Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Termination notices expected to go out to all remaining Voice of America employees this week
Politico
By Ben Johansen
May 28, 2025
All remaining staff at Voice of America are expected to receive reduction-in-force notices this week, likely closing the book on the network founded 80-plus years ago to combat Nazi disinformation during World War II. Employees are anticipating termination notices to go out this week to all full-time staff at the embattled news network, according to four VOA employees familiar with the situation granted anonymity to discuss unannounced plans.
After contractor cuts, Voice of America staffers brace for further layoffs
The Washington Post
By Scott Nover and Sarah Ellison
May 28, 2025
Voice of America employees are bracing for further reductions in their workforce, not long after the Trump administration announced plans to terminate more than 500 contractors, according to several staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about it.
Unions’ Layoffs Suit Is Next Major Hurdle for Trump Firing Plan
Bloomberg Law
By Ian Kullgren
May 29, 2025
The high court is expected to be asked to weigh in on a case brought by the American Federation of Government Employees and others over Trump’s attempt to purge tens of thousands of government workers—the most expansive challenge to Trump’s federal workforce cuts so far. Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California last week issued a preliminary injunction, extending a freeze on the layoffs while the case proceeds.
Education Department Targets Pregnant, LGBTQ Staff Protections
Bloomberg
By Josh Eidelson
May 28, 2025
The US Department of Education is pushing to strip workplace protections for pregnant or LGBTQ staff, telling its employee union the policies must be changed to conform to President Donald Trump's executive order on “defending women from gender ideology extremism." In a May 9 email viewed by Bloomberg News, the agency invited the union to negotiate over “required changes” to the rules and shared a spreadsheet listing dozens of specific union contract provisions and human resources policies targeted for revisions.
GOP rejects ‘millionaire tax’ pitch, advancing breaks for rich Americans
The Washington Post
By Jeff Stein
May 28, 2025
House Republicans rejected a push by some allies of President Donald Trump to include tax hikes on the rich in sweeping legislation they passed last week — a decision that could carry repercussions into next year’s elections. The legislation House Republicans approved last week extends tax cuts Trump signed into law in 2017, cutting rates across income groups, including large benefits for the Americans who pay the highest share of federal income tax — those in the top 5 percent of the income distribution. The measure excluded a “millionaire tax,” and other proposals to raise taxes on top earners pitched by Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s first-term chief strategist, and other allies of the president. The Senate could make further changes, but Republicans in the upper chamber are expected to prove even less likely to back higher taxes on the top income bracket, several analysts said.
Musk ‘Disappointed’ With Major Trump Policy Bill, Saying It Will Increase Deficit
The New York Times
By Matthew Mpoke Bigg
May 28, 2025
Elon Musk criticized the far-reaching Republican bill intended to enact President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, saying it would undermine the administration’s own efforts to shrink federal spending. “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it,” Mr. Musk said in an excerpt from an interview with CBS’s “Sunday Morning” that was released late Tuesday. Mr. Musk added that the bill, which is headed to the Senate after squeaking through the House last week, would undermine the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, the White House effort to shrink the federal government that Mr. Trump tapped him to lead.
DOGE employees may access sensitive Treasury data, judge rules
The Washington Post
By Kelly Kasulis Cho
May 28, 2025
A federal judge in New York cleared a path Tuesday for the Treasury Department’s DOGE team to access data systems that contain sensitive financial information on millions of Americans, stating in her ruling that the Trump administration had complied with earlier requests to demonstrate it is equipped to properly screen and train employees before granting them access.
DOGE started the federal worker firings. Trump is trying to make more of them even easier.
Business Insider
By Juliana Kaplan
May 28, 2025
The Trump administration is trying to revive a measure that would make government workers who currently enjoy strong civil-service employment protections more like those in Corporate America: easily fireable. For now, many federal workers can't be fired for their political affiliations and can only be fired for a justifiable cause. Trump's move would change that by classifying them as employees who determine or make policy. They could, therefore, be fired for any legal reason with little to no notice.
States sue over Trump cuts to research funding, STEM diversity efforts
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
May 28, 2025
A group of U.S. states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block the administration of President Donald Trump from making massive cuts to federal funding for scientific research and projects focused on increasing diversity in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. The attorneys general of 16 states, including New York, California, Illinois, and New Jersey, say the Trump administration lacks the power to cap research funding and eliminate diversity programs provided by the National Science Foundation that were mandated by Congress.
US agrees to end use of race, gender in highway, transit contracts
Reuters
By David Shepardson
May 28, 2025
The Trump administration said on Wednesday it has agreed to end the U.S. Transportation Department's consideration of race or gender when awarding billions of dollars in federal highway and transit project funding set aside for disadvantaged small businesses.
