Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
US judge blocks Trump's plan to dismantle Education Department
Reuters
By Nate Raymond
May 22, 2025
A federal judge blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from carrying out his executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and ordered it on Thursday to reinstate employees terminated in a mass layoff. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston at the behest of a group of Democratic-led states, school districts and teachers' unions issued an injunction blocking the department from moving forward with a mass termination announced in March of over 1,300 employees, which would cut its staff by half.
Judge Blocks Trump Administration From Dismantling Education Department
The New York Times
By Michael C. Bender
May 22, 2025
A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Trump’s executive order aimed at dismantling the Education Department and ordered officials to reinstate thousands of fired employees in a ruling that marked at least a temporary setback for the president and his plans. The decision from Judge Myong J. Joun of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts was a preliminary injunction, meaning it will remain in force until the case is resolved or a higher court overturns it.
Judge Extends Order Blocking Trump’s Planned Mass Layoffs
The New York Times
By Eileen Sullivan
May 23, 2025
A judge handed workers across a broad swath of the federal government a reprieve on Thursday night, extending her pause on President Trump’s plans for vast layoffs until a case challenging them is resolved. The order, issued by Judge Susan Illston of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, affects tens of thousands of employees at 22 agencies, including the departments of Housing and Urban Development, State, Treasury and Veterans Affairs. She also ordered the administration not to shut down offices and programs in those agencies, or move them between agencies, as Trump officials have sometimes done in their efforts to dismantle parts of the government.
US judge says Trump cannot downsize federal agencies without Congress
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
May 22, 2025A federal judge on Thursday said President Donald Trump's administration cannot restructure and downsize the U.S. government without the consent of Congress and that she would likely extend her ruling blocking federal agencies from implementing mass layoffs. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston during a hearing in San Francisco agreed with a group of unions, nonprofits and municipalities that layoffs that began last month are likely illegal and would cause widespread harm to the public.
US House narrowly passes Trump's sweeping tax-cut bill, sends on to Senate
Reuters
By David Morgan, Bo Erickson and Andy Sullivan
May 22, 2025
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a sweeping tax and spending bill that would enact much of President Donald Trump's policy agenda and saddle the country with trillions of dollars more in debt. The bill, passed by a single-vote margin, would fulfill many of Trump's populist campaign pledges, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on the military and border enforcement.
‘Pro-worker priorities’? Trump’s budget bill offers the exact opposite (Opinion)
The Guardian
By Steven Greenhouse
May 22, 2025
Not surprisingly, that sign made no mention of Trump’s many anti-worker policies that will do serious harm to millions of workers and their families. Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill, which is advancing in the House, includes the biggest cuts ever to Medicaid, a nearly 30% reduction in food assistance, and a $350bn cut in aid that helps working-class kids afford college. Trump has also pushed to end home-heating assistance and to make it harder for millions of Americans to afford Obamacare. If that isn’t painful enough, GOP deficit hawks have vowed to torpedo the budget bill unless it includes even more cuts. Under the current Trump House bill, at least 13.7 million people would lose health coverage – and the deficit hawks’ demands would increase that number.
A Sneaky Policy Buried In The GOP Tax Bill Could Blow Up The Civil Service
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
May 22, 2025
“It’s a huge policy change masquerading as a small budget provision,” said Daniel Horowitz, legislative director at the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing more than 800,000 workers. “It torches the civil service.”
House passes reconciliation bill that cuts federal employee retirement benefits
Government Executive
By Erich Wagner
May 22, 2025
The House voted 215-214 along party lines early Thursday morning to pass its budget reconciliation package that includes a slimmer range proposed cuts to federal workers’ retirement benefits. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration. Last month, the House Oversight and Reform Committee advanced its portion of the bill, which would cut federal spending to partially pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and increased immigration enforcement. The measure included provisions requiring employees previously exempted from higher Federal Employees Retirement System contribution rates enacted a decade ago to begin paying 4.4% of their basic pay toward their pensions, eliminating the FERS supplement for most federal workers who retire before Social Security kicks in at 62 and changing the formula that calculates a retiring employee’s annuity payment from an average of their highest three years of salary to one based on their highest five years.
As Republicans ram through Trump’s Medicaid cuts, critics predict: ‘People will die’
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
May 22, 2025
“The House Republicans’ bill is a budget for the billionaires, plain and simple. While this leadership has tried to claim they’re the party of workers, they are pushing forward a bill that will cause historic levels of harm to working families,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said on May 20.
