Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
Labor Leaders Fear Elon Musk and DOGE Could Gain Access to Whistleblower Files
Wired
By Caroline Haskins
April 10, 2025
Liz Shuler, the president of AFL-CIO, claims that a number of Tesla workers have repeatedly alleged to the federation that safety isn’t prioritized at the car company. The AFL-CIO works with the United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), but it does not represent employees at Tesla or SpaceX.
POLITICS
Staff cuts begin at NEH, threatening humanities programs across U.S.
The Washington Post
By Janay Kingsberry and Anne Branigin
April 10, 2025
“The union is disgusted by this Administration’s callous disregard for the meaningful contributions NEH staff make to our nation’s culture,” read a statement from the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403.
National Endowment for the Humanities terminates majority of staff, union says
USA Today
By Zac Anderson
April 10, 2025
The National Endowment for the Humanities began terminating most of its staff Thursday, according to the union representing employees of the federal agency. Approximately 65% of the NEH staff had received termination notices as of Thursday evening, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403 said in an email.
Fired federal probationary employees thrown back in limbo after court losses
Minnesota Reformer
By Ashley Murray
April 10, 2025
As the case continues on the lower court track, lawyers for the American Federal of Government Employees, AFL-CIO faced the Trump administration in court Wednesday before Alsup, a Clinton appointee. Alsup ordered both to provide more information by the end of the day Friday, including a comprehensive list of those fired and statements about economic harms.
Republican-led US House votes to limit judges' power to block Trump's agenda
Reuters
By Nate Raymond
April 10, 2025
Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to curtail the ability of judges to issue nationwide injunctions blocking government policies after key parts of President Donald Trump's agenda have been stymied by such court rulings. The House voted 219-213 along largely party lines in favor of the No Rogue Rulings Act, a bill that top Republican lawmakers have called a priority after numerous judges ruled against Trump's executive orders and policies used to implement his immigration crackdown and government downsizing initiatives.
Pittsburgh Union Progress
By Andrew Goldstein
April 10, 2025
AFGE said it represents about 4,000 Veterans Affairs employees in the region, including about 200 in Downtown who help injured veterans file claims for money, health care, education and burial in a national cemetery. “Our jobs have value, and not just to us,” McPeak said. “Our jobs have value to the American people. We do vital work day in and day out, sometimes under very trying circumstances, to serve the American public.”
1 in 3 Portlanders say they’ve been ‘directly’ impacted by Trump executive orders, poll finds
The Oregonian
By Sami Edge
April 10, 2025
Transportation security agents have lost the right to bargain for contracts under president Trump. The Department of Homeland Security said last month that it was ending collective bargaining for employees. The Trump administration later broadened that move through an executive order seeking to end collective bargaining for workers across the government, including those employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Department of Veterans Affairs. The American Federation of Government Employees says that would strip union rights from more than a million federal workers.
Librarians aren't being quiet when it comes to the Trump administration's funding cuts
WPTV
By Taylor O'Bier
April 10, 2025
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, considered the largest union representing museum and library workers, also joined the lawsuit that was filed earlier this week in Washington. This lawsuit is in response to President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order on March 14, titled “Continuing The Reduction Of The Federal Bureaucracy,” that targeted seven federal agencies, including the IMLS.
'Your position is being abolished': ED staff get official reduction-in-force notices
ABC News
By Arthur Jones II
April 10, 2025
Over 1,300 federal employees impacted by the Department of Education's March 11 reduction in force received their official separation notices Thursday, according to copies reviewed by ABC News. "It is with great regret that I must inform you that your position is being abolished and you have been reached for reduction in force (RIF) action," the notices read, in part.
After Utah ban on collective bargaining, Mike Lee proposes similar federal restrictions
The Salt Lake Tribune
By Addy Baird
April 10, 2025
After Utah lawmakers passed a bill banning public employee unions from engaging in collective bargaining and from organizing work on state time, Sen. Mike Lee is aiming to take similar steps on the national level. This week, the Utah Republican reintroduced the No Union Time on the Taxpayer’s Dime Act, which would rescind a provision that allows federal employees to engage in limited forms of union work on government time.
Trades group sues federal government over PLA exemption
Construction Dive
By Zachary Phillips
April 10, 2025
North America’s Building Trades Unions asked the court to enjoin the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration from foregoing PLA use, as the Biden-era order remains on the books. Since President Donald Trump took office, he has enacted a flurry of executive orders undoing many Biden-era policies, and in January a judge severely weakened the case for the federal government to use PLAs, but NABTU argues that the original order is still in effect.
Union dues no longer deducted from Air Force civilian employee checks
Dayton Daily News
By Thomas Gnau
April 10, 2025
Union dues are no longer being deducted from Air Force civilian employee paychecks, according to an email from a comptroller squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. “Barring payroll dues deduction for federal employees is having a tremendous impact on our union and all other federal unions,” said Tim Kauffman, a spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE, which represents about 820,000 federal government workers across the United States.
