Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Trump pick for workplace safety agency sparks fears heat protections will be derailed
The Guardian
By Dharna Noor
May 15, 2025
As the US prepares for what could be another record-breaking hot summer, Donald Trump and his pick to lead the nation’s workplace safety agency are expected to derail the creation of the nation’s first-ever federal labor protections from extreme heat. Trump in February nominated David Keeling to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha). Keeling formerly served as an executive at the United Parcel Service (UPS) and Amazon – both of which have faced citations from Osha for worker injuries and deaths amid heat exposure. The companies deny the deaths were heat-related.
Labor unions file lawsuit against HHS to restore NIOSH
Safety+Health Magazine
By Staff
May 15, 2025
The coalition, which includes the AFL-CIO, the United Mine Workers of America and Dentec Safety, filed a petition May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The unions call on Kennedy to “resume immediately all activities that NIOSH performed before” recent cuts to the agency workforce – some of which have recently been reversed.
Lawmakers press Kennedy on mass cuts, canceled medical research
CNN
By Sarah Owermohle
May 14, 2025
Micah Niemeier-Walsh, vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3840, representing NIOSH employees in Cincinnati, said in a statement Wednesday that “Some NIOSH employees have been reinstated, however, many critical functions of NIOSH remain negatively impacted by the Reductions in Force. … The union is determined to continue to advocate for full reinstatement of all NIOSH employees. All NIOSH programs are important for the health and safety of working people in this country.”
Fired Officials Go Before D.C. Circuit Judges Who Backed Trump
Bloomberg Law
By Robert Iafolla
May 15, 2025
Two independent agency officials challenging their terminations by President Donald Trump must persuade federal judges who’ve already endorsed parts of the administration’s arguments against their reinstatement. National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris—both of whom prevailed in district court—will press their cases during oral argument Friday at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
2 officials fired by Trump return to court to challenge his power
NPR
By Andrea Hsu
May 16, 2025
Appellate judges in Washington, D.C., will consider a key question on Friday: Does the president have the constitutional authority to fire board members at agencies created by Congress to be independent of the White House? More specifically, did President Trump overstep when he removed National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris from their positions without cause?
National Labor Relations Board watchdog investigating DOGE, potential data breach
FedScoop
By Rebecca Heilweil
May 15, 2025
In April, an IT staffer named Daniel Berulis filed an official whistleblower disclosure with Congress highlighting concerns over DOGE’s practices at the NLRB and data that may have been removed from the agency. In response to the disclosure, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, requested an investigation in a letter to Luiz A. Santos, acting inspector general of the Labor Department, and Ruth Blevins, inspector general at the NLRB.
Judge to Press Trump Administration Over Return of Wrongly Deported Man
The New York Times
By Alan Feuer
May 16, 2025
On Friday, lawyers for the Justice Department are scheduled to appear in Federal District Court in Maryland to defend their latest effort to avoid disclosing details about several key aspects of the proceeding. Those include the diplomatic steps that officials have taken in the past few weeks toward releasing Mr. Abrego Garcia, as well as the nature of the deal between the White House and the Salvadoran government to house deported immigrants in its jails.
School choice proponents cheer voucher proposal in budget reconciliation measure
Roll Call
By Daniela Altimari
May 14, 2025
Critics, however, say the proposal — driven by GOP megadonors such as Jeff Yass — represents an unprecedented use of public funds for private education that would undercut public schools, particularly in low-income and rural areas, while providing a significant tax break for the wealthy. “Vouchers are a self-serving, billionaire-backed scam that hurts kids,’’ Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said on social media Wednesday.
Puerto Rican veterans are already facing delayed care due to federal layoffs
Prism
By Mariela Santos-Muñiz
May 15, 2025
In Puerto Rico, roughly 68,000 veterans are registered to receive services at the veterans hospital. El Nuevo Día reported in March that 26 employees from that hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital, were laid off as a result of the DOGE cuts. Of those laid off, 25 are members of the union American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). Eighteen worked in the supplies area, and 12 of the 18 are veterans, according to the same newspaper, which also noted that most of those veterans have a disability tied to their service.
Capital & Main
By Jesse Baum
May 14, 2025
However, the Trump administration has thrown the National Labor Relations Board into turmoil. One week after his inauguration, Trump fired the Joe Biden-appointed NLRB chair, Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the five-member board with just two members. The agency cannot issue decisions without a quorum of three members, giving reluctant employers even less incentive to bargain in good faith, knowing cases brought against them can be prolonged.
IMMIGRATION
The Lawsuit That Could Strip Over a Million Immigrants of Their Labor Protections
OnLabor
By Tamara Shamir
May 15, 2025
Losing work authorization will leave many immigrants with highly circumscribed employment opportunities, escalated job instability, and wage suppression. It will also leave them without a way to assert their rights as workers. Although undocumented workers remain formally protected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the remedies available to them are limited. Employers often exploit undocumented workers by underpaying them or subjecting them to unsafe working conditions, a reality intensified by the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Community solar bill passes Pennsylvania House after years of stalemate
PV Magazine
By Rachel Metea
May 15, 2025
Noting PJM’s expectations for electricity usage to triple from its initial projections, Dennis Affinati, the vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 3rd District, said the legislation “will help expand solar markets to members of the community regardless of geographic or financial limitations. By creating this opportunity,” he said, “we will help satisfy the demands of consumers while training the workforce for the future energy economy.”
