Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from laying off federal employees
Politico
By Hassan Ali Kanu
May 9, 2025
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that enabled the administration to fire tens of thousands of federal workers and to eliminate certain agencies entirely. The ruling puts on hold the White House’s plans to implement government-wide layoffs, including expected staff cuts at the departments of State, Treasury, Transportation, Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration.
Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Plans for Mass Layoffs and Program Closures
The New York Times
By Zach Montague and Eileen Sullivan
May 9, 2025
While unions and other organizations have sued the federal government over other personnel actions, including indiscriminately firing thousands of probationary workers earlier this year, this is the first time such a broad coalition came together to challenge the administration’s actions. The plaintiffs in the ambitious lawsuit included labor unions, nonprofits and six cities and counties — including Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco and Harris County, Texas, home to Houston. “The Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to reorganize the federal government has thrown agencies into chaos, disrupting critical services provided across our nation,” the coalition said in a joint statement. “Each of us represents communities deeply invested in the efficiency of the federal government — laying off federal employees and reorganizing government functions haphazardly does not achieve that.”
Judge orders temporary halt to Trump administration's government overhaul
Reuters
By Reuters
May 9, 2025
President Donald Trump's administration must temporarily halt its sweeping government overhaul because Congress did not authorize it to carry out large-scale staffing cuts and the restructuring of agencies, a federal judge said on Friday. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco sided with a group of unions, non-profits and local governments, and blocked large-scale mass layoffs known as "reductions in force" for 14 days.
Judge pauses much of Trump administration’s massive downsizing of federal agencies
AP
By Janie Har
May 9, 2025
The Trump administration must halt much of its dramatic downsizing of the federal workforce, a California judge ordered Friday. Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued the emergency order in a lawsuit filed last week by labor unions and cities, one of multiple legal challenges to Republican President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the size of a federal government he calls bloated and expensive. “The Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime,” Illston wrote in her order.
Judge orders temporary halt to Trump’s mass layoffs of federal workers
The Washington Post
By Frances Vinall
May 10, 2025
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to halt mass layoffs of federal workers for at least two weeks in a temporary restraining order issued Friday. A coalition of local governments, nonprofit organizations and labor unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, filed a lawsuit last month challenging an executive order issued Feb. 11 that instructed federal agency heads to prepare large-scale reductions in workforce. The AFGE-led coalition described its lawsuit as “the largest and most significant challenge to Trump’s authority to remake the government” without Congress’s approval, The Washington Post reported.
Trump Must Halt Mass Layoffs of Federal Workers, Judge Rules
Bloomberg Law
By Isaiah Poritz and Parker Purifoy
May 9, 2025
The Trump administration must temporarily cease from engaging in widespread layoffs and firings for government workers, a California federal court ruled Friday. Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said President Donald Trump’s February executive order calling for a radical reorganization of the federal workforce likely violates the Constitution. She granted a temporary restraining order requested by coalition of labor unions, nonprofit organizations, and municipal governments to halt worker layoffs nationwide. The ruling is the biggest blow so far to the president’s efforts to downsize the federal government by cutting costs and slashing what’s viewed as administrative bloat.
White House's large-scale firings paused by federal judge
Axios
By Emily Peck
May 10, 2025
A federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the White House from firing hundreds of thousands of government employees in a ruling late Friday night. Why it matters: It's the latest and broadest setback for President's Trump and DOGE's chainsaw efforts to radically slash and burn the federal government. The ruling pauses for two weeks firings that would block critical services for millions of Americans, including Social Security help, occupational safety and pre-school for poor children.
Most major agencies must pause RIFs for at least two weeks, judge orders
Government Executive
By Eric Katz
May 10, 2025
Federal agencies cannot take any action to implement its widespread layoff plans across government after a federal judge ruled the Trump administration has likely acted unlawfully in ordering the staffing reductions. The pause came in the form of a temporary restraining order and will last at least 14 days, Judge Susan Illston for the U.S. Court for the Northern District of California ruled Friday evening, meaning agencies cannot issue any reduction-in-force notices through May 23. The order came as several agencies, such as the Interior Department, Agriculture and others, were expected to begin implementing large-scale layoffs in the coming days.
California judge pauses much of Trump administration’s slashing of federal agencies
Los Angeles Times
By Janie Har
May 9, 2025
The Trump administration must halt much of its drastic downsizing of the federal workforce, a California judge ordered Friday. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued the emergency order in a lawsuit filed by labor unions and cities last week, one of multiple legal challenges to President Trump’s efforts to drastically shrink the size of a federal government he calls bloated and too expensive. “The Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime,” Illston wrote in her order.
