install new pollution control technology immediately. The union currently represents about 40 plant employees.