A judge refuses to toss states’ lawsuit against Elon Musk and DOGE
AP
By Staff
May 28, 2025
A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit that accuses billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency of illegally accessing government data systems, canceling government contracts and firing federal employees. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled Tuesday that 14 states can proceed with their claims against Musk and DOGE. The states, through their attorneys general, sued in February over the defendants’ alleged constitutional violations.
Fired federal tech staffers file retaliation claim to a panel whose chairwoman Trump also fired
ABC News
By Fatima Hussein
May 28, 2025
A group of roughly 80 fired federal employees on Wednesday appealed their terminations to an administrative body in charge of protecting the rights of federal employees from partisan political practices. Notably, that board's chairwoman was also recently fired by President Donald Trump. The 18F employees, who worked on technology projects such as the IRS’ Direct File, filed an appeal at the Merit Systems Protection Board against the General Services Administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
White House to send Congress package of DOGE spending cuts
Reuters
By Nandita Bose and Bo Erickson
May 28, 2025
U.S. President Trump's budget chief said on Wednesday that the White House intends to send Congress a package next week to formalize cuts made by billionaire Elon Musk's team targeting federal government spending. For months, Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Congress have urged the administration to institute the federal spending cuts announced by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. "We are doing everything we can to codify DOGE cuts," Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said in an interview on Fox Business' Kudlow program.
Trump Pledged ‘No Tax on Social Security.’ The Tax Bill Says Otherwise.
The Wall Street Journal
By Ashlea Ebeling and Richard Rubin
May 28, 2025
President Trump promised to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. Instead, the House tax-and-spending bill includes a half measure. The legislation passed by the House last week would give seniors a temporary extra deduction of $4,000, which would lower taxes for many of the people Trump was targeting with his pitch. But this alternative to “no tax on Social Security” would leave many people still paying income taxes on Social Security benefits.
Exploring the potential impact of Medicaid cuts in Trump’s big budget bill
PBS
By Geoff Bennett and Karina Cuevas
May 28, 2025
As Republicans work to advance a massive bill containing much of President Trump’s domestic agenda, one of the central flashpoints is its potential cuts to Medicaid. Geoff Bennett discussed the impact on healthcare access for millions of lower-income Americans, the elderly and people with disabilities with Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured at KFF.
United Steelworkers union raises concerns over Nippon-U.S. Steel deal
WFYI
By Timoria Cunningham
May 28, 2025
USW International President David McCall said Nippon has "dumped" steel in the American steel markets for decades — something he said has cost them thousands of good jobs.
A Disillusioned Musk, Distanced From Trump, Says He’s Exiting Washington
The New York Times
By Tyler Pager, Maggie Haberman, Theodore Schleifer, Jonathan Swan and Ryan Mac May 28, 2025
Elon Musk took a swipe at President Trump’s signature domestic policy legislation, saying it would add to the national deficit. He complained to administration officials about a lucrative deal that went to a rival company to build an artificial-intelligence data center in the Middle East. And he has yet to make good on a $100 million pledge to Trump’s political operation. Mr. Musk, who once called himself the president’s “first buddy,” is now operating with some distance from Mr. Trump as he says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies.
Elon Musk is leaving the Trump administration after leading effort to slash federal government
AP
By Chris Megerian
May 28, 2025
Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and overhaul the federal bureaucracy. His departure, announced Wednesday evening, marks the end of a turbulent chapter that included thousands of layoffs, the evisceration of government agencies and reams of litigation. Despite the upheaval, the billionaire entrepreneur struggled in the unfamiliar environment of Washington, and he accomplished far less than he hoped.
DOGE Has Achieved Its Final Form
Wired
By Brian Barrett
May 29, 2025
What to make of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency at this stage of the Trump administration? Elon Musk has today officially stepped down from his government duties, after scaling back his involvement earlier this month. Citing the end of his “scheduled time as a Special Government Employee” in a post on his social media site X, Musk added: “The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
IMMIGRATION
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ will leave millions of Latino children without healthcare
El Pais English
By Patricia Caro
May 28, 2025
This is highlighted in a new report published by UnidosUS, AFL-CIO, and First Focus on Children, which shows that nearly 45% of children in the U.S. (about 34 million) rely on Medicaid and SNAP for essential healthcare and nutrition. Of those, 14 million children rely on both programs, putting them at double the risk of losing access to healthcare and food assistance.
TRADE
Federal trade court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers law
AP
By Lindsay Whitehurst
May 28, 2025
A federal trade court on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law. The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump has exceeded his authority, left U.S. trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos.
US court blocks most Trump tariffs, says president exceeded his authority
Reuters
By Dietrich Knauth and Daniel Wiessner
May 29, 2025
The court invalidated with immediate effect all of Trump's orders on tariffs since January that were rooted in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law meant to address "unusual and extraordinary" threats during a national emergency. The court was not asked to address some industry-specific tariffs Trump has issued on automobiles, steel and aluminum, using a different statute.