Federal judge orders two-week pause on Trump’s mass layoffs
MSNBC
By Clarissa-Jan Lim
May 10, 2025
A federal judge has issued a two-week pause on the Trump administration’s mass layoffs across the federal government, ruling that the effort to fire of thousands of workers and entirely eliminate some agencies cannot proceed for now. The plaintiffs behind the lawsuit, which include nonprofits, labor unions and multiple cities and counties, argued that the president does not have the power to “radically restructure and dismantle the federal government” without congressional authorization.
Postal Service Selects FedEx Board Member as Next Postmaster General
The New York Times
By Madeleine Ngo
May 9, 2025
Mark Dimondstein, the president of the American Postal Workers Union, said the board’s selection was troubling because it could lead to the privatization of the agency, which he thought could result in worse service in rural areas and higher prices for customers.
Coal miners head to court over Trump cuts to black lung screening staff
The Washington Post
By Tobi Raji and Maxine Joselow
May 8, 2025
Two West Virginia coal miners with black lung disease testified before a federal judge on Wednesday during a hearing on the Trump administration’s decision to effectively shutter a program that provides free screenings to coal miners, a move advocates have said threatens to bring more disease and death to coal-dependent communities across Appalachia. Last month, the Trump administration fired roughly two-thirds of the staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the division of the Department of Health and Human Services that provides the free screenings for the disease through the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program, The Washington Post previously reported.
CNN
By Tami Luhby
May 10, 2025
After months of contending with the Trump administration’s multi-pronged effort to downsize the federal workforce, government employees are now facing the possibility of another major change that could push even more of them out the door. House Republicans are looking to make several big adjustments to federal workers’ retirement benefits to help pay for the party’s sweeping tax and spending cuts package. The House Oversight Committee last week approved a plan that would squeeze $50 billion in savings out of the retirement system over the next decade. “They’re going to charge people more for the benefit, and then they’re going to reduce the benefit by changing the formula for how the benefit is calculated,” Jacqueline Simon, policy director of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers union, told reporters on Monday.
Trump ignores week honoring feds as ‘fear’ dominates their workplaces
The Washington Post
By Joe Davidson
May 9, 2025
American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley said: “There could be a no more critical time than now to recognize the dedicated public servants who work tirelessly every day to maintain our government programs. ... The current administration is moving at warp speed to slash staffing at federal agencies and gut any protections workers have against mismanagement and mistreatment.” Kelley warned that “the drastic cuts being carried out at our federal agencies will affect everyone in this country.” National Federation of Federal Employees President Randy Erwin said: “This year’s Public Service Recognition Week is more important than ever, as Trump is attempting to unilaterally strip collective bargaining rights from more than 1 million federal workers who provide critical public services every day. This is the most significant attack on workers’ rights in the history of the United States.”
Trump fires Democratic-appointed Consumer Product Safety commissioners
CNN
By Shania Shelton and Michael Williams
May 9, 2025
President Donald Trump on Thursday fired three members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency that creates safety requirements and issues recalls for consumer products, the commissioners said in statements. The move comes as the Trump administration is facing legal scrutiny over its efforts to permanently fire board members at independent agencies. All three fired CPSC commissioners – Richard Trumka Jr., Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Mary Boyle – were nominated by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate. Trumka’s and Hoehn-Saric’s terms were due to end in 2027 while Boyle’s was due to end later this year. Trumka said he received a visit from the Department of Government Efficiency on Thursday, alongside a request for approval to bring two DOGE members to the agency, which he didn’t allow. He got an email shortly thereafter telling him he had been fired.
Tribal communities risk losing local libraries and the history they hold amid DOGE cuts
NBC News
By Sydney Carruth
May 11, 2025
The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest union representing library employees, sued Sonderling, Trump and DOGE to stop the dismantling of the IMLS last month.
RFK Jr., DOGE gutted legally required offices. Courts may undo it all.
Politico
By Alice Miranda Ollstein and Sophie Gardner
May 11, 2025
The Trump administration’s purge of the health department is cutting so deep that it has incapacitated congressionally mandated programs and triggered legal challenges. The administration insists the cuts are a lawful “streamlining” of a “bloated” agency, but federal workers, Democratic lawmakers, state officials and independent legal experts say keeping offices afloat in name only – with minimal or no staff – is an unconstitutional power grab.
