Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Long waits, waves of calls, website crashes: Social Security is breaking down
The Washington Post
By Lisa Rein and Hannah Natanson
March 25, 2025
The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts because the servers were overloaded. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones at the front desk as receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. But the agency no longer has a system to monitor customers’ experience with these services, because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing.
Democrats grill Social Security nominee over disruptions as Republicans defend Trump
NBC News
By Sahil Kapur and Victoria Ebner
March 25, 2025
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, Frank Bisignano, got an earful from Senate Democrats at his confirmation hearing Tuesday, in the wake of early actions by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to downsize the agency. Democratic senators pressed Bisignano on whether he was involved in discussions about DOGE operations regarding onboarding personnel, which he denied. They grilled him on whether he agrees with Musk’s rhetorical attacks on the program, which he sidestepped. They asked him to reassure them that Trump is telling the truth when he says he doesn’t want to slash benefits for seniors, and that he’d protect the program if confirmed.
CNN
By Chris Boyette, Yash Roy and Gloria Pazmino
March 25, 2025
“This action challenges the Trump administration’s unlawful and unprecedented effort to overpower a university’s academic autonomy and control the thought, association, scholarship, and expression of its faculty and students,” a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers in US District Court for New York’s Southern District said.
Trump’s Columbia Funding Halt Draws Academic Union Lawsuit
Bloomberg
By Chris Dolmetsch and Jazper Lu
March 25, 2025
Two educational unions sued the Trump administration over its withholding of $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, calling the move an illegal attempt to limit academic independence and free speech on campus. The lawsuit by the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers, filed Tuesday in New York, comes as Columbia itself has been negotiating a deal with the government to restore funding. The Ivy League university has agreed to expand campus police powers and ban masked protests, among other measures.
Advocates sue to block attempted dismantling of US Education Department
Reuters
By Kanishka Singh
March 25, 2025
U.S. teachers unions and rights advocates, including the NAACP, sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Monday to prevent the attempted dismantling of the federal Education Department, days after Trump signed an executive order to that effect.
In about-face, US judge says unions can sue over Trump's mass firings
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
March 25, 2025
A federal judge in San Francisco has changed his mind and ruled that unions representing federal workers can sue over the Trump administration's mass firings of recently hired government employees in court rather than challenging them before federal agencies.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup in a written order, opens new tab late Monday said two federal labor boards have no particular expertise on whether the U.S. Office of Personnel Management violated the U.S. Constitution by directing agencies to fire roughly 25,000 probationary employees, the central issue in the lawsuit.
Federal jobs were seen as a gateway to the middle class for Black America, then came DOGE
USA Today
By Terry Collins and Phillip M. Bailey
March 24, 2025
Government jobs have long been viewed as an entry point for Black Americans into the middle class and job security when opportunities were scarce elsewhere. As the nation’s largest single employer, with about 3 million workers at the end of 2024, the federal government has a history of being more welcoming to Black workers than the private sector has, civil rights leaders say. So President Donald Trump's massive layoffs across the U.S. government have hit Black Americans particularly hard.
'The Privatizers Are Coming': DeJoy Is Gone, But US Postal Service Not Safe From Trump and Musk
Common Dreams
By Jon Queally
March 25, 2025
"Make no mistake," said American Postal Workers Union president Mark Dimondstein in a statement, "Louis DeJoy was forced out by a presidential administration that is intent on breaking up and selling off the public Postal Service. Reports from last month made clear that the White House has plans for a hostile takeover of the Postal Service." NALC president Brian Renfroe said DeJoy's departure marks an opportunity for the Board to appoint a new leader—one who "must continue modernizing and investing in USPS' infrastructure while maintaining quality universal service funded by postage, not taxpayer dollars."
Fortune
By Susan Haigh and The Associated Press
March 25, 2025
“It’s a terrible idea for everyone that we serve,” National Association of Letter Carriers President Brian L. Renfroe said during a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Trump taps EEOC's Lucas for new term, Morgan Lewis partner for NLRB general counsel
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
March 25, 2025
President Donald Trump has nominated the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's acting chair, Andrea Lucas, for a second term at the agency and tapped a Morgan Lewis & Bockius partner to be general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. The nomination of Lucas, whose current five-year term expires in July, comes as she has ratcheted up scrutiny of workplace diversity, equity and inclusion policies and anti-discrimination protections for transgender people since Trump named her acting EEOC chair in January.
