Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
As a Poor-Performing Probationary Employee, Elon Musk Must Go (Opinion)
Newsweek
By Everett Kelley
March 18, 2025
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have been on the job for less than two months, but the early results are nothing short of disastrous. These include a series of airplane safety incidents, cancelled appointments at the VA, long lines outside national parks, and abandoned medical research. Through it all, there is an overriding sense that the world's richest man is using his power over President Donald Trump to steal from the public coffers and enrich himself.
Trump administration reinstating 24,500 fired workers after court order
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
March 18, 2025
The Trump administration in court filings has for the first time acknowledged that it fired nearly 25,000 recently hired workers, and said agencies were working to bring all of them back after a judge ruled that their terminations were likely illegal. The filings made in Baltimore, Maryland, federal court late Monday include statements from officials at 18 agencies, all of whom said the reinstated probationary workers were being placed on administrative leave at least temporarily.
Trump administration aims to make faster meat processing permanent
Reuters
By Tom Polansek and Leah Douglas
March 18, 2025
Worker unions and other advocacy groups have long argued that greater speeds threaten food safety and pose a higher risk of stress injuries and accidents for workers. Immigrants and undocumented workers often fill meatpacking jobs. "Increased line speeds will hurt workers – it's not a maybe, it's a definite," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents 15,000 poultry workers.
Top House Democrats seek DOGE details, questioning if it operates ‘outside the bounds’ of US law
AP
By Lisa Mascaro
March 18, 2025
Top Democrats on the House Judiciary and House Oversight committees have filed a lengthy Freedom of Information Act request questioning whether the Trump administration’s DOGE Service is operating “outside the bounds of federal law,” The Associated Press has learned.
Dallas vets and labor allies rally to save VA hospital from DOGE
People’s World
By Stu Becker
March 18, 2025
Dallas AFL-CIO members held up signs promoting the “Department of People Who Work for a Living,” a slogan recently coined by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. Shuler said the purpose of the Department of People Who Work for a Living is to “unite working class people to stand up to these attacks…by Elon Musk and a bunch of billionaires…taking away our rights and our livelihoods.” Shuler said, “When a big story breaks, the Department of People Who Work For A Living will bring in workers who are on the ground, leaders from our unions and from our movement to help you make sense of what’s going on, and what you can do about it.”
The Labor Movement Should Stand Up for Mahmoud Khalil (Opinion)
In These Times
By Jimmy Williams Jr.
March 18, 2025
If you’ve spent any time around the labor movement, you’ve probably heard the saying: “an injury to one is an injury to all.” This is a core principle of our movement, not just because we care for our brothers and sisters, but because we know that if we let those in power come for one of us, the rest of us are next.
US judge finds Musk's USAID cuts likely unconstitutional, blocks him from making more cuts
Reuters
By Brendan Pierson
March 18, 2025
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from taking any more steps to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying their efforts to close the foreign aid agency likely violated the U.S. Constitution. In a preliminary ruling, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland ordered President Donald Trump's adviser Musk and the agency he spearheads to restore access to USAID's computer systems for its direct and contract employees, including thousands who were placed on leave. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by current and former USAID employees, one of several currently pending over the rapid dismantling.
Judge finds Elon Musk and DOGE's shutdown of USAID likely unconstitutional
CBS News
By Melissa Quinn
March 18, 2025
A federal judge on Tuesday found that Elon Musk and the White House's Department of Government Efficiency likely violated the Constitution when they unilaterally acted to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled in favor of a group of more than two dozen unnamed current and former USAID employees and contractors who had challenged the efforts to shutter USAID, which were mounted by DOGE and Musk, a senior White House adviser who President Trump has said is the leader of the task force.
Judge Slams Trump For Putting Fired Probationary Workers On Paid Leave
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
March 18, 2025
The American Federation of Government Employees and other unions have sued to have the workers reinstated, arguing that the firings were unlawful because they circumvented congressional power and violated the legal process for federal layoffs. Workers at several agencies subject to the litigation have been ordered temporarily reinstated while the case moves forward.
Judge Orders Education Dept. to Restore Some Grants to Schools
The New York Times
By Zach Montague
March 18, 2025
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Education Department to restore some federal grants that were terminated as part of the Trump administration’s purge of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Judge Julie R. Rubin of the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland said in an opinion that the department had acted arbitrarily and illegally when it slashed $600 million in grants that helped place teachers in underserved schools. The judge also ordered the administration to cease future cuts to those grants.
Social Security Employees Warn of Damage From DOGE
The New York Times
By Tara Siegel Bernard
March 17, 2025
The Social Security Administration, which sends retirement, survivor and disability payments to 73 million people each month, has long been called the “third rail” of politics — largely untouchable given its widespread popularity and role as one of the country’s remaining safety nets. But in recent weeks, the Trump administration, led by Elon Musk’s crew of cost cutters at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has taken its chain saw to the agency’s operations. The agency has announced plans to cut up to 12 percent of its work force, at a time its staffing is at a 50-year low. It has also offered early retirement and other incentives, including payments up to $25,000, to the entire staff.