The hidden ways Trump, DOGE are shutting down parts of the U.S. government
The Washington Post
By Hannah Natanson and Maxine Joselow
May 11, 2025
At the Environmental Protection Agency, research at 11 laboratories has ground to a halt because the Trump administration has not approved most new lab purchases. At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, key work on weather forecasting has slowed to a crawl because Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick must sign off personally on many contracts and grants. And at the Social Security Administration, some employees are running out of paper, pens and printer toner because the U.S. DOGE Service has placed a $1 spending limit on government-issued credit cards. (DOGE stands for Department of Government Efficiency, though it is not a Cabinet-level agency.)
Republicans Propose Paring Medicaid Coverage but Steer Clear of Deeper Cuts
The New York Times
By Margot Sanger-Katz and Catie Edmondson
May 12, 2025
House Republicans released a plan late on Sunday that would cause millions of poor Americans to lose Medicaid health coverage and millions more to pay higher fees when they go to the doctor, but that stopped short of an overhaul that would make the deepest cuts to the program. The proposal, which is one piece of a sweeping bill to enact President Trump’s domestic agenda, including large tax cuts and increased military spending, omits the structural changes to Medicaid that ultraconservative Republicans have demanded. Instead, it bows to the wishes of a group of more moderate and politically vulnerable G.O.P. lawmakers whose seats could be at risk if they embraced deep Medicaid cuts.
States bear the brunt of House GOP Medicaid plan
Politico
By Ben Leonard and Robert King
May 11, 2025
House Republicans opted against some of the most dramatic changes they had been considering for Medicaid, the joint federal-state program covering nearly 80 million Americans. But they are plowing forward with other major initiatives that could leave millions without coverage as the GOP starts laying out key provisions of its party-line domestic policy megabill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee proposal released Sunday night attempts to strike a balance between satiating conservatives’ thirst for deep cuts to the program and placating moderates wary of major coverage losses for low-income Americans.
Republicans unveil steep cuts to Medicaid in portion of Trump tax bill
The Hill
By Nathaniel Weixel
May 11, 2025
Legislation introduced by House Republicans late Sunday would slash Medicaid spending significantly by imposing new restrictions on Medicaid beneficiaries like work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks, but the most controversial changes floated to the program were not included. The bill from the House Energy and Commerce Committee comes ahead of what’s expected to be a marathon committee hearing on Tuesday.
House GOP unveils plans to reshape Medicaid
Stat News
By John Wilkerson
May 12, 2025
House Republicans are proposing cutting some of the federal Medicaid funding that goes to states that provide health coverage to undocumented immigrants. The policy was included in House Republicans’ plan for reducing Medicaid spending, released late Sunday by the Energy and Commerce Committee. The committee is holding a mark-up Tuesday of its share of the budget reconciliation package that Republicans are using to pass President Trump’s tax cuts and other legislative priorities. It’s aiming to cut government spending by $880 billion over a decade to help pay for part of the increased deficit spending that would result from those tax cuts.
IMMIGRATION
Tufts Student Returns to Massachusetts After 6 Weeks in Immigration Detention
The New York Times
By Vimal PatelAnemona Hartocollis and Maya Shwayder
May 10, 2025
Rumeysa Ozturk returned to Massachusetts on Saturday evening, eyes welling with joy and gratitude at the end of her six-week odyssey in federal custody, a case that stirred outrage over President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Judge Orders Release of Tufts Student Detained by ICE
The New York Times
By Anemona Hartocollis and Jonah E. Bromwich
May 9, 2025
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to release Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student, saying that her continued detention could potentially chill “the speech of the millions and millions of individuals in this country who are not citizens.” At a hearing at the Federal District Court in Vermont, the judge, William K. Sessions III, said Ms. Ozturk should be freed immediately: “Her continued detention cannot stand.”
Tufts student released from US immigration custody after judge's order
Reuters
By Nate Raymond
May 9, 2025
U.S. District Judge William Sessions during a hearing in Burlington, Vermont, ordered the immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, who is at the center of one of the highest-profile cases to emerge from Republican President Donald Trump's campaign to deport pro-Palestinian activists on American campuses.
