Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
AFL-CIO Raises Concerns Over Cuts to NIOSH Workforce
Occupation Health & Safety
By Stasia DeMarco
April 3, 2025
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler condemned the Trump administration's decision to eliminate nearly 900 jobs at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), calling the move “devastating” for worker safety. “Every worker should be able to go home safe and healthy at the end of their shift—but the Trump administration is gutting NIOSH,” Shuler said in a statement.
POLITICS
Trump seeks court approval for most aggressive union-busting attempt ever
The Washington Post
By Joe Davidson
April 4, 2025
In another move among many to vastly expand the power of the presidency, Trump issued an executive order last week that is the most aggressive attack on collective bargaining the nation has ever seen. If the action withstands judicial challenges, it will cancel legally binding union contracts covering a large swath of federal employees in many agencies that would no longer recognize union representation. Trump’s order would eliminate collective bargaining agreements in about three dozen agencies across the government.
Federal HHS layoffs hit NIOSH mine-safety research facility near Pittsburgh
WESA
By Julia Zenkevich and Chris Potter
April 1, 2025
Federal workers in Pittsburgh’s South Hills have apparently been caught up in nationwide layoffs involving 10,000 people, with staff at a federal facility focused on mine safety receiving lay-off notices Tuesday. About 200 members of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1916, a union representing federal workers, received emails Tuesday morning informing them of a “reduction in force.” Union workers’ last day will be June 30. According to AFGE Local 1916 president Lilas Soukup, nonunion workers were let go Tuesday morning.
Md. judge expands order barring Trump admin from firing federal workers
The Washington Post
By Katie Mettler
April 3, 2025
A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the Trump administration to continue reinstating probationary federal employees that were fired from 20 federal agencies since the president took office earlier this year, a ruling related to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of attorneys general challenging the legality of those terminations. In a preliminary injunction order filed late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar also barred the administration from conducting future layoffs of probationary workers at the affected agencies — unless those layoffs comply with the laws regulating such an action.
Trump Administration Threatens to Withhold Funds From Public Schools
The New York Times
By Michael C. Bender
April 3, 2025
The Trump administration threatened on Thursday to withhold federal funding from public schools unless state education officials verified the elimination of all programs that it said unfairly promoted diversity, equity and inclusion. In a memo sent to top public education officials across the country, the Education Department said that funding for schools with high percentages of low-income students, known as Title I funding, was at risk pending compliance with the administration’s directive.
CNBC
By Lorie Konish
April 2, 2025
The plaintiffs include unions and retiree advocacy groups, namely the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Alliance for Retired Americans and the American Federation of Teachers. “We are pleased the 4th Circuit agreed to let this important case continue in district court,” Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, said in a written statement. “Every American retiree must be able to trust that the Social Security Administration will protect their most sensitive and personal data from unwarranted disclosure.”
US Health Dept may ask fired staff to keep working, reinstate others
Reuters
By Reuters
April 3, 2025
Thousands of employees fired this week from the Department of Health and Human Services and the public health agencies it oversees may be asked to temporarily continue working for two months and others could be reinstated, officials said on Thursday. There were some programs that were cut that are being reinstated," Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News, referring in particular to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program that monitors lead levels in children's blood. "Personnel that should not have been cut were cut -- we're reinstating them, and that was always the plan."
How the Trump Administration Might Target D.E.I. in Public Schools
The New York Times
By Dana Goldstein
April 3, 2025
What counts as a D.E.I. program in a school? And how do such programs differ from simply learning and talking about race and identity? Those questions have been central to local education debates over the past five years. Now, they are most likely to become even more pressing, after the Trump administration notified all 50 states on Thursday that public schools could lose federal funding if they engage in the use of D.E.I. to “advantage one’s race over another.”