Social Security to require millions to make claims in person rather than by phone
The Washington Post
By Lisa Rein and Justine McDaniel
March 18, 2025
The Social Security Administration on Tuesday announced new measures that will require millions of Americans who file for benefits by phone to verify their identity using an online system or provide documentation in person at a field office. The change is expected to disrupt agency operations just as the Trump administration, driven by billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, is racing to downsize Social Security — cutting 7,000 jobs, consolidating programs, and closing dozens of regional and local offices.
Social security cuts could slow delivery of benefits to Americans, warns SSA worker
News Center Maine
By Rya Wooten
March 18, 2025
Maine retirees and Social Security Administration (SSA) unionized employees held a press conference Tuesday warning Mainers that President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has plans to cut some 7,000 employees from the agency's administrative staff. Maine American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization's (AFL-CIO) communication director Andy O'Brien said that the U.S. SSA could lose as much as 50 percent of its social security administrative staff.
Appeals panel appears skeptical of Trump administration’s independent agency firings
The Hill
By Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld
March 18, 2025
A federal appeals court panel raised skepticism Tuesday that President Trump’s firings of two independent agency leaders complied with Supreme Court precedent. Trump’s terminations of two Democratic appointees — Gwynne Wilcox to lead the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and Cathy Harris to lead the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) — have set off a consequential court battle over presidential power.
Two Democratic commissioners fired from FTC
The Washington Post
By Julian Mark, Cat Zakrzewski and Will Oremus
March 18, 2025
President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired the only two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, handing the remaining Republican commissioners exclusive control over the agency that oversees antitrust and consumer protection laws and serves as the U.S. government’s primary regulator of the tech industry.
‘It’s a Heist’: Real Federal Auditors Are Horrified by DOGE
Wired
By Vittoria Elliott
March 18, 2025
Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has spent the first six weeks of the new Trump administration turning the federal government upside down. It has moved from agency to agency, accessing sensitive data and payment systems, all on a supposed crusade to audit the government and stop fraud, waste, and abuse. DOGE has posted some of its “findings” on its website, many of which have been revealed to be errors.
LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
CBS News
By Caitlin O'Kane
March 17, 2025
Hollywood actors, directors and other creatives are pushing back on the loosening of AI regulations, with more than 420 entertainment industry insiders signing an open letter urging the government to uphold copyright laws that apply to artificial intelligence. The group, led by actress Natasha Lyonne, also includes Bette Midler, Aubrey Plaza, Ava DuVernay, Paul Simon, Mark Ruffalo and hundreds of others. The letter states that OpenAI and Google have recently recommended the government remove "all legal protections and existing guardrails surrounding copyright law protections for the training of Artificial Intelligence." The group believes loosening copyright laws to help AI learn would come at the expense of creative industries.
ORGANIZING
Optum staff in New York vote to unionize
Becker’s Hospital Review
By Kelly Gooch
March 18, 2025
Caregivers working at Crystal Run Healthcare’s 11 primary care facilities in New York’s Hudson Valley have voted to join 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. More than 1,120 workers, with roles ranging from administrative assistant to CT technologist, were eligible to vote in the late February National Labor Relations Board election, according to the NLRB. There were 553 votes in favor of unionization and 295 against it. Forty ballots were challenged. Crystal Run is part of Optum Care, which is part of Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.
Nevada’s grad student workforce pushes for collective bargaining rights
Nevada Current
By Michael Lyle
March 18, 2025
Graduate students employed within the Nevada System of Higher Education say they have little recourse when dealing with hostile work environments, low pay, demanding workloads, and financial instability. Riley Jones, a PhD student studying life sciences at UNLV, said the current system leaves graduate workers at the whims of “our advisers, departments, and graduate colleges to support us when one demand, one responsibility, one job conflicts with another.”
A Pathway Toward Union Density in the Cannabis Industry
On Labor
By John Fry
March 18, 2025
Now legal for recreational use in 24 states, the cannabis industry has become a major economic force in the United States, employing over 400,000 people. While cannabis is still unlawful under federal law, state-level legalization has made cannabis less of a black market, as run-of-the-mill health codes, employment laws, and other regulations now apply to cannabis businesses. So does the National Labor Relations Act. While some cannabis workers (i.e. those who grow and harvest the plant) are agricultural employees outside the NLRA’s purview, many others who work in dispensaries and processing facilities are subject to federal labor law, as Michelle outlined here. In recent years, unions including the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Teamsters have organized cannabis workers, now representing tens of thousands of them.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Postdoctoral workers are a huge force at universities. At Brown, they're fighting for a contract.