TRADE
Autoworkers Union Chief Gives Trump’s Tariffs a Mixed Review
The New York Times
By Neal E. Boudette
April 10, 2025
“We support use of some tariffs on automotive manufacturing and similar industries. We do not support tariffs for political games about immigration or fentanyl,” Mr. Fain said. “We do not support reckless tariffs on all countries at crazy rates.”
UAW Chief Praises Some Trump Tariffs, Though Not ‘Reckless’ Ones
Bloomberg
By Josh Eidelson
April 10, 2025
“We do not support reckless, chaotic tariffs on all countries at crazy rates,” or those that are “for political games about immigration or fentanyl,” Fain said in his address. On the other hand, he said, “the auto tariffs are a first step in ending the free trade disaster.”
IMMIGRATION
Supreme Court upholds order directing Trump officials to return wrongly deported man
The Washington Post
By Justin Jouvenal and Ann E. Marimow
April 10, 2025
The Supreme Court on Thursday backed a lower-court order requiring the Trump administration to “facilitate” the release from custody of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador last month. Trump officials suspended a veteran Justice Department lawyer last weekend after he confirmed in court that Abrego García’s deportation was an oversight and said he had trouble getting answers himself about why the sheet metal apprentice and father of three was sent overseas. In an unusual filing on Monday, the government disavowed the in court comments of Erez Reuveni saying they “did not and do not reflect the position of the United States.”
Supreme Court Sides With Wrongly Deported Migrant
The New York Times
By Adam Liptak
April 10, 2025
The Supreme Court on Thursday instructed the government to take steps to return a Salvadoran migrant it had wrongly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. In an unsigned order, the court endorsed part of a trial judge’s order that had required the government to “facilitate and effectuate the return” of the migrant, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia.
Social Security lists thousands of living immigrants as dead to prompt them to leave, AP sources say
AP
By Will Weissert and Fatima Hussein
April 10, 2025
The Trump administration has moved to classify more than 6,000 living immigrants as dead, canceling their Social Security numbers and effectively wiping out their ability to work or receive benefits in an effort to get them to leave the country, according to two people familiar with the situation. The move will make it much harder for those affected to use banks or other basic services where Social Security numbers are required. It’s part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump to crack down on immigrants who were allowed to enter and remain temporarily in the United States under programs instituted by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
ORGANIZING
North Haven Barnes & Noble becomes 10th unionized location in U.S.
WFSB
By Kaitlyn Burzin
April 10, 2025
The North Haven Democratic Town Committee congratulated the workers at Barnes & Noble for unionizing with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 919. On April 2, the Universal Drive location officially voted to form their union and become the tenth unionized Barnes & Noble location in the U.S. The American Federation of Teachers, the CT AFL-CIO, and members of the North Haven DTC, stood in solidarity with these Barnes & Nobles workers and allies from UNITE-HERE.
Hundreds of Video Game Workers Join New Union as Trump Attacks Labor Rights
Wired
By Megan Farokhmanesh
April 10, 2025
The video game industry’s first direct-join union has grown to roughly 445 members since its launch, amidst industry-wide job losses and an escalating federal crackdown on workers’ rights. The United Videogame Workers union, which launched with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), was announced March 19 at the Game Developers Conference. It’s an effort on behalf of developers and the CWA to champion unionization efforts without relying on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency that protects worker’s rights and working conditions. Their first campaign will focus on industry-wide layoffs; a GDC report released in January found that 11 percent of developers surveyed said they’d been laid off in the year prior.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Service union members vote for right to strike in Mayo Clinic negotiations
KAALTV
By KAALTV
April 10, 2025
Today, SEIU members at Mayo-Methodist Campus voted to end a voluntary “no strike” agreement that has been in place for decades. According to a press conference April 10, 87 percent of Service Employees International Union members voted in favor of regaining the right to strike during future negotiations with Mayo Clinic.
Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Are Striking at Wellesley College
Jacobin
By Amelia Ayrelan Iuvino
April 10, 2025
On Thursday, March 27, non-tenure-track faculty at Wellesley College went on strike. Non-tenure-track faculty formed a union in 2024 affiliated with United Auto Workers called Wellesley Organized Academic Workers (WOAW-UAW). The union represents 30 percent of all faculty and 40 percent of all courses taught across the college. Despite a common perception that non-tenure-track faculty work exclusively in short-term positions, more than 40 percent of WOAW-UAW members have been teaching at Wellesley for more than ten years.
Nurses union and Albany Med continue contract negotiations
CBS6
By Lara Bryn
April 10, 2025
Negotiations between the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and Albany Med Health System are ongoing, with both parties meeting as recently as last week, according to Albany Med CEO and President Dr. Dennis McKenna. Albany Med has expressed readiness to move forward in the discussions, which have been underway for several months due to staffing concerns and deficiencies reported by NYSNA at Albany Medical Center.