LABOR AND RELIGION
Chicago brings home the papacy: City celebrates native son Pope Leo XIV with memes and hope
USA Today
By Michael Loria
May 9, 2025
Chicagoans also noted the name the new pope took: Leo, an apparent reference to Pope Leo XIII, who was known as the “Pope of the Workers.” The turn of the century pope “outlined the rights of all workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions and collective bargaining,” the Chicago Federation of Labor announced. “We are excited by this message sent to workers around the world and look forward to Pope Leo XIV presiding and serving people of all faiths.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
D.C.-area economy starts to show deep impacts of federal spending cuts
The Washington Post
By Aaron Wiener, Abha Bhattarai, Federica Cocco, Scott Clement and Emily Guskin
May 9, 2025
The D.C. region’s economy is teetering on the edge of a painful slump, experts warn, as the Trump administration’s spending cuts, including the elimination of thousands of federal jobs, take their toll on an area that was already struggling to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
ORGANIZING
Blizzard's Overwatch Team Just Unionized: 'What I Want To Protect Most Here Is The People'
Kotaku
By Ethan Gach
May 9, 2025
“Game developers behind Activision Blizzard’s hit franchise Overwatch have joined the Communications Workers of America (CWA), becoming the latest group of video game workers at Microsoft-owned studios to form a wall-to-wall union,” the CWA announced in a press release shared with Kotaku on Friday. “A neutral arbitrator confirmed today that an overwhelming majority of workers have either signed a union authorization card or indicated that they wanted union representation via an online portal.”
EMS workers in Detroit Lakes vote to unionize
KVRR
By Alex Bertsch
May 9, 2025
It’s a new day for emergency medical workers and their patients in Lakes Country. That’s after the emergency medical staff at Essentia in Detroit Lakes voted to form a union. St. Mary’s Essentia Health Medical Service Staff is joining forces with AFSCME Council 65. They’re the folks you’ll see if you have a medical emergency in the Detroit Lakes area. EMT Logyn Saewart says the vote was an overwhelming majority to join.
Covington Safeway pharmacy staff push to unionize for better care
KHQ
By Daniel Fortin
May 9, 2025
Pharmacy professionals at the Covington Safeway have filed to unionize with The Pharmacy Guild (TPG), marking the third pharmacy in Washington state to join this effort. “Our patients and our community count on us every day,” said Sue Gratton, a 26-year veteran pharmacy technician involved in the union effort at the Covington location. “We’re forming a union so we can provide the safe, high-quality care our community deserves — and that starts with having the staffing, resources, and respect we need to do our jobs right.”
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Federal lawmakers to join Pratt & Whitney workers on picket lines
NBC Connecticut
By Julia LeBlanc
May 9, 2025
Pratt & Whitney workers are on the picket lines on Friday for the fifth day in a strike and some federal lawmakers are joining them. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union (IAM) said more than 3,000 members from Pratt & Whitney’s East Hartford and Middletown locations are on strike. Union members said they will not let up until company leaders come back to the negotiating table. “All of us like our work. All of us enjoy coming to work every day. It's very important we keep people in the air. We have to be accurate. We have to make sure we know what we're doing. And we want to keep it here and keep going with that, with the jobs that we have,” said Thomas Tassmer Jr., a union steward with IAM Local 1746, and Airflow Cell Operator at Pratt & Whitney.
Blumenthal, DeLauro, Larson visit striking Pratt & Whitney machinists in E. Hartford and Middletown
New Haven Register
By Paul Schott
May 9, 2025
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and John Larson, as well as several state legislators, visited Friday the picket lines of machinists at jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney — turnout that highlighted their support for the striking workers.
WKOW
By Kodichi Lawrence
May 10, 2025
Nearly 1,000 nurses at UnityPoint Health Meriter Hospital have given formal notice of their intent to walk off the job starting May 27th, if no tentative agreement is reached. The nurses, represented by SEIU Healthcare WI, gave a 10-day strike notice to the hospital on Friday. According to SEIU WI, the nurses have been in contract negotiations with UnityPoint Health Meriter since January and are demanding staffing solutions that prioritize nurse and patient safety, compensation to attract and retain nurses, improved security practices at the hospital, and resolutions to multiple unfair labor practice charges filed by SEIU WI against Meriter.
Long Beach nurses to strike May 22 in protest of pay, working conditions
Long Beach News Post
By John Donegan
May 10, 2025
As many as 2,000 nurses who work in one of the city’s largest hospitals are expected to begin a strike Thursday, May 22, protesting what they describe as unsafe work conditions and generally inadequate staffing. Registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nurse educators at MemorialCare’s Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital will participate, including those who work in emergency rooms, intensive care units and the children’s clinic, according to the California Nurses Association, which represents the nurses.
