Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
Trump fires labor board officials, setting up legal fight
NPR
By Andrea Hsu
Jan. 28, 2025
With this move, Trump has effectively shut down the NLRB's operations, leaving the workers it defends on their own, AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said in a statement. "These moves will make it easier for bosses to violate the law and trample on workers' legal rights on the job and fundamental freedom to organize," she wrote.
US labor union membership slips in 2024 to record low
Reuters
By Michael S. Derby
Jan. 28, 2025
The notion of stagnation in overall union membership was challenged by the labor group the AFL-CIO. In a statement, its president Liz Shuler said the numbers of union elections had doubled since 2021, with 1,800 coming last year. "Many of these victories are not reflected in the numbers released today because employers are exploiting a broken system to delay bargaining a first contract," Shuler said.
Trump fires senior labor board official in ‘unprecedented and illegal’ move
The Guardian
By Michael Sainato
Jan. 28, 2025
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the US, representing 61 national and international unions, said: “President Trump’s firing of NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve on the board, is illegal and will have immediate consequences for working people.” Trump’s decision “has effectively shut down” the NLRB’s operations, Shuler said, “leaving the workers it defends on their own in the face of union-busting and retaliation”. “These moves will make it easier for bosses to violate the law and trample on workers’ legal rights on the job and fundamental freedom to organize,” she added.
POLITICS
Trump Administration Puts Dozens of U.S.A.I.D. Officials on Paid Leave
The New York Times
By Michael Crowley and Edward Wong
Jan. 27, 2025
The Trump administration placed several dozen senior officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave in response to what an official characterized as resistance to President Trump’s policy. An email on Monday to U.S.A.I.D. staff from the agency’s acting administrator, Jason Gray, said that Trump officials “have identified several actions within U.S.A.I.D. that appear to be designed to circumvent” an executive order.
Trump fires US labor board member, hobbling agency amid legal battles
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
Jan. 28, 2025
President Donald Trump has removed a Democratic member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board from office, an unprecedented move that will escalate an ongoing legal battle over the scope of the president's powers to control federal agencies. Gwynne Wilcox, who was appointed to the board by Democratic former President Joe Biden, in a statement called her firing late Monday illegal and said she would pursue "all legal avenues" to challenge it.
Trump Firings at Labor Board Paralyze the Agency
The New York Times
By Danielle Kaye and Rebecca Davis O’Brien
Jan. 28, 2025
President Trump ousted the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board late Monday, the agency said, signaling a shift away from the Biden administration’s relatively expansive approach to enforcing workers’ rights. Jennifer Abruzzo, the agency’s former top attorney, is widely seen as having taken a more aggressive approach than her predecessors in carrying out the N.L.R.B.’s mandate to enforce private sector employees’ rights to unionize and take collective action.
Federal judge blocks Trump federal spending freeze after a day of chaos
The Washington Post
By Tony Romm, Jeff Stein, Jacob Bogage and Emily Davies
Jan. 28, 2025
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from imposing a sweeping pause on federal spending, after the new White House policy caused significant disruptions to programs that fund schools, provide housing and ensure low-income Americans have access to healthcare. The court prevented the restrictions from taking effect at least until Feb. 3, allowing a coalition of public-health advocates, nonprofits and businesses — represented by the left-leaning group Democracy Forward — to proceed with their case challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s actions.
Trump administration offering buyouts to nearly all federal workers
CNBC
By Kevin Breuninger
Jan. 28, 2025
The federal labor union American Federation of Government Employees quickly criticized the Trump administration’s buyout plans. “Purging the federal government of dedicated career federal employees will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government,” AFGE said in a statement. “Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to,” the group said.
Trump Fires Biden Labor Board Officials, Setting Up Likely Court Battle
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
Jan. 28, 2025
President Donald Trump fired the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel and one of its board members late Monday, setting up a likely legal battle over presidential power. Both Jennifer Abruzzo, the general counsel, and Gwynne Wilcox, the board member, were Democrats who took a broad view of workers’ rights under collective-bargaining law. Wilcox’s term as a board member was set to run through August 2028.
