Today's AFL-CIO press clips
EDITOR'S NOTE: TheForward Kentuckystory that tops today's Press Clips is a version of a story that recently was posted on the website. KirkGillenwaters was quoted in both stories.
POLITICS
The most anti-labor president in a century is about to take office again
Forward Kentucky
By Berry Craig
Jan. 13, 2025
Union men and women will again face soul-trying times starting Jan. 20 when president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated for the second time. “The idea that Donald Trump has ever, or will ever, care about working people is demonstrably false,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler warned in 2023 when he seemed to be a shoo-in for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. “For his entire time as president, he actively sought to roll back worker protections, wages, and the right to join a union at every level.”
2.5 million Americans were once denied Social Security benefits. A new law changes that
Cleveland.com
By Sabrina Eaton
Jan. 13, 2025
“For years, members were bringing this up and and asking for it to be changed, because it had such an impact, especially on our lower paid employees, like our paraprofessionals, who often are living paycheck to paycheck and working multiple jobs,” said Cropper, who also serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO.
Schumer secures $85 million to restore pensions for NY union workers
WRGB
By Felix Day
Jan. 13, 2025
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer announced that Upstate New York's International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) will receive approximately $85.5 million in federal support to restore pensions for over 6,400 union workers and their families. The funding, part of the Schumer-sponsored American Rescue Plan, aims to secure the financial future of union construction engineers from Buffalo to Albany.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
From Mental Health To Class Solidarity: Workforce Trends To Watch In 2025
Forbes
By Aparna Rae
Jan. 13, 2025
Still, workers at Google’s Pittsburgh contractor HCL unionized in 2021, the Bethesda Game Studios workers voted to join the Communications Workers of America union, and Code for America reached a collective bargaining agreement with its union, CfA Workers United in 2023. The numbers in these early examples may be small, but as labor unions continue to expand their reach into previously unorganized sectors, expect to see a greater emphasis on fair pay, better working conditions, and broader social benefits for workers.
NLRB
Starbucks Union Files 34 Federal Complaints, Signaling Renewed Hostilities
Bloomberg
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
ND nurses hope union vote paves way for stronger rural health care
Public News Service
By Mike Moen
Jan. 13, 2025
Labor analysts say doctors have jumped to the front of the line of healthcare workers forming unions while others in the medical field continue to show interest, including nurses at a hospital in the North Dakota region. Nurses at the CHI St. Francis Health Breckenridge hospital along the border with Minnesota now have a collective bargaining unit. Connie Okeson, a registered nurse at the hospital, said she hopes voting to form a union allows her team to illustrate staffing issues. She emphasized they have to fight to make health facilities in smaller towns and cities desirable places to work.
Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol Votes to Unionize
Powder
By Matt Lorelli
Jan. 13, 2025
The ski patrollers of Colorado's Arapahoe Basin Ski Area have voted to unionize, according to a social media post on Sunday, January 12, 2025. "We will officially become a part of the CWA 7781 United Mountain Workers," writes a representative of The Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol Union (ABSP). "This pushed everyone mentally and physically but in the end we have come together and decided to unionize." Local organizer Ryan Dineen told Denver7 that the vote to unionize passed 30-22, but that results still need to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which could take a few more days.
At Temple, 2nd Philadelphia physician group votes to unionize
Becker’s Hospital Review
By Kelly Gooch
Jan. 13, 2025
Resident physicians and fellows at Philadelphia-based Temple University Hospital have voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, the committee said in a Jan. 10 Facebook post, becoming the second group of Philadelphia-area physicians to unionize. The vote was 425-11 in favor of joining the union, according to the National Labor Relations Board. NLRB representatives determined about 650 employees were eligible to vote, including residents and fellows working at Temple University Hospital—Main Campus, Temple University Hospital—Episcopal Campus, and Temple University Hospital—Jeanes Campus.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Playbill
By Logan Culwell-Block
Jan. 13, 2025
Less than a year after unionizing via IATSE, backstage workers at Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theater Company went on strike January 12 at 2 PM ET following a breakdown in negotiations with the theatre's leadership. Subsequently, the theatre has postponed its productions of Grief Camp and I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan, both of which began previews this past weekend. According to a statement from IATSE, the union and theatre leadership met to discuss contract terms January 10 and 12. On the latter day, theatre management "demanded several provisions before continuing its further obligations to bargain with the union," according to the statement. IATSE representatives countered this proposal but were told that the theatre was unwilling to back off this list of unspecified provisions. "The union believes this behavior from management constitutes an unlawful failure to negotiate in good faith, which caused the union to file unfair labor practice charges with the federal government. These charges were a motivating factor [behind] the crew being forced to go on strike ahead of the 2 PM matinee. In turn, the Atlantic management chose to cancel its January 12 performances, rather than make a deal for its workers that enable the shows to go on."