Labor and workplace health and safety groups sue to restore programs at NIOSH
Labor Tribune
By Staff
May 22, 2025
Unions across nursing, education, mining and manufacturing industries, along with a manufacturer of personal protective equipment (PPE), sued the Trump administration May 14 to reverse the illegal dismantling of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a component of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
How Medicaid helps to empower Americans and build a stronger nation (Opinion)
Labor Tribune
By David McCall
May 22, 2025
Along with other USW members, Clark turned out in April when the AFL-CIO organized a hearing at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport to oppose Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce as well as the potential gutting of Medicaid and other vital programs. The group urged Trump to stand with working people, not billionaires, and to ensure everyday Americans have the support they need to thrive. Clark took home one of the signs distributed to participants that day — “Hands off Medicaid,” it says — and stuck it in her living room window so everyone passing by can see it. “It’s important,” she said of the program that helped her navigate her way from despair to well-being. “That help goes a long way. It goes a very long way.”
Madison man travels to Washington D.C. to oppose potential Medicaid, SNAP cuts
WKOW
By Lucas Kihmm
May 21, 2025
Zabdiel "Zab" Martinez is an economic support specialist for Dane County and a member of Madison's American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees (AFSCME). He was on Capitol Hill Wednesday to oppose potential cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits. His visit to Washington comes as members of Congress continue negotiations to discuss President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" bill.
Museums Cautiously Optimistic as Some Federal Grants Reinstated
Hyperallergic
By Valentina Di Liscia and Isa Farfan
May 21, 2025
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) began reinstating grants today, Wednesday, May 21, that were previously revoked by the Trump administration via the formerly Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The renewal of funds follows a major federal lawsuit, filed by a coalition of attorneys general representing 21 states, against Trump’s March executive order seeking to dismantle the IMLS and other organizations deemed “unnecessary,” including the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution.
California Judge Likely to Extend Freeze on Trump’s Mass Layoffs
Bloomberg Law
By Ian Kullgren, Parker Purifoy and Isaiah Poritz
May 22, 2025
A federal district court judge in California said she will likely extend a freeze on President Donald Trump’s plan to lay off thousands of federal workers, dealing another blow to his unprecedented overhaul of the federal workforce. Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California at a Thursday hearing said she is inclined to grant a preliminary injunction halting the layoffs while the case proceeds, temporarily protecting the jobs of thousands of federal workers.
Judge says she is inclined to further pause layoffs at most major agencies
Government Executive
By Eric Katz
May 22, 2025
Afederal judge on Thursday indicated she will issue a longer-term injunction that bans the Trump administration from implementing layoffs, suggesting those actions were unlawful and in violation of the Constitution. President Trump, the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency have all exceeded their authorities in requiring agencies to develop and implement layoff plans, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said. She made her remarks at the outset of a hearing in San Francisco on a lawsuit challenging the reductions in force and one day ahead of the scheduled expiration of a temporary freeze she previously placed on the layoffs.
SUPREME COURT
Supreme Court Lets Trump, for Now, Remove Agency Leaders
The New York Times
By Adam Liptak and Abbie VanSickle
May 22, 2025
The Supreme Court on Thursday let President Trump temporarily remove the leaders of two independent agencies, setting up a challenge to the legal principle that limits a president’s power to fire such officials. The order did not give a vote count, which is typical in such emergency applications, but it did provide a two-page summary of the court’s reasoning. Justice Elena Kagan issued a written dissent, joined by the court’s other two liberals, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Supreme Court allows Trump to fire independent regulators for now
The Washington Post
By Ann E. Marimow
May 22, 2025
A divided Supreme Court on Thursday refused to immediately reinstate a pair of independent regulators fired by the Trump administration, saying the president may have the power to summarily oust the board members and calling into question a 90-year-old legal precedent that has protected the independence of key regulatory bodies. The court’s unsigned order, which drew a sharp dissent from the three liberal justices, did not decide the underlying merits of the case, which will continue to play out in the lower courts. But it was a strong endorsement of presidential authority at a time when President Donald Trump is trying to seize greater control of the federal bureaucracy.
US Supreme Court lets Trump keep labor board members sidelined for now
Reuters
By John Kruzel
May 22, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump's firing of two Democratic members of federal labor boards to remain in effect while their legal challenges proceed in a dispute that tests his power over independent government agencies. The court also sought to allay concerns voiced by critics of the Republican president that letting him fire the two officials would jeopardize the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Supreme Court declines to reinstate independent agency board members fired by President Donald Trump
AP
By Mark Sherman
May 22, 2025
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Thursday said President Donald Trump likely has the authority to fire independent agency board members, endorsing a robust view of presidential power. But the court suggested that it could block an attempt to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who Trump has complained has not cut interest rates aggressively. The court’s action essentially extended an order Chief Justice John Roberts issued in April that had the effect of removing two board members who Trump fired from agencies that deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for federal workers as Trump aims to drastically downsize the workforce.
