Today's AFL-CIO press clips
Trump Layoff Pause by Judge Heralds New Era in Firing Claims
Bloomberg Law
By Parker Purifoy and Austin R. Ramsey
May 13, 2025
The courts are poised to tackle broad separation-of-powers arguments against the Trump administration’s historic cuts to the federal workforce, after a federal judge said the president likely violated the US Constitution. The administration appealed a temporary order from Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, which halted widespread layoffs and firings of government employees. The court’s May 9 order sets the stage for an ensuing fight over whether to enjoin the administration from moving forward on its federal workforce cuts while the litigation proceeds. Illston’s interest in entertaining the unions’ broad, separation-of-powers claims in this initial order could signal the court’s appetite for constitutional law arguments during the looming injunction phase of the case.
Trump Wants To Hide His Mass Layoff Plans For Federal Workers
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
May 12, 2025
A group of labor unions and nonprofits recently filed a lawsuit alleging the imminent layoffs and restructurings are illegal, and a judge on Friday issued a restraining order temporarily blocking them. As part of her ruling, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, of the Northern District of California, ordered the administration to cough up the details of its plans by Tuesday. Making the plans public could reveal the rationale behind specific cuts and whether officials are lawfully following the rules around reorganizing federal agencies. As the unions and nonprofits put it in their complaint, “The American people have a right to know what their President is doing to dismantle their federal government.”
Debate Turns Raucous as House Panel Weighs Medicaid Cuts
The New York Times
By Michael Gold
May 13, 2025
As he called to order a marathon committee session to consider Medicaid cuts and other critical pieces of Republicans’ sweeping domestic policy bill, Representative Brett Guthrie of Kentucky surveyed a packed hearing room on Tuesday afternoon and asked for a respectful debate. “I know we have deep feelings on these issues, and we may not all agree on everything,” said Mr. Guthrie, a Republican who is in his first term as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Proposed GOP cuts could jeopardize SNAP users, farmers and state budgets
The Washington Post
By Mariana Alfaro and Daniel Wu
May 13, 2025
The federal government has fully paid for benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program since it was created in 1939 as a way to fight food insecurity amid the Great Depression. But now, Republicans in Congress are looking into forcing states to pay for 5 to 25 percent of SNAP funding in a move experts warn could force state governments to remove individuals from the food assistance program, leave local budgets with massive shortfalls, and hurt the food producers and retailers that serve them.
Trump admin cancels layoffs for some health workers ahead of Kennedy hearing
Politico
By Alice Miranda Ollstein and Sophie Gardner
May 13, 2025
The Trump administration on Tuesday asked some of the thousands of federal public health workers it laid off to return permanently, according to emails shared with POLITICO. The move reinstates employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health — which lost more than 90 percent of its workforce, several hundred people, as part of the administration’s broader purge of tens of thousands of federal health agency staffers last month.
Federal School Voucher Proposal Advances, a Milestone for Conservatives
The New York Times
By Dana Goldstein
May 13, 2025
“We are against giving people tax breaks to defund public schools,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second-largest education union.
As fire truck prices hit $2 million, US firefighters demand an antitrust probe
Reuters
By Jody Godoy
May 13, 2025
The largest firefighters' labor union in the U.S. is demanding antitrust authorities investigate the companies that make fire trucks, saying industry consolidation has led to skyrocketing costs and years-long wait times, endangering firefighters and the public.
On Labor
By Lainey Newman
May 13, 2025
Privatizing government services has long been part of Republican platforms. Over the years, conservatives have proposed — sometimes successfully — incremental efforts to privatize Medicare, the Veterans Affairs health system, public schools, and, of course, Social Security. Many of these proposals, however, encounter significant pushback. Privatizing Social Security, for example, has been floated in various forms since the early 1990s but is extremely unpopular amongst the public.
Lawmakers reintroduce bill to set minimum nurse-to-patient ratios
Becker’s Hospital Review
By Erica Carbajal
May 13, 2025
Two Democratic senators and a representative reintroduced a bill May 12 that would create minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios at hospitals across the country. Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Jan Shakowsky, D-Ill., reintroduced the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act on International Nurses Day. The bill would require hospitals to develop annual staffing plans that meet the minimum staffing ratios set forth in the legislation. Hospitals would also be required to maintain records of RN staffing and post notices of minimum ratios. Additionally, the legislation would provide whistleblower protections for nurses who speak out against unsafe staffing practices. HHS would be tasked with enforcing minimum ratios through civil penalties and administrative complaints.
Judge orders restoration of jobs in health program for West Virginia coal miners
The Washington Post
By John Raby
May 13, 2025
A judge on Tuesday ordered the restoration of a health monitoring program for coal miners in West Virginia and rescinded layoffs the federal government implemented in a unit of a small U.S. health agency. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by a coal miner who was diagnosed with a respiratory ailment commonly known as black lung disease.
Head of worker safety agency NIOSH restored, ahead of RFK Jr. hearing
CBS News
By Alexander Kin
May 13, 2025
The head of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and a handful of teams at the agency had their layoff notices rescinded Tuesday, multiple officials say, and several worker safety programs that had been eliminated by layoffs last month are being restored. Letters reversing the layoffs arrived in the inboxes of some NIOSH staff a day ahead of House and Senate hearings Wednesday with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. where he was expected to face questions about the layoffs.
NLRB
Jennifer Abruzzo Wants Workers to Fight Back
Workday Magazine
By Workday Staff
May 12, 2025
Just one week after taking office, President Donald Trump fired Jennifer Abruzzo, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Abruzzo led the agency with a bold, worker-centered interpretation of the Act, resulting in wins for workers like expanded financial remedies for illegally fired workers, and broader protections for workers engaging in protected concerted activity, regardless of their immigration status.