Trump Taps Morgan Lewis Attorney for NLRB General Counsel Post
Bloomberg Law
By Parker Purifoy and Lillianna Byington
March 25, 2025
President Donald Trump is nominating Crystal Carey, a partner at large management-side law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, to be National Labor Relations Board general counsel. Carey’s name was transferred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee for a nomination hearing, according to the Congressional Record made public Tuesday. Carey has been at Morgan Lewis for nearly seven years, moving to the firm after eight years as an NLRB attorney.
Majority of Americans believe presidents should obey the courts, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Reuters
By Jason Lange
March 25, 2025
A broad majority of Americans believe the U.S. president should always obey federal court rulings, even as President Donald Trump's administration criticizes judges who pause his efforts to swiftly remake the government, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. But respondents, particularly members of Trump's Republican Party, were ready to give him more leeway when it came to pursuing one of his top priorities - deporting people who the administration says are living illegally in the U.S.
Trump orders states to require proof of citizenship in federal elections
The Washington Post
By Patrick Marley
March 25, 2025
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday requiring people to provide documents proving they are citizens when they register to vote, a mandate that could prevent millions of Americans from voting. Election experts said Trump was claiming power he does not have and said lawsuits over the measure were all but guaranteed.
AAUP, American Federation of Teachers sue Trump administration over Columbia federal funding cuts
Columbia Spectator
By Colette Holcomb and Natalie Cosgrove
March 25, 2025
The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday for the immediate cancellation of $400 million in federal funding to Columbia. The lawsuit reads that leveraging financial assistance to the University “underscores the threat to academic freedom.” The AFT and AAUP filed the lawsuit on behalf of their Columbia members, naming several government agencies—including the Department of Justice, Department of Education, Health and Human Services, and General Services Administration—as defendants.
After DeJoy's departure, postal unions vow to fight any effort to upend USPS
Government Executive
By Eric Katz
March 25, 2025
Employee groups at the U.S. Postal Service are raising concerns that the departure of the mail agency’s chief executive could signal the Trump administration is hoping to upend its operations or privatize it entirely, promising to fight against any such efforts. Louis DeJoy stepped down as postmaster general on Monday, just weeks after saying he would end his tenure leading USPS but wait until a successor was chosen. The news followed President Trump suggesting he would consider folding the Postal Service into the Commerce Department, as well as his signing an agreement for the Department of Government Efficiency to help identify cost-saving measures for the agency.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Stagflation on the radar for the US economy, but no repeat of the '70s
Reuters
By Howard Schneider
March 25, 2025
Recent economic projections from Federal Reserve officials had shades of "Stagflation-lite," in the words of one economist, a sentiment increasingly echoed among other observers of the U.S. economy and central bank wondering if the country's outperformance during the pandemic is about to slide.
Union criticizes Volkswagen over health care at Chattanooga plant
Times Free Press
By Mike Pare
March 25, 2025
The United Auto Workers on Tuesday said a survey of Volkswagen Chattanooga workers shows employees are burdened by health care benefits and out-of-pocket expenses. "Volkswagen should be ashamed that the U.S. workers who have helped build their massive profits are being forced to choose between putting food on the table and having health insurance," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. "VW is the No. 2 automaker in the world, but they aren't meeting the union auto standards in America — even of smaller and less profitable employers in the same state."
ORGANIZING
Activision User Research Workers Vote to Form Union with CWA
XBoxera
By Genghis "Solidus Kraken" Husameddin
March 25, 2025
Today, labour union group Communication Workers of America (“CWA”) took to their blog to announce that user research workers within Activision overwhelmingly voted to unionise with the CWA last Friday. Microsoft has also recognised the union, per the release.
NIETC apprenticeship instructors join union
Northwest Labor Press
By Don McIntosh
March 20, 2025
Sixteen instructors at the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center in Portland have joined Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 11. NIETC voluntarily recognized the unit Feb. 25 after all the instructors signed a petition seeking recognition over several weeks. Local 11 also represents clerical support staff at NIETC’s two sponsoring organizations, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 48 and the local chapter of National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA).