Trump fires acting Labor Board chair in legally dubious move
Axios
By Emily Peck
Jan. 28, 2025
President Trump fired acting chair of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Democrat Gwynne Wilcox late Monday night, she told Axios. He also fired the general counsel of the labor board, Jennifer Abruzzo, a strong advocate for unionization. The big picture: Together the dismissals signal a broad purge at the nation's labor regulator, which had been an exceptionally strong ally to workers and unions over the past four years.
Trump moves to fire members of EEOC, NLRB boards, breaking with precedent
The Washington Post
By Julian Mark, Lauren Kaori Gurley and Lisa Rein
Jan. 28, 2025
President Donald Trump has moved to fire Democratic members of two independent federal commissions, an extraordinary break from decades of legal precedent that promises to hand Republicans control over boards that oversee swaths of U.S. workers, employers and labor unions. Trump moved Monday night to dismiss two of three Democratic members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows, formerly the chair, the White House confirmed Tuesday. Trump also fired the chair of the National Labor Relations Board, Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat, an NLRB spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
White House offers incentives to federal employees to resign, warns of downsizing
Reuters
By David Shepardson and Jarrett Renshaw
Jan. 28, 2025
American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley said the proposal "should not be viewed as voluntary. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration's goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.”
Trump executive orders roll back civil rights, workers’ rights, and greenlight fraud
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Jan. 28, 2025
The Government Employees (AFGE) marched into court in D.C., accompanied by the Teachers/AFT and two good-government groups, two days after the inauguration. They’re suing Trump over the schemes of his “Department of Government Efficiency,” headed by multibillionaire Elon Musk, to meet behind closed doors, with no accountability, to arbitrarily cut hundreds of thousands of workers. “We’re part of this new lawsuit because DOGE must come out of the shadows & comply with the law before the sweeping, self-serving plans of billionaires upend the federal government and cause irreparable damage in the lives of working people,” Teachers President Randi Weingarten tweeted.
TRANSPORTATION
“No Cuts, No Compromise!”: Kansas Citians Mobilize to Defend Public Transit as Funding Crisis Looms
The Kansas City Defender
By Lynnie Holl
Jan. 28, 2025
Last week, over 100 low-wage workers, bus riders and drivers came together to protest major cuts to bus routes and union jobs that are being considered by the city government. Bus riders and community members with Stand Up KC joined Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1287 members and Sunrise Movement KC outside of the Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA) headquarters to protest a lack of funding from KCMO City Council.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
GM profit sharing: Here's the record amount UAW members will get for 2024
The Detroit News
By Breana Noble
Jan. 28, 2025
For every $1 billion GM makes in North America, the automaker's hourly U.S. employees receive $1,000, according to the Detroit automaker's agreement with the United Auto Workers. GM made about $14.258 billion in North America in 2024, up 18% year-over-year. "Our membership performed beyond all expectations," Booth wrote. "It is our members' skillfulness that made this profit possible, as they produce the finest products in the world., right here in the U.S.A."
ORGANIZING
Union membership fell in 2024, hitting new low
The Washington Post
By Lauren Kaori Gurley
Jan. 28, 2025
The share of American workers in unions edged down in 2024, reaching its lowest level on record, even as the year was marked by a surge in union election filings and several high-profile strikes. The union membership rate dropped by one-tenth of a percentage point to a new low of 9.9 percent last year, the Labor Department said Tuesday, while the total number of union members in the United States barely budged last year, with a loss of roughly 100,000 members.
Whole Foods Workers Form First Union At Amazon-Owned Grocer
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
Jan. 28, 2025
Whole Foods workers in Philadelphia formed the chain’s first union on Monday, setting the stage for a larger organizing fight at the Amazon-owned grocer. Employees at the company’s Center City location voted 130 to 100 in favor of joining the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, according to a spokesperson at the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency overseeing the election.