Nebraska state employees union reaches tentative agreement
Kiowa County Press
By Aaron Sanderford
Jan. 13, 2025
The largest union representing Nebraska state employees announced last week that its members would vote soon on a tentative agreement with Governor Jim Pillen’s negotiators. The Nebraska Association of Public Employees, known to many in the state as NAPE/AFSCME, is set to meet and vote on the proposed contract for 2025-2027 starting January 13. The union has said it won’t release the language of the contract until after its members weigh in. But it highlighted some potential changes.
Stagehands Strike Off Broadway’s Prominent Atlantic Theater Company, Two Productions Postponed
Deadline
By Greg Evans
Jan. 13, 2025
After negotiations broke down over the weekend between Off Broadway‘s Atlantic Theater Company and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the stagehands union ordered a strike against the prominent nonprofit theater. Two productions that had already begun previews, Eliya Smith’s Grief Camp and Mona Pirnot’s I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan, but have now been postponed indefinitely. The strike follows several months of negotiations that began after the Atlantic crew voted nearly unanimously to unionize with IATSE in February 2024.
Crew Members at Major Off-Broadway Theater Go On Strike
The Hollywood Reporter
By Caitlin Huston
Jan. 13, 2025
Crew members at the Atlantic Theater Company, a major Off-Broadway theater, have gone on strike after contract negotiations fell apart. As a result of the strike, announced Sunday, the theater has postponed its productions of Grief Camp and I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan. The strike comes after crew members voted to unionize with IATSE in February 2024, with concerns about healthcare and job security, amid a bigger Off-Broadway push.
Largest healthcare strike in Oregon history continues into new week
KATU
By KATU Staff
Jan. 13, 2025
The largest healthcare strike in Oregon's history began its first full week on Monday, with nearly 5,000 nurses and over100 doctors hitting the picket lines as union negotiations continue with Providence Health. Healthcare workers began the strike on Friday, picketing at multiple hospitals and clinics across Oregon. The strike includes nurses, physicians, advanced practice providers, certified nurse midwives, and other healthcare professionals at eight Providence hospitals and six Providence Women’s Clinics across Oregon.
JOINING TOGETHER
In a historic move, SEIU re-joins AFL-CIO
HR Dive
By Caroline Colvin
Jan. 13, 2025
Now, the two organizations were holding a livestreamed roundtable with organizers in the union space and the two organizational presidents, moderated by Melissa Harris-Perry. Before the discussion, however, SEIU President April Verrett addressed the audience first, then AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
STATE LEGISLATION
KVUE
Britny Eubank, Adam Bennett and Ella Mulligan
Jan. 13, 2025
Members blame the state for failing to address the needs of public schools and educators. Some of the issues include stagnant pay, underfunded schools and safety concerns, all of which are driving teachers out of the profession. Rick Levy, the president of the Texas AFL-CIO – a state labor federation of about 240,000 members that is affiliated with the Texas AFT – said he's worried new laws meant to help schools will actually make things worse. "The question we have for this legislative session is: Is the Legislature gonna stand with workers and try and do things that actually improve people's lives, or are they gonna continue to stand with the corporate people who put them there?" Levy said. "And I think we have a tough session ahead."
Worker rights big issue in Colorado legislature
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Jan. 13, 2025
Worker rights, and a unique state stumbling block to them, became a key issue when the Colorado legislature convened on January 8. The battle, pitting the state AFL-CIO and its progressive allies versus the Denver Area Chamber of Commerce and its corporate cronies, revolves around the “Labor Peace Act” that for decades has made the Centennial State a half-out, half-in right to work state. The law, the only one of its kind in the U.S., says a union can’t represent workers unless it wins two elections: The first where majority of those who vote unionize, and a second where three-fourths must vote that the union can collect union dues and fair share fees.