Union push underway at UPMC hospital in Maryland
Becker’s Hospital Review
By Kelly Gooch
March 25, 2025
The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 27 has begun an organizing campaign at UPMC Western Maryland in Cumberland. As part of the drive, the union is encouraging staff to sign union authorization forms, citing issues such as staffing shortages, mandatory overtime, workplace safety concerns, quality of care and wages. “The staff at UPMC Western Maryland has had enough,” UFCW Local 27 said on its website, adding that it plans to seek recognition with the National Labor Relations Board. “We have heard from many overworked, frustrated hospital workers who worry about their health and well-being, as well as the health and well-being of those they care for. It’s time for that to change.”
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Touchstone Gym Union Negotiations Escalate to First-Ever Routesetter Strike
Climbing
By Samantha MacIlwaine
March 25, 2025
On Monday morning, a small group of about 15 routesetters emailed a strike notice to Touchstone’s Director of Operations and formed a picket line for two hours in front of Verdigo Boulders in Los Angeles. Just over a year ago, routesetters at Touchstone’s five Southern California climbing gyms—along with their coworkers such as front desk and coaching staff—voted to form a union. Now, the routesetters claim that their workload has increased with no corresponding increase in pay. At the picket line, the routesetters carried signs stamped with “Unfair Labor Practice,” which also defined their type of strike. According to the National Labor Relations Act, an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike is a lawful strike in which employees are protesting their employer’s actions—in this case, a unilateral change in working conditions without union consent.
Pittsburgh Union Progress
By Pittsburgh Union Progress
March 25, 2025
Newsroom workers on strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for more than 29 months solidified their place in labor history Monday when a federal court issued a rare injunction ordering the newspaper to restore the health care it illegally took from its employees and return to the bargaining table. The order from the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals represents a major victory for workers engaged in what is now the longest ongoing strike in the United States. “Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh have stood and fought against the Post-Gazette’s illegal union busting since October 2022, and today we have been given the victory that we’ve held the picket line waiting for so long,” said guild President Zack Tanner, an interactive designer at the PG. The order for a 10(e) injunction is a win not just for the striking workers “but for all workers in Pittsburgh who want to stand up and fight,” he said.
NCCC, IBEW Vote to Ratify National Agreement
Railway Age
By Carolina Worrell
March 25, 2025
The National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC) and members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have voted to ratify a national collective bargaining agreement. This ratified national agreement is the seventh of the 2025 bargaining round, following the successful contract ratification by BMWED members last week.
Atlantic Theater Company Will Resume 2024–2025 Season
Playbill
By Logan Culwell-Block
March 25, 2025
Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theater Company is resuming its 2024-2025 season after settling a contract dispute with IATSE and ending a strike of its backstage workers earlier this month. The strike had closed the company's world premiere productions of Grief Camp and I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan, both of which were in previews. Both will now return.
Santa Clara County Medical Workers Begin 3-Day Strike
KQED
By Joseph Geha
March 24, 2025
After months of negotiations over a new contract failed to produce a deal, a group of Santa Clara County medical workers began a three-day strike on Monday. Dozens of employees of the county’s hospital and public health system started picketing outside of Valley Medical Center in San José early Monday morning, chanting and waving signs as traffic whizzed by on Bascom Avenue, with some drivers offering up honks of support.
Strike continues as transit union workers ‘solidly’ reject VTA’s revised contract offer
Local News Matters
By Alise Maripuu
March 25, 2025
Bus and light rail service in the South Bay will remain at a standstill after union workers rejected a contract offer from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors on Monday. Since March 10, employees of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, or VTA, have walked off their jobs to demand a new contract. The strike has halted bus and light rail service across Santa Clara County, resulting in passengers needing to find alternate modes of transportation.
Hartford firefighters putting pressure on mayor to settle on a union contract
WTNH
By Jayne Chacko
March 25, 2025
The Hartford firefighter’s union is trying to put pressure on the city to settle on a fair union contract. About 20 firefighters showed up at city hall when Mayor Arunan Arulampalam delivered his budget to the city clerk’s office ahead of Monday night’s city council meeting. “Wherever there is a place he is, we want to show him, front and center, that we’re very concerned and we’re not going to go away,” Arturo Rosa, president of the Hartford Fire Fighters Association, Local 760, said.