Letter: Which program should we cut? (Opinion)
Inforum
By John Evanson
April 3, 2025
I am John Evanson, president of AFGE Local 3884 representing the hardworking staff of the Fargo VA hospital. There has been a concerted effort by this administration to paint federal workers as incompetent and lazy, working in a system that is fraught with abuse, fraud and waste. The answer this administration has proposed to "cure" this situation, is to eliminate 80,000 workers from the VA workforce. This administration has consistently reiterated that these cuts will in no way impact veteran services.
Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Condemns President Trump’s Illegal Union Busting (Opinion)
Bell Times-Courier
April 3, 2025
The actions of President Trump busting every federal union through an illegal executive order is a disgusting and underhanded attack on the very union workers he claimed to stand for. We now know what has proven over and over – he is a liar and a coward. Collective bargaining helps resolve conflicts early, reduces costly litigation, improves retention, and boosts morale – all of which supports better public service. Without union representation, employees, especially whistleblowers and veterans, will lose vital protection from retaliation and political interference. Presidents from both parties—Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama—have upheld the right of federal workers to have union representation. The labor movement in Iowa and nationally won’t be silent, we won’t back down, and we will win.
Higher Education Unions Mobilize to “Kill the Cuts”
Nonprofit Quarterly
By Helena Worthen
April 4, 2025
On Tuesday, April 8, a coalition of labor and civil society organizations, organized by Higher Ed Labor United (HELU), will hold demonstrations in more than 30 US cities. These demonstrations, called Kill the Cuts, will escalate over the next months as more and more campuses join in. The Kill the Cuts website has a map of where demonstrations will be held and lets people sign up to organize their own.
Senate Confirms Dr. Oz to Oversee Medicare and Medicaid
The New York Times
By Reed Abelson and Susanne Craig
April 3, 2025
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity TV doctor, 53-45 and mostly along party lines to lead Medicare and Medicaid, which insure nearly half of all Americans. The future of both programs is the subject of fierce debate: Republicans are contemplating significant cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income Americans. The Trump administration and G.O.P. lawmakers have proposed sizable reductions in Medicaid spending in part to find savings to pay for President Trump’s tax-cut package.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Stellantis to temporarily lay off 900 US workers as tariffs bite
Reuters
By Kalea Hall, David Shepardson and Nora Eckert
April 4, 2025
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said in a statement that Stellantis has "got the money, the capacity, the product, and the workforce to employ thousands more UAW members in Michigan, Indiana, and beyond. These layoffs are a completely unnecessary choice that the company is making."
DOGE drove layoff announcements to their third-highest-ever level in March
CNN
By Alicia Wallace
April 3, 2025
More than 275,000 layoffs were announced last month, reaching a level not seen since the pandemic, according to a new report published Thursday. The biggest culprit was one particular employer: The federal government. The federal government announced plans to axe 216,215 jobs, accounting for nearly 80% of the 275,240 layoffs announcements made by US employers in March, according to Challenger Gray & Christmas’ latest report. It’s the third-highest monthly total behind April 2020 (671,129) and May 2020 (397,016).
Stocks plunge and businesses recoil after across-the-board tariffs
The Washington Post
By Abha Bhattarai and Gerrit De Vynck
April 3, 2025
Major labor unions said tariffs can be effective but suggested the administration still isn’t doing enough for workers. The president of United Steelworkers International said import taxes must be coupled with policies to increase domestic production and jobs, and the AFL-CIO president criticized the administration for separately attacking trade union workers’ rights.
US announced job cuts surge in March on Doge hit, recruitment firm Challenger says
Reuters
By Reuters
April 3, 2025
Layoffs announced by U.S. employers surged in March to the highest level since the pandemic recession as the government purged federal workers and contractors to slash spending. Global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday that planned job cuts increased 60% to 275,240 last month, the highest level since May 2020, when the economy was reeling from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the third highest monthly total on record.