ORGANIZING
gLeaf Dispensary Workers Vote, 20-1, to Unionize in Maryland
Cannabis Business Times
By CBT Staff
May 12, 2025
In a major win, the employees at gLeaf Cannabis Dispensary in Frederick, Md., overwhelmingly voted, 20-1, to unionize with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 27 on May 9. They are now officially members of the cannabis workers’ union. This victory is the result of months of worker-led organizing in the face of low wages, safety concerns, and demands for dignity, fairness and respect on the job.
Third Alabama Starbucks votes to unionize in Huntsville
Alabama Political Reporter
By Chance Phillips
May 13, 2025
On Monday, eight of 10 workers at a Huntsville Starbucks voted to unionize with Starbucks Workers United. The store is the third Starbucks location in the state of Alabama to unionize, and a representative of the union told APR it is the 586th store to unionize nationwide. “I really want to express how grateful I am for all the community support that we’ve gotten,” barista Briar Wolf emphasized during a phone call yesterday. She said people who have boycotted Starbucks “for years” began coming to the Huntsville store and telling management they would patronize a union store.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Union agrees to new contract with Southwest Michigan juice company
MLive
By Ryan Boldrey
May 13, 2025
Union workers at a Paw Paw beverage company are seeing immediate raises, the elimination of seasonal status and access to benefits for all as the result of a new collective bargaining agreement. All union workers at Sunberry Beverages are seeing raises ranging from 5 to 10% immediately, with additional raises in January and May 2026 of between 4 and 7%, said John Cakmakci, UFCW Local 951 president.
Cub Foods employees threaten strike after rejecting union contract
KARE 11
By Lydia Morrell
May 13, 2025
Union members at UNFI/Cub Foods stores voted to reject contract offers from employers Tuesday as the risk of a strike looms. UNFI/Cub Foods is the largest grocery store owner in Minneapolis with 33 stores and about 3,000 employees, according to Local UFCW 663. In a press release Tuesday, the union shared that workers at Haug's and Knowlan's Festival also voted to reject the latest contract offers from employers.
Fenway Park, MGM workers could strike this summer
NBC Boston
By Isabel Hart
May 13, 2025
Workers at Fenway Park and MGM Music Hall represented by the Unite Here Local 26 union are planning a strike vote in June to advocate for higher wages. The hospitality workers union, which represents over 1,000 Aramark workers at the two venues, will host a strike authorization vote from June 13 to 15, it said.
Northwestern campus workers picket, file federal charges against contractor
Evanston Roundtable
By Nithan Rajappa
May 12, 2025
Northwestern University food service and hospitality workers picketed Friday near Weber Arch to highlight their union’s federal charge against Compass Group, Northwestern’s contractor for food service and hospitality. Friday’s morning and afternoon pickets did not involve striking. Workers who picketed did not have shifts at those times. The demonstration followed a 12-day strike by hundreds of Compass workers at Northwestern in March, a first at the university.
Nurses at UnityPoint Meriter Hospital in Madison threaten strike
Wisconsin Public Radio
By Nick Rommel
May 12, 2025
Almost 1,000 unionized nurses at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital in Madison could go on strike later this month. The nurses are represented by the Service Employees International Union. They say they’ve been negotiating a new contract with the hospital since January. The union plans to strike from May 27 until June 1 if the hospital doesn’t meet certain contract demands.
SAG-AFTRA’s New Audio Commercials Contract Revamps Structure, Expands AI Protections.
Inside Radio
By Staff
May 13, 2025
The audio advertising business is posted to get a significant overhaul for union voiceover talent. Under the tentative 2025 SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contracts deal, a new structure for audio commercials has been introduced — one that simplifies compensation, reflects current media consumption habits, and includes the union’s strongest protections yet against the misuse of artificial intelligence. The agreement covers April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2028. The three-year deal nets out to $218.4 million in new earnings and benefit contributions. It currently awaits ratification by SAG-AFTRA members ahead of a May 21voting deadline. If adopted, the audio contract will cover about 2,200 union voice talent members.
JOINING TOGETHER
Workers at a Starbucks in Green Bay go on strike
WBAY
By WBAY news staff
May 12, 2025
A local Starbucks in Green Bay protested new company changes on Monday, including its dress code. Workers Action 2 News spoke with say the company’s dress code was changed unilaterally, without bargaining over it. “Starbucks changed the dress code today which is a unilateral change to our employment without bargaining over it. They are sending people home today for things like having an extra piercing, the same piercing they had the day before,” said Charlie Poulter, a striking shift supervisor at Starbucks. “The union has sent letters to the company, informing them that they are breaking the law, we have filed an unfair labor practice over this, and we’ve done everything that we can to inform them that they shouldn’t be doing this.”
IN THE STATES
SEPTA supporters, union members rally in Harrisburg for more statewide transit funding
Audacy
By Mike DeNardo
May 13, 2025
Members of SEPTA’s largest union joined advocates from across Pennsylvania Tuesday at a statehouse rally for more mass transit funding. Speaking at the Sheet Metal Workers Hall at Penn’s Landing before he boarded a charter bus to Harrisburg, Transport Workers Union Local 234 President Brian Pollitt said SEPTA needs more state funding to avoid cutting nearly half of its service and raising fares.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
CTA banned riders list needs better enforcement, transit worker union leaders say
CBS News
By Sara Machi
May 12, 2025
But union leaders representing bus and train operators said that figure does not even crack the surface of what they are up against, and they need new solutions. Representing CTA bus operators, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 President Keith Hill, representing bus operators, said the current system is not working. He called for the return of a dedicated police force for the CTA. "So that's what the fight in Springfield, one of our fights is — to bring back the police force," he said.