Atlantic Theater Company Resumes Season After Groundbreaking Union Agreement Concludes Strike
Deadline
By Greg Evans
March 25, 2025
The Atlantic Theater Company, the prominent Off Broadway venue that recently reached an agreement with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees that ended a several-months-long strike, will resume its interrupted 2024-2025 season. Up first will be the two shows – Mona Pirnot’s I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan and Eliya Smith’s Grief Camp – that were in previews when the strike forced their cancelations.
National Grid union rallies ahead of possible strike
Long Island Press
By Isabella Gallo
March 25, 2025
The union representing over 1,200 National Grid employees working in Long Island’s natural gas and power plants is set to strike if they do not reach a tentative agreement by March 28. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1049, the union representing the workers, held a press conference on Saturday in Eisenhower Park. Over a dozen Democratic and Republican elected officials and a handful of other local unions were in attendance. This was ahead of their last full week of bargaining before a potential strike.
VTA, union return to mediation ahead of day in court
The Mercury News
By Caelyn Pender
March 26, 2025
The Valley Transportation Authority and the union representing workers returned to the mediation table Tuesday, just one day after the union overwhelmingly voted down the most recent contract proposal and the agency announced Uber vouchers to help offset the impact to riders. Following several days of mediation and negotiation last week, the agency offered Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 two new contract proposals late in the week and over the weekend. But the union expressed concerns that these new proposals — while offering an 11% raise over three years — lacked an agreement that employees who went on strike will not face retaliation upon their return to work and added new stipulations that had been removed from negotiations in January.
Railroad operator CSX reaches five-year agreement with signalmen union
Reuters
By Reuters
March 25, 2025
Railroad operator CSX (CSX.O) said on Tuesday it had reached a five-year tentative agreement with the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS). The Jacksonville, Florida-based company said the tentative collective bargaining agreement is subject to ratification by the union's members. BRS represents 1,215 railway workers operating signals and points at the company.
JOINING TOGETHER
OSU Wexner Medical Center is in crisis. The millionaires club must address staffing (Opinion)
The Columbus Dispatch
By Kelly Williams and Lyndsee Cody
March 24, 2025
Everyone who works at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center knows we are understaffed. It’s obvious to our patients as they lay in their beds waiting for care. It’s obvious to their family members and friends who understandably advocate for them to receive the timely care they need.
STATE LEGISLATION
Union representatives, state lawmakers push for federal worker bills
WBAL
By Tori Yorgey
March 25, 2025
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Government Employees held a news conference in Annapolis Monday evening to push for pieces of legislation. "We're at a time where civil servants, at the federal level, are being attacked for simply doing their jobs," said Patrick Moran, AFSCME Maryland Council 3 president. "At a time when we are facing a tough budget climate, we are grateful to have so many allies in Annapolis with us here today."
Unions ask California to play a more powerful role in labor disputes
Cal Matters
By Lynn La
March 25, 2025
As businesses like SpaceX and Amazon seek to undo the National Labor Relations Board, California unions are trying a novel tactic to preserve labor organizing rights. They’ve introduced a bill that would give the state a new role in union disputes. Assembly Bill 288 by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor would give the state jurisdiction over union elections, accusations of employer retaliation and other cases between employers and unions — in the event the federal board doesn’t or can’t respond.
Gov. JB Pritzker cites legal, technical issues in veto of warehouse worker protection bill
Chicago Tribune
By Jeremy Gorner
March 24, 2025
Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed a bill aimed at providing protections for workers at large warehouses, saying it was passed “hastily” and “without engagement with relevant state agencies or my office and presents both legal and operational issues that undermine its effect.” The bill was passed in early January by the Democratic-controlled Illinois General Assembly in response to reports that warehouse workers are too often pushed beyond their physical limits. In December, Amazon reached a $145,000 settlement with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration over accusations that conditions at an Illinois warehouse left workers exposed to elevated risks of injury.