ORGANIZING
Kennedy Center employees announce plans to unionize
The Washington Post
By Travis M. Andrews
May 15, 2025
The union, which they’re calling the “Kennedy Center United Arts Workers,” would be in partnership with the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, commonly known as the UAW. It would consist of nonsupervisory employees from artistic programming, education, marketing and development departments, along with administrators of the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra. Performers are covered by several different unions.
Alarmed by Trump, Kennedy Center Workers Push to Unionize
The New York Times
By Javier C. Hernández
May 15, 2025
The United Automobile Workers, one of the largest unions in the United States, which represents workers in a range of industries, is helping to organize staff members at the Kennedy Center. On Thursday, the U.A.W. helped employees there file a request for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. Tim Smith, a director at the U.A.W., said the union was pleased to join forces with the Kennedy Center workers.
Sesame Street Workers Say, “U Is for Union”
The Nation
By Ella Fanger
May 15, 2025
The new union will protect the workers who help deliver those values to the public. “The reasons that we organized were not specifically about these layoffs, but these layoffs really revealed the importance of the organizing. Your mission is to help children” said Gilpin. “Yet these are the policies and practices that you have in place for your own staff and the children who rely on them.”
1 fired, multiple disciplined as nurses work to unionize at Miami Valley Hospital, organizers claim
WHIO
By Staff
May 14, 2025
Workers at the Miami Valley Hospital are looking to form a union, and claim management is disciplining and firing those trying to organize. Emily Wu is trying to form an organizing committee to explore union representation for nurses and patient care technicians at Miami Valley Hospital. They believe that better working conditions will lead to better care for every patient.
‘We Care About The Museum's Mission’ Louisville Speed Art Museum Employees File To Unionize
LEO Weekly
By Debra Murray
May 15, 2025
Employees at the Louisville Speed Art Museum filed to unionize under the guidance of the United Auto Workers on April 29. This is part of a nationwide movement of cultural institutions to develop employee unions. The Legal Intelligencer reported over 60,000 cultural institution employees unionized in 2022, and thousands more have followed—including Louisville’s own Speed Art Museum. The national push has been the result of cultural institutions’ employees’ dissatisfaction with pay, opportunity for career advancement, inequality at their employer, and more.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Meriter nurses threaten strike, GHC workers call for union recognition
The Cap Times
By Erin McGroarty
May 15, 2025
“We want a safe working environment. Health care workers have the highest injury rate of any worker in the country right now,” said Pat Raes, president of Service Employees International Union’s Wisconsin chapter. Raes worked as a nurse at Meriter for more than 30 years. Nurses at Meriter, who have been negotiating their contract since January, say they will strike from May 27 until June 1 if management does not meet their contract demands.
Going 'backward'? Concerned transit operators press UTA for workplace changes
KSL
By Carter Williams
May 14, 2025
"UTA seems to have gotten meaner, for lack of a better word," said Norm Blessant, financial security and treasurer of Amalgamated Transit Union Local No. 382, after the group left the meeting. "It's like they don't value the operator like they used to. I don't know if it's coming from the top or where, but it's where it seems to us right now."
IAM, Pratt & Whitney fail to find solution, strike continues
WTNH
By Ronan Himelrick
May 14, 2025
IAM President Wayne McCarthy released the following statement: “On May 4th, 80% of our members rejected the company’s last, best, and final offer. It is now incumbent upon Pratt and Whitney and the RTX executives to address our 3 core issues. Job Security, Retirement Security, and Wage Security. This year, we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Pratt and Whitney’s founding in the state of Connecticut. Our members look forward to securing a fair agreement so that we can return to work. Then, we can all celebrate together as we deliver on our Military and Commercial Airline customers unprecedent demand for the Engines and parts that we produce right here in Connecticut. The Union’s negotiating committee stands ready to have substantive discussions with the company’s negotiating team. Our committee can be ready within an hours’ notice. That puts the ball squarely into the company’s court.”
Paraprofessionals and group home workers submit strike notification to governor's office
Fox 61
By Glenn Kittle
May 15, 2025
A second wave of workers, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is preparing to go on strike. Paraeducators and group home workers from Oak Hill Schools, staff, and other community program sites remain without a contract after demanding higher wages of about $30 an hour. One residential program worker from Oak Hill said the $18 an hour workers are currently being paid puts everyone at risk by not being able to retain skilled staff who are needed to keep staffing ratios maintained.
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center Workers Accuse Management of Union Busting, Threaten to Strike
Cleveland Scene
By Mark Oprea
May 15, 2025
That harangue, in partnership with the Service Employees International Union District 1199, came a week after SEIU charged CCRC of bad-faith bargaining, or refusing to take their grievances seriously, according to documents filed May 8 with the National Labor Relations Board. They were the sorts of complaints that led to an overwhelming union vote last April, of 32 to six in favor, that funneled into Tuesday’s outcry: understaffing; overbearing workloads; lack of top-down transparency; and layoffs last year that seemed to avoid letting go white employees.