ORGANIZING
Small MSO Fresh Eatontown Dispensary Workers Vote to Join UFCW Union
Heady NJ
By Heady NJ Staff
May 28, 2025
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union Local 360 announced that more New Jersey cannabis workers at the Fresh Dispensary in Eatontown in Monmouth County have voted to unionize. “I hope the management team at Fresh Eatontown recognizes how lucky it is to have such committed employees,” said Hugh Giordano, UFCW Local 360’s Director of Organizing.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Pratt & Whitney workers approve contract, ending strike; deal keeps work in Connecticut
Reuters
By Dan Catchpole
May 28, 2025
Union members at aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney (RTX.N) overwhelmingly approved the company's contract offer on Tuesday, ending a three-week strike, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The union, representing nearly 3,000 members at two Pratt & Whitney sites in Connecticut, said the offer was approved by 74%. IAM members had rejected the company's first offer in early May.
Inside Gaming: 2 Strip casinos sign new union agreements, more
Las Vegas Review-Journal
By David Danzis and Richard N. Velotta
May 28, 2025
The largest casino workers union in Las Vegas announced new tentative contract agreements with two Strip operators. Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 have reached three-year deals with Resorts World Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan hotel-casinos, covering close to 4,500 employees across both properties. The tentative agreements include “the largest wage increases ever negotiated in Culinary Union’s 90-year history,” according to dual news releases.
Champaign County workers prepare for strike authorization vote after prolonged contract dispute
WAND News
By WAND Digital Team
May 28, 2025
Champaign County employees are conducting a strike authorization vote on May 27 and 28 to push for a fair union contract after nearly 150 days without a new agreement since their previous contract expired. According to the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), county leaders have not provided adequate wage increases or affordable health insurance. A 'yes' vote to authorize a strike would empower the union bargaining committee to call for a strike if necessary. AFSCME Local 900 President Cecilia Phillips emphasized the importance of fair wages and the role of county workers in government operations.
Nurses launch strike at Meriter hospital, the first in the facility’s history
Wisconsin Examiner
By Erik Gunn
May 27, 2025
With a spirited rally, a picket line march around the building and a small brass band, nurses at UnityPoint Health-Meriter hospital in Madison launched a five-day walkout Tuesday, reiterating their demands for changes in safety practices, minimum ratios of nurses to patients and improved pay. The strike — the first ever by nurses at Meriter hospital — is scheduled to run through Saturday. It follows the end of bargaining on Monday, May 19, when the nurses’ union bargaining team turned down the hospital management’s latest proposal. Services Employees International Union (SEIU) Wisconsin and UnityPoint Health-Meriter have been in negotiations since earlier this year on a new contract covering about 950 nurses. The nurses’ most recent two-year agreement expired in late March and they have since been working without a contract.
UnityPoint hospital nurses launch 5-day strike: 5 things to know
Becker’s Hospital Review
By Kelly Gooch
May 28, 2025
Members of Service Employees International Union Wisconsin began a five-day strike May 27 at UnityPoint Health-Meriter in Madison, Wis.
Butler Hospital, striking workers to return to contract negotiations Wednesday
ABC 6
By Christopher Boardman
May 28, 2025
The SEIU 1199 NE union and Butler Hospital will resume contract negotiations Wednesday after the union went on strike on May 15, according to statements from representatives of both groups.
UAW members at General Dynamics' Electric Boat vote to ratify new contract
Reuters
By Reuters
May 28, 2025
Union members at General Dynamics' (GD.N), Electric Boat submarine-making unit have voted to ratify a new contract, the United Auto Workers said on Wednesday. The union, representing over 2,400 marine drafters at Electric Boat, said 85% voted in favor of the ratification of the new five-year agreement which secures a 30% wage increase over the life of the contract and an improved wage progression.
The St. Thomas Source
By Staff
May 27, 2025
The union representing close to a hundred Waste Management Authority employees filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the V.I. Public Employees Relations Board Tuesday, and a representative said a strike isn’t out of the question if the employees’ collective bargaining agreement doesn’t take effect soon. Approximately 97 Waste Management employees are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. John Vigueras, IAM’s southern territory special representative, told the Source Tuesday that they’ve been waiting six years for a new contract and described the process as “excruciatingly slow and just cumbersome.”
Union Members Overwhelmingly Approve New Audio Commercials Contract.
Inside Radio
By Staff
May 28, 2025
SAG-AFTRA members have approved the new, three-year 2025 SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract and the 2025 SAG-AFTRA Audio Commercials Contract by a wide majority. The union says the final vote tally was 96.9% in favor, to 3.1% against. The three-year deal with the Joint Policy Committee, which has been negotiating on behalf of major national advertisers and advertising agencies, nets SAG-AFTRA members $218.4 million in new earnings and benefit plan contributions. That almost doubles the gains achieved in the 2022 deal. The agreement covers April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2028.