16 million workers were unionized in 2024
Economic Policy Institute
By Margaret Poydock, Celine McNicholas, Jennifer Sherer, and Heidi Shierholz
Jan. 28, 2025
Interest in union organizing is surging in the United States. Since 2021, petitions for union elections at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have more than doubled. And public support for unions is near 60-year highs—at 70%. This growing momentum around union organizing—aided by the Biden administration’s support for worker organizing and appointment of strong worker advocates in critical agencies like NLRB—signals a powerful push by workers to improve wages, working conditions, and workplace rights. But despite this groundswell of support, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveal a puzzling trend: Unionization rates continue to decline.
Whole Foods workers in Philadelphia vote to form 1st union for the chain
Grocery Dive
By Peyton Bigora
Jan. 28, 2025
A Whole Foods Market in Philadelphia is the first of the chain’s stores to vote in favor of unionizing, according to an announcement from UFCW Local 1776. The final vote tally to join the UFCW on Monday was 130 in favor and 100 against, according to the union. Whole Foods staffers supporting the unionization efforts met significant pushback from Amazon and Whole Foods management, the latter of which is facing allegations of unfair labor practices, according to UFCW Local 1776.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
ABC News Agrees to AI Protections for Writers in Latest Contract
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Jan. 28, 2025
At the start of what is likely to be a busy news year amid Trump’s return to the Oval Office, ABC News‘ unionized writers have secured new protections governing the use of generative AI in their workplace. Staffers who belong to the Writers Guild of America East have voted to ratify a contract that offers some employment safeguards if the newsroom adopts the technology, the union announced on Tuesday. That includes an agreement that the company will not lay off current staff employees due to the use of generative AI and will give three weeks’ notice to full-time temporary employees if any shifts are curtailed as a result of the technology.
King Soopers union members to vote on strike after negotiations failed
KDVR
By Heather Willard
Jan. 28, 2025
About 10,000 workers in Colorado’s Front Range, including 8,000 workers in the Denver metro area, are preparing to vote on a potential strike starting Wednesday. The votes come after King Soopers presented what the company is calling the “last, best and final offer” and said it would put more money into workers’ paychecks while keeping grocery prices down. Meanwhile, UFCW Local 7 leaders said the offer “failed to engage on the most important Union proposals” and called it “unlawful” in the union’s announcement of upcoming strike votes.
Whole Foods workers at this store become the first to unionize
Fast Company
By Associated Press
Jan. 28, 2025
Workers at a Whole Foods Market in Pennsylvania voted to unionize on Monday, becoming the first group of employees to pull off a labor win at the Amazon-owned grocery store chain. Employees at the Philadelphia store cast 130 votes—or about 57% of the ballots cast—in favor of joining a local chapter of The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union for the purposes of collective bargaining. According to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the election, 100 workers rejected the motion.
The Brown Daily Herald
By Ethan Schenker
Jan. 28, 2025
In a letter sent to Provost Francis Doyle Tuesday morning, the leaders of five unions representing over 2,000 student and postdoc workers asked Doyle to reaffirm his “current commitment to workers on our campus” following President Trump’s second inauguration.
The letter was authored by the elected leadership of the RIFT-AFT Local 6516, the union chapter founded by the Graduate Labor Organization. The chapter has since grown to encompass the unions representing Community Coordinators, postdocs, computer science teaching assistants and student workers at the Brown Center for Students of Color. The unions of Community Coordinators, postdocs and student workers at the Brown Center for Students of Color are currently negotiating or finalizing their contracts with the University.
WGA East Members Ratify New Contract With ABC News
Deadline
By Katie Campione
Jan. 28, 2025
Members at the Writers Guild of America East have “overwhelmingly” ratified a new three-year deal with ABC News. The guild touted “tremendous financial wins” in the updated agreement, as well as provisions regarding the use of artificial intelligence. According to the WGA East, ABC News has agreed not to lay off any current staff employees and provide at least three weeks’ notice of intent to implement AI systems for written news. The parties have agreed to meet semi-annually to discuss AI as well.