Live Updates: New Jersey Transit Strike Leaves Commuters Scrambling
The New York Times
By
May 16, 2025
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen began picketing early Friday. Mark Wallace, the union’s national president, said Thursday: “They have money for penthouse views and pet projects, just not for their frontline workers. Enough is enough. We will stay out until our members receive the fair pay that they deserve.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Starbucks baristas are striking to protest the coffee chain's new black-shirts-only dress code
Business Insider
By Aditi Bharade
May 14, 2025
Some Starbucks workers in the chain's largest union are objecting to the company's new dress code for baristas. Starbucks Workers United said in a post on Tuesday that baristas around the US are protesting the chain's implementation of a standard dress code this week. The union told Business Insider that walkouts had occurred at more than 50 stores as of Tuesday in states such as Wisconsin, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
Starbucks workers are striking over the chain's new dress code
CBS News
By Staff
May 15, 2025
The new dress code comes as the company works on its "Back to Starbucks" mission, aimed at revitalizing its cafes and boosting sales. CEO Brian Niccol, who was brought on from Chipotle to lead the coffee chain last year, has said "there's a shared sense that we have drifted from our core." But Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents workers at 570 of Starbucks' 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining.
IN THE STATES
Spotlight on transit: The future of public transit in Illinois
WGN Radio
By Ashley Bihun
Mary 14, 2025
On this special edition of Worker Wednesday, Ed Maher, Associate Executive Director of the National Coalition of Labor and co-host of The Workers’ Mic here on 720 WGN, joins Jon Hansen on the show to share key details from the WGN Radio live labor panel discussion that occurred at the IUOE Local 399 Union Hall on May 12th. Listen in while Ed and Jon talk about the future of public transit in Illinois and while Ed shares audio from various different panels that took place at the event.
Illinois leaders say they're on track to pass transit funding deal before RTA hits fiscal cliff
CBS Chicago
By Sara Tenenbaum
May 15, 2025
With drastic service cuts looming to CTA, Metra and Pace, Illinois lawmakers said they are on track to get a funding deal done before the RTA hits their fiscal cliff. In a press conference, state leaders said the Regional Transit Authority, which oversees the CTA, Metra and Pace suburban buses, needs to shore up $770 million by the end of May or some agencies could face a 40% reduction in service.
SEIU protests proposed Medicaid cuts, calls on Rep. Lawler to oppose them
Spectrum News
By John Camera
May 15, 2025
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that nearly 8 million Americans would lose health insurance under this proposal. Members of SEIU say that this would overburden already overworked hospital staff and lead to worse health outcomes. They’re calling on their representative in Congress, Republican Mike Lawler, to oppose these cuts.
Ward 7 residents, local union workers in DC to hold town hall on RFK stadium deal
7 News
By Jessica James
May 15, 2025
Some D.C. residents and union workers want to know if the city's deal with the Commanders to return to the old RFK stadium includes a commitment to create quality jobs. That's why they're holding a town hall on Thursday night to discuss the very topic. Ward 7 residents and UNITE HERE Local 25 and 23 called on Mayor Muriel Bowser and elected officials to refuse to move forward with the stadium deal unless it brings jobs for hospitality, restaurant and construction workers.
Minimum wage bump for hotel and airport workers receives preliminary ok from LA City Council
NBC Los Angeles
By City News Service
May 14, 2025
Meanwhile, Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11 -- the union backing the minimum wage hike -- said the measure would boost the local economy and support working families. In a statement, he said, “City leaders have an opportunity to ensure the Olympic and Paralympic Games benefit hard-working Angelenos, and this ordinance does just that.”
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
Iron Workers Local 396 celebrates 2025 graduates
Labor Tribune
By Staff
Mary 15, 2025
Iron Workers Local 396 recently celebrated its 2025 graduates during a ceremony at the Local 396 union hall at 2500 59th St. “Your hard work, dedication, and commitment to the trade have earned you a place among the best in the industry,” the union shared on social media. “Welcome to the next chapter of your career – building the future with skill, strength, and union pride. We can’t wait to see what you accomplish next!”
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Governor Kotek signs bill to ban firefighting foam containing PFAS
Environment American
By Staff
May 15, 2025
The use of firefighting foam containing PFAS foam puts our waterways at risk and also endangers our firefighters, who are at increased cancer risk due to exposure to PFAS. In fact, cancer is the leading cause of death among firefighters in the United States, according to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network and the International Association of Fire Fighters.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
WILX
By Staff
May 14, 2025
We are continuing to celebrate nurses this afternoon on Studio 10. Andrew Green, an RN at McLaren Flint Hospital joins Studio 10 on behalf of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. He details where his passion for nursing stems from. He talks about the highs and lows of working one on one in patient care but also the benefits of having a union to uplift hospital employees.