IN THE STATES
Minimum wages are increasing in nearly half the states this year
Stateline
By Kevin Hardy
Jan. 10, 2025
The minimum wage will increase in nearly half the states this year even as the federal wage floor remains stuck at $7.25 per hour. In many states, the minimum wage is automatically adjusted upward as inflation rises. But voters in several states, including deeply red ones such as Alaska and Missouri, chose in November to significantly increase their minimum wages this year. Michigan will see its minimum wage jump from $10.33 to $12.48 on Feb. 21 after the state Supreme Court concluded the legislature subverted residents when it adopted but then significantly amended voter-initiated ballot measures in 2018 to raise the minimum wage and mandate paid sick time.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Workplace violence, employee safety take center stage in Maryland union rally
CBS News
By Christian Olaniran
Jan. 13, 2025
Members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Maryland Council 3, are planning to rally on Monday in support of the Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act. House Bill 176, would require Maryland Occupation Safety and Health to develop a standard for preventing workplace violence, and hold public employers accountable for their employees safety.
USDA says pig, poultry workers have high injury risk at certain processing speeds, staffing levels
The Minnesota Star Tribune
By Brooks Johnson
Jan. 13, 2025
The union representing workers at Hormel Foods and the JBS pork plant in Minnesota said the studies “reaffirm what we have long known — that poultry and swine slaughter poses serious risk to workers, regardless of line speed," UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement. “The UFCW is calling for a full range of safety measures including additional staffing, improved reporting of workplace injuries, expanded access to early and adequate medical treatment and job modifications that minimize ergonomic stressors,” Perrone said.
CIVIL, HUMAN, & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
At MLK conference CWA’s Cummings warns of tough fights vs. Trump
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Jan. 13, 2025
Both workers and civil rights advocates face a tough road ahead when the Republican regime of Donald Trump takes office, Communications Workers President Claude Cummings warns. But despite that forecast, which he presented at the AFL-CIO’s Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative conference in early January, Cummings held out hope for the delegates and allies of organized labor massed in Austin, Texas. “We survived Trump’s first term, and we’ll survive this one, too, together. It’s as simple as that,” he declared. Cummings’ speech to the conferees was long on revving delegates for the battle to come against an administration that he, like other union leaders, predicts will “put profits over people.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
SAG-AFTRA Donates $1 Million for L.A. Fires Relief
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Jan. 11, 2025
As the economic toll of the wildfires ripping through Los Angeles County continues to rise, performers’ union SAG-AFTRA has pledged $1 million to help union members impacted by the disaster. The union is donating the funds to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, a nonprofit that offers emergency financial aid and education services to union members. Said union president Fran Drescher in a statement, “The destruction caused by these blazes, the loss of life and homes, has been gut-wrenching to experience, and of course our hearts go out to all affected. But we knew we could do more; we hope this pledge helps relieve suffering and assists those impacted in putting their lives back together after this calamity.”
Wildfires have been raging in Los Angeles for days. When will they end?
CNN
By Eric Levenson
Jan. 13, 2025
“The weather plays a driving factor in all this because they’ve been in critical fire behavior for so long,” said Joe Ten Eyck, the wildfire/urban-interface fire programs coordinator for the International Association of Fire Fighters. “They’re making good headway out here but they’re going back into fire weather warnings again because Santa Ana winds are supposed to come back – there’s no precipitation in sight for at least the next 10 days, according to all the weather models.”
Teachers Union gives out nearly 30,000 books... FREE
Rio Rancho Observer
By Taylor Hood
Jan. 13, 2025
There were a lot of smiling faces at Ernest Stapleton Elementary School this weekend as the Rio Rancho School Employees Union (RRSEU) and the United Health Professionals of New Mexico (UHPNM) hosted the Reading Opens the World Event. The event, part of a national effort by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to give out 10 million books across the country, was held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and they handed out nearly all of the 30,000 books they had on hand. Both RRESEU and the UHP are affiliates of AFT. AFT purchases and distributes books nationwide through the First Book organization.
UNION BUSTING
Workers say Amazon is now deploying its union-busting "science" at Whole Foods
Salon
By Charles R. Davis
Jan. 13, 2025
At Whole Foods’ flagship location in the city of brotherly love, management tried to lure workers away from a union rally on Monday by offering up no-cost hoagies and bags of chips. Just outside, however, their colleagues — joined by about a dozen elected officials — warned that there is no such thing as a free lunch. “We work here and can’t even shop here,” Mase Veney, a Whole Foods employee, said just steps from his employer’s front door. Flanked by legislators and organizers with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, including dozens of rank-and-file members marching up and down the sidewalk, Veney and other workers argued that parent company Amazon — which reported a net income of $15.3 billion in its last reported quarter, up more than 50% from the year before — can afford more than just the occasional treats.