Mahle contract talks continue after failed ratification vote
Dayton Daily News
By Thomas Gnau
Jan. 28, 2025
“Following the union’s ratification vote, we are continuing to discuss open matters in good faith in order to have a fully approved new contract in place by our deadline of April 6, 2025,” Trent said. Trent last week told this newspaper that an earlier contract between the company and the IUE-CWA (International Union of Electrical Workers/Communications Workers of America) in Dayton expired Jan. 6.
Nurses at UMC to hold two-day strike during Super Bowl week
WWNO
By Safura Syed
Jan. 28, 2025
Members of the University Medical Center nurses union have announced that they are planning a two-day strike in the week before New Orleans hosts the 2025 Super Bowl. The strike, which will be the nurses’ second since voting to unionize in late 2023, follows nearly a year of as-yet unsuccessful negotiations toward a collective bargaining agreement with LCMC Health, the private nonprofit group that manages the publicly owned hospital.
ABC News Writers Ratify WGA East Contract That Includes AI Protections
The Wrap
By Jeremy Fuster
Jan. 28, 2025
The Writers Guild of America East members at ABC News have ratified a new contract that will establish rules around potential use of generative artificial intelligence at the broadcast news organization. As part of the contract, ABC agreed it will not lay off any current staff employees and provide full-time temporary employees with 3 weeks’ notice of any reduction in shifts as a result of the use of AI. The company must also provide at least three weeks’ notice of its intent to implement an AI system that an employee may be required to use for news material or other covered work.
Strike Ends at Essentia Health in Deer River with New Contract
Lakeland PBS
By Staff
Jan. 27, 2025
Essentia Health and the union representing about 70 health care workers at Essentia-Deer River have agreed on a new contract. The workers, who are part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), went on a five-day strike last November and then walked out again on December 8th. The union and Essentia say that 92% of union membership voted in favor of the agreement.
Duluth City Council finalizes contract with AFSCME Local 66
Northern News Now
By Laura Lee
Jan. 27, 2025
Monday night the city council approved an official contract agreement with Duluth union employees. The city reached a contract agreement with the AFSCME Local 66 unit representing nearly 500 City of Duluth employees earlier this month. The employees include snowplow drivers, water plant operators and library staff.
IN THE STATES
Teachers’ union lobbies lawmakers to fully fund Blueprint, among legislative priorities
Maryland Matters
By William J. Ford
Jan. 28, 2025
The Baltimore City teacher joined dozens of fellow American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Maryland members Monday at their annual lobby night in Annapolis, where their main objective was to persuade lawmakers to stay the course and keep the 10-year education reform plan intact.
Orlando Weekly
By McKenna Schueler
Jan. 28, 2025
Signed into law by DeSantis in 2023, SB 266 in part “gives the Board of Governors the authority to remove courses from the general education curriculum that “distort significant historical events, teach identity politics or that assert systemic racism, sexism, oppression and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States, and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities,” explained Teresa Hodge, president of the statewide labor union United Faculty of Florida.
Labor unions are leading the way to a clean energy future in Colorado (Opinion)
Colorado Newsline
By Jason Wardrip, Dennis Dougherty and Daniel Mondragon
Jan. 28, 2025
All climate jobs should provide family-supporting wages, good benefits, retirement security, safe workplaces, training opportunities and a collective voice. We get this kind of high-quality job by making them union jobs, and Coloradans across the state should be able to access these jobs through union apprenticeships. Apprenticeship programs create pathways to lifelong union careers, especially for women and people of color, and allow people to earn while they learn.
LABOR AND ENTERTAINMENT
Actors’ Equity Praises Re-Introduction of Bipartisan Performing Artist Tax Parity Act in Congress
Broadway Word
By Chloe Rabinowitz
Jan. 27, 2025
“We have entered yet another tax season with a policy that unfairly penalizes arts professionals,” said Brooke Shields, president of Actors’ Equity Association. “We thank Representatives Chu and Buchanan for once again introducing a bipartisan bill that will mean that actors, stage managers and their colleagues no longer have to pay hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars more in taxes simply due to baseline costs of working in this industry. This was an oversight in tax reform that can be remedied with a simple fix. That needs to happen this year.”