WHYY
By P. Kenneth Burns
May 28, 2025
New Jersey’s largest nurses’ union is hoping to reach new agreements with several hospitals across the state over safe staffing ratios. If not, the more than 3,500 members of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees said they are prepared to strike. Contracts with four hospitals — the Inspira Health Network in South Jersey, New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, Bayonne Medical Center and Christ Hospital in Jersey City — expires Saturday. Inspira comprises the bulk of the union members in negotiations, with 1,800 nurses staffed across various locations in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.
Union workers continue a 7-day strike against QSL America at Iroquois Landing
Chicago Sun-Times
By Amy Yee
May 28, 2025
A group of port workers at Iroquois Landing, where Lake Michigan and the Calumet River meet, were on strike for the seventh day Wednesday to protest logistics operator QSL America’s unfair labor practices, said the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. Workers picketed near the entrance of Iroquois Landing, as well as at two other QSL sites in Chicago. The labor union claims that Iroquois Landing is operating at reduced capacity. Cargo, including international shipments, is being unloaded at a slower rate, according to a Local 150 news release.
Meatpackers at JBS in Tolleson ratify first union contract. What it means
AZ Central
By Russ Wiles
May 28, 2025
Employees at a meatpacking plant in Tolleson have ratified their first-ever national union contract in a deal that will boost average pay, enhance safety and add benefits including a pension plan, more vacation time and paid sick leave. The new contract involving members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union will cover 26,000 workers at 14 meatpacking and processing plants across the nation, including at JBS USA's beef facility in Tolleson. The union stated that approximately 1,742 people work at the plant, although not all are union members.
JOINING TOGETHER
Charlotte airport workers write letters for City Council, calling for higher wages
Queen City News
By Arri Woodhouse
May 27, 2025
Ahead of a busy summer travel season, airport workers at Charlotte Douglas are calling for higher wages. Workers took part in a letter-writing campaign Tuesday, writing hundreds of postcards that they plan to hand to the Charlotte City Council budget meeting at 5 p.m. The cards featured testimonies from workers who are currently homeless, can’t afford groceries and are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck.
SPORTS UNIONIZATION
Collective bargaining in college sports: Is it a third rail or an inevitability?
The New York Times
By Seth Emerson
May 29, 2025
Collective bargaining is the reason pro sports leagues don’t have incessant court challenges to their rules the way college sports does. Pro leagues negotiate the rules on salary caps, player movement and more with players unions. Many see that as the only surefire way college sports can enforce certain rules, especially when it comes to the transfer restrictions that courts have struck down in recent years, opening up an era of unlimited player movement. White and others believe a collectively bargained agreement with a players union would mean reasonable transfer rules that would stand up in court.
IN THE STATES
Public transit can’t wait; Illinois must act by May 31(Opinion)
Illinois Business Journal
By John A. Costa, Frederick D. Redmond, Eric Dean and Karen Kent
May 28, 2025
Illinois is facing a crossroads when it comes to public transit. As the Illinois General Assembly approaches the critical May 31 deadline to secure funding for its public transit system, let’s be clear that this is not a light switch that can be turned off and on with ease. It is a complex, interwoven system that, if dismantled, could permanently damage our state’s economy and the daily lives of Illinoisans.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Maryland becomes first state to adopt heat safety standards after tragic worker death
WBAL
By Tommie Clark
May 28, 2025
Marylanders can expect new heat safety standards at work after Maryland became the first state in the region to adopt them. “Unfortunately, workers are dying to heat illness. Anything we can do to protect workers when they’re working in hot temperatures, we want to get the word out and make sure we do that,” AFSCME Maryland Council 3 legislative and political director Denise Gilmore said. AFSCME Maryland is working to educate people about the new heat safety standards before the summer heat arrives. The standards apply when employees are exposed to a heat index of 80 degrees or higher in both indoor and outdoor work environments.
Federal officials call miners’ health a ‘priority,’ but are cutting a Pa. team studying mine safety
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
By Ian Karbal
May 27, 2025
Brendan Demich was on a bus to Washington, D.C. last week to attend a rally outside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ office. At the same time, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was assuring lawmakers that critical programs in his department, specifically those protecting coal miners, would continue despite drastic cuts to his agency’s staff and budget.
CIVIL, HUMAN, & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Nearly half of REI workers reported racial discrimination on the job, survey finds
Prism
By Eddie Velazquez
May 27, 2025
Almost half of workers at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) said they have experienced or witnessed racial discrimination at work, according to a new survey report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP). Independent researchers from NELP also found instances of workplace discrimination based on age and gender, a lack of upward mobility for workers of color, and widespread discontent among workers for what employees said are inconsistent scheduling practices. About 64% of workers surveyed said REI is becoming a worse place to work.