Supreme Court allows Trump to fire members of independent agency boards — for now
NPR
By Nina Totenberg
May 22, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday granted the Trump administration's emergency request to fire the heads of two independent agencies, the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board. The vote was 6-3 with the liberals in dissent. While the decision is technically a temporary one, its tone is pretty final. The language of Thursday's two-page unsigned order clearly forecasts the eventual outcome of the case when it is argued before the court, likely next year.
NBC News
By Lawrence Hurley and Steve Kopack
May 22, 2025
The Supreme Court on Thursday granted a Trump administration request that allows the president to fire members of independent federal agencies while suggesting that its legal reasoning would not apply to the Federal Reserve. The move to pause a lower court ruling formalizes a temporary decision along similar lines on April 9 that allowed President Donald Trump to fire Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board, and Cathy Harris, a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Americans support unions over big companies by a record-high margin
Axios
By Emily Peck
May 22, 2025
The popularity of labor unions surged over the past decade, while American sentiment toward big business has fallen, according to new data published by the liberal Economic Policy Institute. Why it matters: The approval switcheroo helps explain, in part, why the Republican Party has been courting labor unions in recent years.
NLRB
The NLRB’s Existence is at Stake
On Labor
By Andrew Strom
May 22, 2025
It seems increasing likely that Gwynne Wilcox’s lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her in the middle of her five-year term as a Member of the National Labor Relations Board will, one way or the other, result in the end of the NLRB as we have known it.
ORGANIZING
Research assistants move to unionize with GEO
The Daily Illini
By Anna Williams and Aakarsh Garg
May 22, 2025
Research assistants at the University have “taken the first step toward unionization,” wrote the Graduate Employees’ Organization in a press release on Friday. “Over 35% of Research Assistants on UIUC’s campus have signed membership cards or petitions stating that they want GEO to be their bargaining representative,” GEO’s statement read.
Hearst Connecticut Media Group employees vote to unionize
The Norwalk Hour
By Staff reports
May 22, 2025
Hearst Connecticut Media Group editorial staff members have voted to unionize with The NewsGuild-CWA. The employees voted 68-17 in favor of unionizing, according to results of the mail-in balloting announced Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB said a total of 101 ballots were cast among the 119 eligible employees. Sixteen ballots were challenged and were not included in the vote tally.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
US meatpacking workers win back pensions in new union contract with JBS
AP News
By Dee-Ann Durbin
May 22, 2025
U.S. meatpacking workers are getting their first new pension plan in nearly 40 years under a contract agreement between JBS, one of the world’s largest meat companies, and an American labor union. The United Food and Commercial Workers union said Thursday that 26,000 meatpacking workers at 14 JBS facilities would be eligible for the pension plan. The new contract, which was ratified by workers this week, also adds paid sick leave, wage increases and new plant safety measures. “This contract, everything that was achieved, really starts to paint the picture of what everybody would like to have: long-term stable jobs that are a benefit for the employees, a benefit for the employers and a benefit for the community they operate in,” Mark Lauritsen, the head of the UFCW’s meatpacking and food processing division, told The Associated Press in an interview.
Culinary union reaches tenative contract agreement with Cosmopolitan
8 News Now
By Caroline Bleakley
May 22, 2025
The Culinary Local 226 announced Thursday morning it reached a tentative agreement for a three-year contract with Cosmopolitan Las Vegas. The agreement will cover nearly 2,500 workers at the Cosmopolitan, including those who work in various hospitality roles.
Nurses at Madison hospital plan strike over staffing, safety concerns
Spectrum News
By Kelly Milan
May 21, 2025
Hundreds of nurses at UnityPoint Health-Meriter in Madison plan to walk off the job next week. They have confirmed that they are going on strike starting Tuesday, May 27. Pat Raes is a nurse at Meriter, and the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a statewide union of health care workers. She said union nurses are fighting for improved compensation and better staffing solutions, as nurses are tasked with caring for more patients amid staffing shortages.
SEIU and Kern County reach tentative contract agreement
KGET
By Connor Dore
May 21, 2025
A year long bitter battle between unionized county workers and the board of supervisors may soon be nearing an end. The SEIU local 521 union represents over 5,000 workers who were threatening a two-day strike in June, forcing the county back to the bargaining table. The jobs represented by the union include social workers, animal control, behavioral health workers, addiction services, road maintenance and more.