Contract doesn't need 'the moon and the stars,' just better pay, ATI workers say
TribLive
By Jack Troy
April 10, 2025
A few dozen ATI workers rallied outside the company’s Vandergrift plant Thursday as the deadline nears to reach a union contract, arguing the specialty metal manufacturer’s recent success should trickle down to the rank-and-file. “We’re not asking for the moon and the stars,” said Keith Beavers, a maintenance technician and union unit chair at the Vandergrift facility. “We just want to get back a little bit of we lost over the years.”
Second Mayo Clinic union in Rochester votes for right to strike
Star Tribune
By Trey Mewes
April 10, 2025
A second health care union unit in Rochester has voted for the right to strike in future contract negotiations with Mayo Clinic. SEIU officials announced Thursday that 87% of frontline health care workers at Mayo Clinic Hospital Methodist Campus supported the ability to strike in future contract negotiations, citing an increasingly frustrating bargaining process with Mayo leadership.
CTU Rank-And-File Begin Voting on Tentative Contract Agreement
WWTW
By Matt Masterson
April 10, 2025
Chicago Teachers Union leaders and delegates have already signed off on a new labor agreement with Chicago Public Schools, but now tens of thousands of members and educators will get to have their say. The CTU rank-and-file’s ratification vote began Thursday, which marks the union’s final step toward finalizing the four-year tentative agreement. “Our solidarity has brought us this far,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates and union leadership wrote in an open letter to members. “Your vote decides what happens next.” Voting will continue through Friday, and results are expected to be announced Monday.
STATE LEGISLATION
Labor leaders make final push to get repeal of anti-union bill on Utahns’ ballots
The Salt Lake Tribune
By Robert Gehrke
April 10, 2025
UEA, AFL-CIO, Utah Public Employees Association, Utah Professional Firefighters, AFSCME and others have banded together in an attempt to repeal HB267, which bans collective bargaining with government employers — meaning those public employee unions cannot represent members in contract negotiations.
IN THE STATES
Moore Signs RAISE Act to Expand Apprenticeships
Southern Maryland Chronicle
By David M. Higgins II
April 10, 2025
“We appreciate the union partners in the AFL-CIO, business and industry champions, local workforce leaders, and the legislature for working in partnership with our team to bring this new law to fruition,” said Erin Roth, assistant secretary of the Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning at the Maryland Department of Labor. “The RAISE Act will remove barriers to economic growth and create opportunity for Maryland workers and businesses alike.”
Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel being honored by St. Mary’s High School
Labor Tribune
By Sheri Gassaway
April 10, 2025
Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel, a 25-year member of IBEW Local 1, will be honored with a legacy award at his alma mater, St. Mary’s South Side Catholic High School, during an April 12 gala. The Gala on Grand, which includes dinner, drinks and an auction, will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at St. Mary’s High School at 4701 S. Grand Blvd. in St. Louis. Proceeds raised at the event will go directly toward scholarships, program development and maintaining the school’s high standards of education.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
MSHA temporarily pauses enforcement of silica final rule
Safety + Health Magazine
By Staff
April 10, 2025
The enforcement date for the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s final rule on miner exposure to respirable crystalline silica has been pushed to Aug. 18. Citing “unforeseen NIOSH restructuring” and “other technical reasons,” the agency announced a temporary enforcement pause on April 8. Coal mine operators initially had been given a compliance date of April 14 for the rule, which had gone into effect in June. The long-anticipated rule lowers the permissible exposure limit for respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air – half the current limit – over an 8-hour time-weighted average. The rule also increases silica sampling and enforcement at metal and nonmetal mines, as well as requires mine operators to provide periodic health exams at no cost to miners.
RETIREMENT SECURITY
Social Security ditches DOGE plan to slash phone services after public outcry
MSNBC
By Ryan Teague Beckwith
April 10, 2025
The Trump administration backed down this week from a change that would have made accessing Social Security benefits harder following backlash and confusion among recipients. As part of a purported anti-fraud initiative, the Social Security Administration proposed in March that it would no longer allow most claims to be made over the phone, instead requiring applicants to visit agency offices to prove their identity.
VOTING RIGHTS
How the House’s requirement to prove US citizenship could affect the ability to register to vote
AP News
By Christina A. Cassidy
April 10, 2025
The U.S. House on Thursday approved legislation requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for anyone registering to vote, something voting rights group have warned could disenfranchise millions of Americans. The requirement has been a top election-related priority for President Donald Trump and House Republicans, who argue it’s needed to eliminate instances of noncitizen voting, which is already rare and, as numerous state cases have shown, is typically a mistake rather than part of a coordinated attempt to subvert an election. It’s already illegal under federal law for people who are not U.S. citizens to cast ballots and can lead to felony charges and deportation.