NLRB
California dialysis provider must stop threatening union workers, judge orders
HR Dive
By Caroline Colvin
April 3, 2025
A National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge on Wednesday ordered California-based dialysis provider Satellite Healthcare to cease from punishing workers for their choice to unionize, to repay unionized employees for withheld merit raises and to rehire a registered nurse after repeatedly violating the National Labor Relations Act. Judge Brian Gee held that Satellite Healthcare violated labor law when it allegedly withheld merit-based increases, threatened retaliation and “discharged a key union supporter” and changed workplace policies to punish unionized workers during and after a contract bargaining process with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and workers at several Bay Area locations.
ORGANIZING
United Rentals workers go on strike, ask for better pay and benefits
WANE
By Hannah Grace
April 3, 2025
United Rentals workers in Fort Wayne have been on strike since the beginning of April claiming unfair labor practices. International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union Number 103 is fighting for nine workers to unionize. They say United Rentals is familiar with working with unions. According to the group, there are currently four unfair labor practices on file.
Protests Outside of Osteria Mozza as DC Restaurant Workers Move to Unionize
The Hoya
By Emily Dabre
April 2, 2025
Workers from Georgetown neighborhood restaurant Osteria Mozza demonstrated at a March 13 rally to protest alleged union-busting efforts by the restaurant’s owners, STARR Restaurant Group. The protests are part of a greater unionizing effort across Washington, D.C. restaurants under restaurant groups STARR and Knightsbridge. Workers announced plans to unionize in January to receive better wages, working conditions and hours — if successful, the union would represent around 500 total workers.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
More than 200 rally in support of local United Steelworkers Union contract negotiations with Merck
North Penn Now
By Tony Di Domizio
April 4, 2025
More than 200 members of the United Steelworkers Union Local 10-00086 at Merck & Co. rallied outside Building 53 near Gate 1 at the Upper Gwynedd pharmaceutical giant Wednesday afternoon in support of its collective bargaining team, who are in middle of negotiations with the company on a five-year contract, which, according to the union president, has been “one of the worst set of proposals ever put across the table.” A flyer provided to North Penn Now rallied union members that “the time to show up is now.”
‘It’s infuriating’: As Mass. health care organizations struggle, some leaders make extra money
Boston Globe
By Jessica Bartlett
April 3, 2025
To many front-line employees who feel increasingly squeezed, underappreciated, and undercompensated, the argument that high pay is needed to hold on to top executives falls flat. “It’s infuriating,” said Dr. Lee Richman, a Brigham and Women’s Hospital resident who sits on the union bargaining committee for residents and interns. He said MGB has told the union, which is currently negotiating for higher pay, that their work shouldn’t be seen as a job, but as a calling.
Contract expires for nurses at Queen’s hospital on Big Isle
Star Advertiser
By Star-Advertiser staff
April 2, 2025
The contract for nurses at Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital in Waimea has expired but negotiations have entered a fourth month. About 98 nurses, represented by the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association OPEIU Local 50, have been trying to negotiate a new contract since mid-December. Their contract expired Monday, and the union says they had hoped a successor contract would be in place by now that offers the same nurse-to-patient staffing ratios that are in the contract of their counterparts at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu and West Oahu.
Supervisors Ratify Collective Bargaining Agreement for Government Workers
Loudoun Now
By Hanna Pampaloni
April 2, 2025
County supervisors on Tuesday approved a tentative agreement with Service Employees International Union Virginia 512 — the county’s first collective bargaining agreement with general government employees. The action follows the supervisors’ approval of a similar agreement with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 3756 last year. Last March, general government employees elected SEIU 512 as their union representative with the organization earning 78% of the votes cast.
Mountain View workers demand better treatment after ownership change
North Central PA
By Laura Ulrich
April 2, 2025
Workers at Mountain View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center have expressed concerns about changes at the facility following its acquisition by New Jersey-based Allaire Health Services on Jan. 1. Employees, represented by AFSCME Local 2016, allege that the transition has created challenges for both staff and residents. Stalled contract negotiations, changes to food and medical supply orders, and modifications to employee benefits have led the staff to speak out about their worries for both their working conditions and their patients' living conditions.