Pratt & Whitney to resume contract negotiations
WTNH
By Kent Pierce
May 22, 2025
The two sides head back to the bargaining table in the Pratt & Whitney strike. Around 3,000 workers have been on strike for the past two and a half weeks. Last week, the company said the union turned down its final offer…but the two sides head back into contract negotiations today. This strike began back on May 4, when the existing contract ran out. Sticking points include higher wages. The union also wants to see younger workers get pensions like those who have been there for years already have.
Nurses at Madison’s Meriter Hospital plan strike, citing contract negotiation stalemate
Wisconsin Public Radio
By Anya van Wagtendonk
May 22, 2025
Hundreds of nurses at UnityPoint Health-Meriter Hospital in Madison say they’ll go on strike next week, after months of contract negotiations. The nurses, who are represented by SEIU Wisconsin, say demands around staffing levels and patient safety are not being heeded, and they’ll walk out beginning Tuesday, with a planned end to the strike June 1.Hospital leaders disputed the union’s characterization of negotiations but said they are “well prepared to continue caring for patients and maintaining operations during the strike.”
Long Beach nurses strike for 24 hours - here's what they're asking for
Fox 11 Los Angeles
By Gigi Graciette
May 22, 2025
The strike began at 7 a.m. Thursday and is scheduled to conclude at 7 a.m. Friday. The affected hospital, MemorialCare, has stated that critical care and ongoing services will not be impacted, with only elective surgeries being rescheduled. The nurses are represented by the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United.
WFAA
By Rachel Snyder
May 22, 2025
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) paratransit workers this week greenlit a strike, citing "months of delay tactics, refusals to bargain, and disrespect" from a contractor. The local Amalgamated Transit Union representing the DART paratransit workers alleged that the contractor, Transdev, which DART uses for paratransit services, retaliated against the workers, imposed harsher penalties, and pulled back on a promised wage increase after they voted for union representation earlier this year.
JOINING TOGETHER
La Voz News
By Gavin Rust
May 22, 2025
The San Jose Unified School District has been accused of underfunding over $30 million in health and welfare benefits since 2017-18 by unions representing teachers, janitors, cafeteria staff and other employees. The unions that filed grievances with the district over the alleged underfunding are: San Jose Teachers Association, California School Employees Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 101. In a January letter from the three unions sent to union members, the SJTA, CSEA and AFSCME accused SJUSD of underfunding their health and wellness benefits since 2017-18.
IN THE STATES
Commentary: 'Right to work' was wrong then – and it’s wrong now (Opinion)
Richmond Times-Dispatch
By Doris Crouse-Mays
May 20, 2025
Last week, former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger announced that she would not support a full repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work law if elected governor. As the voice of labor in the commonwealth, we are deeply disappointed. While we acknowledge and appreciate her vote for the federal Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would have repealed right-to-work laws across the country, leadership demands consistency. You can’t fight for workers in Washington and turn your back on them in Richmond.
Union leader says popularity of local labor unions is growing
KVRR
By Alex Bertsch
May 22, 2025
“You know, you want to go to work, and you want to get a fair salary, good benefits, and you want to do your job well. The inequality is driving people to the unions, and unions are now as popular as they were in the late 1950’s to the early 1960’s.” AFL-CIO’s Mark Froemke said.
Listen to California state workers rally against budget cuts to social services (Audio)
The Sacramento Bee
By Paul Kitagaki Jr.
May 21, 2025
Members of AFSCME, a union that represents state workers, join a rally against proposed cuts to social services at the California Capitol on May 21, 2025.
Nurses at Cincinnati VA rally against anticipated job cuts that could impact thousands
Local 12
By Marella Porter
May 21, 2025
Starting in August, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to eliminate roughly 80,000 jobs nationwide as part of President Trump’s initiative to downsize the federal government. Members of National Nurses United—a union representing 700 nurses at Cincinnati’s VA Medical Center—rallied on Wednesday with supporters to protest the planned cuts.
Cincinnati VA nurses rally against looming job cuts, fear impact to local clinic
WCPO
By Connor Steffen
May 21, 2025
A group of a dozen or so, including nurses who work at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, gathered on Wednesday to protest looming job cuts within the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Secretary Doug Collins recently announced plans to slash 15% of department jobs by August as part of a reorganization effort.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
New Bricklayers suicide prevention program saving lives
Labor Tribune
By Sheri Gassaway
May 22, 2025
A new program aimed at preventing suicide is saving lives for members of Bricklayers Local 1, says Brian Jennewein, director of the Bricklayers and Allied Crafts Administrative District Council (BAC ADC) of Eastern, Mo. “A few years ago, we lost three of our members as a result of suicide,” Jennewein said. “It was alarming because we knew these guys. We knew we had to do something, but we weren’t sure what so we formed what’s a committee to investigate the issue.”