Union for Fenway Park concessions authorizes first ever strike for June (Video)
CBS Boston
May 10, 2025
The union for Fenway Park concessions workers authorized its first ever strike for June.
Blumenthal, DeLauro, Larson visit striking Pratt & Whitney machinists in E. Hartford and Middletown
CT Insider
By Paul Schott
May 9, 2025
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and John Larson, as well as several state legislators, visited Friday the picket lines of machinists at jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney — turnout that highlighted their support for the striking workers.
Graduate workers’ union to reject final package proposal from Northeastern
The Huntington News
By Zoe MacDiarmid and Lily Cooper
May 11, 2025
After almost a year and a half of tense negotiations, the graduate student union strongly objected to Northeastern’s final package offer for a contract this month. The May 5 proposal from the university did not meet the Graduate Employees of Northeastern University-United Auto Workers, or GENU-UAW’s, demands on key issues like compensation, health insurance and anti-harassment protections, terms that it has been bargaining with Northeastern over since fall 2023. The same day the proposal was made, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David Madigan wrote in an email to faculty and graduate student workers that if the union, which represents approximately 3,000 graduate student workers, does not accept the contract by June 5, it may be changed in light of the current political and financial pressures facing the university.
Union pushes Conn. nursing home strike deadline back to May 27
Rhode Island Current
By Keith M. Phaneuf
May 11, 2025
The state’s largest health care workers’ union agreed to push a May 19 strike deadline at 51 Connecticut nursing homes back until May 27, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday. A spokesman for SEIU 1199NE confirmed the delay, which the Lamont administration sought. “Earlier this week, I met with union leadership representing Connecticut’s nursing home and group home workers and expressed to them that I agree that their current wages do not match the value of the service they provide and that I join them in their effort to seek an increase in their compensation,” Lamont said. “Additionally, I informed them that I believe there is a consensus among legislative leaders who also feel the same and that we are working to negotiate a state budget that includes support for this workforce.”
IN THE STATES
Milwaukee: Citizen Action and Labor Council To Host Major Town Hall on Proposed Medicaid Cuts
Urban Milwaukee
By Citizen Action of Wisconsin
May 9, 2025
Directly-impacted residents, local legislators, lawmakers, and advocates will speak at a community town hall event to discuss massive federal Medicaid cuts now being debated in Congress. The town hall is sponsored by Citizen Action of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council. This town hall event will draw people from across Milwaukee. It will include a brief presentation from a Citizen Action of Wisconsin health policy expert, comments from local elected officials, testimony from directly-affected community members, and an open forum for questions and further testimony.
Veterans, advocates rally against proposed VA cuts that could eliminate 80K jobs
WGN 9
By Angelica Sanchez and Ashlyn Wright
May 10, 2025
Politicians and unions are raising concerns over potential cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as officials consider a reorganization that could eliminate more than 80,000 jobs. “Politicians will show up for parades and wave those flags. We’ll give our speeches about how much we love veterans. But this is the proof,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said. “What are we willing to do to give dignity to those veterans when they need that help the most?” Sen. Durbin joined veterans, nurses, union members and local leaders outside Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in a rally against the Trump administration’s plans. “We’re facing cuts in the VA system that will really disable the system,” Heather Fallon with National Nurses United said.
Fox 4
By Delaney Eyermann
May 8, 2025
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley is calling on the Department of Labor (DOL) to investigate Tyson Foods after a whistleblower accused the company of illegal child labor practices. This week, Senator Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, urging her to investigate Tyson Foods in light of these allegations.
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
Hamilton County forms council on career, technical education
Chatannooga Times Free Press
By David Floyd
May 11, 2025
About 30 minutes into his first day of high school typing class, Jim Bailey's teacher looked at him and said, "Young man, you really don't want to be here, do you?" Bailey did not. "Get your stuff and come with me," she said.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Federal workplace safety workers say gutting their agency will lead to preventable deaths on the job
NBC 4
By Jacob Soboroff
May 11, 2025
More than 100 current and former employees of a federal agency charged with ensuring workplace safety warn that American workers face a greater risk of death and injury on the job as the Trump administration slashes the organization’s ranks. In a letter to Congress, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health employees say that the agency’s mission is at risk due to the administration’s actions over the past several months, according to NBC News. “Without us, more workers will suffer preventable deaths, illnesses, and injuries,” the current and former NIOSH employees wrote in the letter, obtained exclusively by NBC News ahead of it being sent to members of Congress.