San Jose transit agency employees working without new deal
San Jose Spotlight
By B. Sakura Cannestra
April 2, 2025
VTA and its unionized frontline workers have made little progress toward a new deal since a Santa Clara County judge stopped a historic strike one week ago. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 received three offers from the public transit agency’s negotiators over the weekend — all based on previous offers that union membership soundly rejected. The union, which represents 1,500 VTA employees including bus drivers and light rail operators, is struggling to push for a better deal after a judge ruled in favor of the agency March 26, stopping the union’s historic 17-day strike and bringing back limited service.
UCSB Workers Join UC-Wide Strike, Citing Unfair Bargaining Practices
Santa Barbara Independent
By Ella Heydenfeldt
April 3, 2025
Dozens of UC Santa Barbara employees joined the picket lines on April 1 as part of a larger University of California-wide strike, marking the third major labor action in four months. Nearly 60,000 UC workers, including health-care professionals, researchers, and service employees, are protesting alleged unfair bargaining practices by the university system. The strike is led by UPTE-CWA 9119, a union representing UC Professional and Technical Employees, and is supported by AFSCME Local 3299, the largest UC worker union in what’s being called a “solidarity strike.” (AFSCME stands for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.)
JOINING TOGETHER
Protesters rally at the Durham VA to fight against proposed budget cuts
NC Newsline
By Greg Childress
April 3, 2025
Ann Marie Patterson-Powell, a VA nurse and an officer with National Nurses United (NNU), the country’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses, said Trump administration cuts would reduce VA staffing to 2019 levels at a time when workloads have increased due to the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, which added more than 400,000 veterans to VA health care rolls. The PACT Act expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances, including those exposed to burn pits and Agent Orange.
Durham nurses rally against Trump administration’s plan to cut 80,000 VA jobs
The Chronicle
By Mary Mulualem
April 3, 2025
Durham nurses, Department of Veteran Affairs staff and community members gathered in front of the Durham VA Medical Center Wednesday to protest the Trump administration’s plan to cut 80,000 jobs from the VA. Posters that read “Save the VA,” “This ‘Musk’ Stop!” and “Vets are our Heroes [and] Nurses are their Angels” lined Fulton Street outside the center. Organized by the North Carolina American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and National Nurses United (NNU), the protest aimed to “defend the VA and protest privatization and cuts to health care for veterans to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.”
Workday Magazine
By Isabela Escalona
April 2, 2025
The rally was organized by AFSCME 3800, representing about 6,500 clerical workers across campus, and the Graduate Labor Union (GLU), representing about 4,000 graduate workers at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. GLU, local 1105 of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), won its first union contract earlier this year. Abaki Beck, a Ph.D. candidate in public health and president of GLU-UE Local 1105, kicked off the rally by denouncing Cunningham’s administration, stating that the University’s leadership “capitulated to the Trump administration to protect funding.”
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Five years after the height of COVID, nurses are still fighting for their rights
The 19th News
By Barbara Rodriguez
April 3, 2025
Now, as nurses mark the five-year anniversary of the first wave of the pandemic, they’re reflecting on their victories in securing protections but also new emerging challenges. Members of National Nurses United (NNU), the nation’s largest union for registered nurses, spoke with The 19th about their ongoing push for worker protections. “What we saw during COVID-19, which we still see at this moment, is a radicalization of this workforce — they have to fight not only for the public, but really to protect their very lives,” said Michelle Mahon, director of nursing practice for National Nurses United.
CIVIL, HUMAN, & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
New museum in Pullman to recognize women’s role in labor movement
Chicago Tribune
By Susan DeGrane
April 3, 2025
A. Philip Randolph set the stage for the Civil Rights movement by forming and leading the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, which 10 years later became the first African American labor union to be affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The contributions of Randolph and those he represented are highlighted in a museum in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood, the historic home of the country’s largest sleeping car company. Now a new effort is afoot to recognize an oft overlooked element of that effort. Randolph’s success at organizing a union that would represent thousands of workers all over the United States rested squarely upon the efforts of women such as Rosina Corrothers Tucker.