IN THE STATES
13 News Now
By Kathleen Lundy
March 25, 2025
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in early March that it is ending the collective bargaining agreement with the tens of thousands of frontline employees at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), marking a major effort to dismantle union protections under the Trump administration. On Tuesday afternoon, members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) held a rally outside of the Norfolk International Airport, condemning the actions by the Trump Administration and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
EPA workers protest in Boston in opposition to Trump administration layoffs
WCVB
By Alex Svenson
March 25, 2025
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency workers held a protest in Boston on Tuesday, as part of "National Day of Action," where EPA workers from across the country took part in a "solidarity march against the onslaught of attacks on the agency by the Trump administration." The protest was organized by AFGE Council 238, the largest EPA workers union.
Counterpoint: America Needs Public-Sector Unions (Opinion)
Delaware Valley Journal
By Richard Gulla
March 24, 2025
Public-sector unions have long supported American workers, championing fair wages, reasonable hours and safe working conditions. While recent challenges — like Utah’s repeal of collective bargaining rights for government employees — may seem daunting, they also present an opportunity for us to unite, educate the public and strengthen our resolve. Right-to-work (RTW) laws, despite their misleading name, actually allow employees to benefit from union negotiations and protections without having to pay union dues. Simply put, it results in quintessential freeloading. Supporters claim these laws attract businesses and boost economic growth. In reality, these laws do quite the opposite. West Virginia is a prime example. After passing RTW, the state saw no influx of businesses and no economic boom. Even Gov. Jim Justice admitted, “We ran to the windows looking to see all the people that were going to come — and they didn’t come.”
Judge blocks Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s requirement for union labor on many state projects
OPB
By Dirk VanderHart
March 24, 2025
A Marion County judge has stalled a controversial order by Gov. Tina Kotek that requires use of union labor in many state construction projects. In a hearing Monday morning, Circuit Court Judge Thomas M. Hart issued an injunction, barring Kotek’s administration from moving forward with a policy that critics say would benefit Kotek’s allies in labor at taxpayers’ expense. The policy won’t proceed unless Kotek ultimately prevails in the case, or her administration convinces the Oregon Supreme Court to overturn the order.
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
IBEW Local 98 celebrates third annual Rosie's Girls graduates
Philly Voice
By Mark Lynch, Jr.
March 24, 2025
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 just celebrated our third annual graduating class of Rosie’s Girls, our innovative pre-apprenticeship program that recruits and trains high school girls for careers as union electricians. Graduates of the Rosie’s Girls program - named after the iconic World War II female empowerment and job recruitment campaign icon - are automatically qualified to apply for an IBEW Local 98 Apprenticeship. Leading this noteworthy female recruitment effort are Elaine McGuire for IBEW Local 98 and Teila Allmond for Apprentice Training for the Electrical Industry (ATEI) 98, the Union’s apprentice training program. Both women previously worked in the field as experienced Journeywomen Union Electricians.
RAISING WAGES
Facing a silver tsunami, Nevada home health care workers demand a $20 minimum wage
NPR
By Andrea Hsu
March 25, 2025
In Carson City, Nev., home health care workers will be at the statehouse on Tuesday asking lawmakers for a big raise, citing growing demand as the state's population rapidly ages. It's the second such request in two years. A campaign in 2023 delivered a $16 minimum wage for home caregivers, who are employed by private agencies that are funded through Medicaid. Prior to that, their wages had been stuck between $10 and $12 an hour for more than a decade. "It was just ridiculous," says Regina Brown-Ross, a home care worker and union organizer with SEIU Local 1107. "People can't function on $12 an hour."
LABOR LEADERSHIP
A labor leader’s retirement on Inside West Virginia Politics
WOWK
By Christian Meffert
March 24, 2025
On this week’s episode of Inside West Virginia Politics, we discuss the life and retirement of the United Mine Workers of America president, the Army’s latest campaign and the latest state capitol highlights. In Segment One, we talk to United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts about his early life. In Segment Two, we continue with UMWA President Cecil Roberts to talk about how he got into leadership.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
LA Council Funds Pilot Sidewalk Repair Program in San Fernando Valley
KFI
By City News Service
March 25, 2025
The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved $2.3 million to fund a pilot program for repairing sidewalks in northeast San Fernando Valley neighborhoods. In a 13-0 vote, council members authorized the Economic and Workforce Development Department to contract with Laborers' International Union of North America Local 300, which will lead the program. Council members Ysabel Juardo and Bob Blumenfield were absent during the vote.