The Providence Journal
By Nish Kohli
March 18, 2025
The postdoctoral workers union at Brown University has spent 10 months and 13 meeting sessions bargaining for a contract with the university, but nothing has come to fruition yet. Although progress has been slow, Brown workers said they’ll continue to bargain for higher wages and better labor protections as the junior workforce in higher education grows increasingly vulnerable throughout the U.S.
The anti-union nonsense from Weston Wamp and the GOP (Opinion)
Chattanooga Times Free Press
By Ben Sessoms
March 17, 2025
To be clear, the Chattanooga Times fully supports unionization at the city's Volkswagen plant. Especially in an economy with stark cost-of-living increases in recent years, it is essential that workers organize to bargain for higher wages. Plant workers acting together have infinitely better odds at securing higher pay than acting alone. Acknowledging that reality – that a union has much more bargaining power than one person – is just common sense.
JOINING TOGETHER
Workers’ union keeping an eye on future of city utilities
The Kewanee Voice
By Michael Berry
March 18, 2025
If the City Council decides to “sell” Kewanee’s water and sewer systems to a private company, a number of city workers would be affected. And since those workers are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the staff of that union is watching what happens. Josh Schipp, staff representative with AFSCME Local 31, to which Kewanee municipal employees belong, saw a report on The Kewanee Voice that local officials are seeking bids on the purchase of the wastewater treatment plant, the two reverse-osmosis water treatment plants and the entire sewer and water infrastructure in the city.
STATE LEGISLATION
WA bill aims to extend unemployment benefits to workers on strike
Cascade PBS
By Emma Schwichtenberg
March 18, 2025
Sandee Flores had never been on strike before. But in October 2024, she and her co-workers at the DoubleTree Seattle Airport walked off the job, demanding better wages. Her father had been a union member too, and now she was the one holding the picket line. The strike lasted a week — short enough that Flores didn’t face serious financial hardship. But she saw the strain it put on many of her co-workers. Even a few days without pay meant tough choices: stretching every dollar, leaning on family, or turning to strike funds.
Unions join forces as Protect Utah Workers to oppose state ban on collective bargaining
KVNU
By Staff
March 18, 2025
Local public workers have banded together to oppose the implementation of House Bill 267, the legislation recently passed by the Utah Legislature banning collective bargaining by unions that serve teachers, firefighters, police and other public employees. Under the aegis of Protect Utah Workers, an ad hoc group of labor partners, they filed a referendum on March 17 with the office of Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson to overturn House Bill 267 (Public Sector Labor Union Amendments) and have began to collect signatures to support that petition. The backbone of the Protect Utah Workers organization is members of the Utah Education Association (UEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), two unions that represent public school teachers in Utah.
Senior care worker crisis: IL lawmakers hope to alleviate by raising minimum wage
WAND TV
By Cameron Maine
March 18, 2025
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) alongside Illinois Democrats hope to raise the senior care workers minimum wage from $18 to $20. The Community Care Program (CCP) allows 120,000 Illinoisan seniors to live in their homes instead of nursing facilities according to SEIU. The program pays home care workers to help seniors in their homes to cook, clean and all manner of household chores that become harder with age.
IN THE STATES
Selma to Montgomery march reenactment reaches Alabama Capitol (Video)
WSFA
By Staff
March 15, 2025
Those retracing the original foot soldiers' steps 60 years later have completed the journey.
Union plans demonstrations outside Mahoning Valley Republican representative’s office
Mahoning Matters
By Kelcey Norris
March 18, 2025
Local nurses, caregivers and union members are planning to protest against cutting jobs and access to federal health insurance programs at northeast Ohio Republican district offices. These healthcare professionals are part of the regional chapter of the Service Employees International Union.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
IAFF discuss Project Kyono, which honors the life and legacy of a late San Francisco firefighter
Fire and Safety Journal Americas
By Isabelle Crow
March 18, 2025
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has highlighted the work of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation, who have launched Project Kyono, a documentary that chronicles Lt. Brian Kyono’s cancer journey through his own words, as well as those of his family, colleagues and friends. After a distinguished 29-year career with the San Francisco Fire Department, Kyono was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer shortly after his retirement.
EDUCATION
Texas educators rally for public school funding at the state Capitol, see the photos
Austin American-Statesman
By Mikala Compton
March 17, 2025
American Federation of Teachers director of political organizing for Texas Anthony Elmo speaks as educators gather to rally in support of the "Educator’s Bill of Rights" at the outdoor rotunda in the Texas Capitol Monday, March 17, 2025. Teachers met with lawmakers as a part of Texas American Federation of Teachers advocacy day, asking for reforms such as a defined work day, reliable pensions and an increase in state funding to public schools.