Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Trump Lawyers Ask Supreme Court to Undo Firing Freeze
Bloomberg Law
By Ian Kullgren
June 2, 2025
President Donald Trump’s attorneys urged the US Supreme Court to allow him to resume firing federal workers while a broader legal challenge moves forward. The Trump administration filed an emergency petition Monday asking the high court to pause a preliminary injunction put in place by a lower California judge. The hold from Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California has prevented the administration from firing thousands of workers under Trump’s government reorganization plan.
Trump asks US Supreme Court to allow mass federal layoffs
Reuters
By John Kruzel
June 2, 2025
Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to halt a judicial order blocking mass job cuts and the restructuring of agencies, part of the Republican president's campaign to downsize and reshape the federal government. The Justice Department's request came after San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Susan Illston blocked large-scale federal layoffs, known as "reductions in force," in a May 22 ruling siding with a group of unions, non-profit groups and local governments that challenged the administration.
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to lift judge’s new block on mass layoffs
The Hill
By Zach Schonfeld
June 2, 2025
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to lift a judge’s block on mass layoffs across the federal bureaucracy, saying it rests on an “indefensible premise” that Congress must provide authorization. It marks the administration’s 18th Supreme Court emergency appeal since taking office and the second time the layoffs case has reached the justices.
Judge grants preliminary injunction to protect collective bargaining agreement for TSA workers
AP
By Martha Bellisle
June 2, 2025
“Today’s court decision is a crucial victory for federal workers and the rule of law,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a release. “The preliminary injunction underscores the unconstitutional nature of DHS’s attack on TSA officers’ First Amendment rights. We remain committed to ensuring our members’ rights and dignity are protected, and we will not back down from defending our members’ rights against unlawful union busting.”
Judge Blocks Trump’s Union-Busting Plan At TSA
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
June 2, 2025
AFGE President Everett Kelley called Pechman’s order “a crucial victory for federal workers.” “We remain committed to ensuring our members’ rights and dignity are protected, and we will not back down from defending our members’ rights against unlawful union busting,” Kelley said in a statement.
Trump administration must bargain with TSA officers' union, for now, says US judge
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
June 2, 2025
A federal judge on Monday said the administration of President Donald Trump likely broke the law by stripping 50,000 transportation security officers of the ability to unionize and bargain over their working conditions. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle, Washington, blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from canceling a union contract covering TSA officers pending the outcome of a lawsuit by the American Federation of Government Employees and other unions.
Federal judge blocks dissolution of union at TSA
Government Executive
By Erich Wagner
June 2, 2025
Afederal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from stripping employees at the Transportation Security Administration of their collective bargaining rights. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman, a Clinton appointee in the Western District of Washington, found that the initiative was aimed at “punishing” the American Federation of Government Employees for challenging the White House’s workforce policies in court. Monday’s decision follows last week’s oral arguments in the case, which challenges Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s March decision to outlaw unions at the airport security agency.
Trump and Allies Sell Domestic Policy Bill With Falsehoods
The New York Times
By Linda Qiu
June 2, 2025
As the Senate considers a domestic policy bill to enact the White House’s agenda, President Trump and his allies have sought to assuage some lawmakers’ concerns over its price tag and cuts to Medicaid with inaccurate claims. They have dismissed estimates of the effect of the “one big, beautiful bill” on the deficit as incorrect and described cuts to the health insurance program for poor Americans as simply trimming “waste, fraud and abuse.”
DOGE vowed to make government more ‘efficient’ — but it’s doing the opposite
The Washington Post
By Hannah Natanson
June 2, 2025
Somewhere in the world last month, a State Department employee began the routine process of hiring a vendor for an upcoming embassy event — but quickly ran into a problem. The vendor was refusing to sign paperwork certifying that it did not promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or “DEI,” a new requirement under President Donald Trump’s executive order eradicating DEI from the government. The State employee — who spoke on the condition that neither he nor the location of his embassy be named, for fear of retaliation — sighed.
Republicans are trying to repeal Obamacare again. Sort of.
The Washington Post
By Paige Winfield Cunningham
June 2, 2025
Congressional Republicans are pursuing changes to the Affordable Care Act that would mean 10.7 million fewer Americans using its insurance marketplaces and Medicaid, a huge reduction that some view as a way to accomplish part of the health-care coverage cancellation that failed in 2017. They’re not branding it a repeal of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law this time around, and this year’s effort wouldn’t erase its marketplaces or Medicaid expansion. Congress tried that the last time President Donald Trump was in office but abandoned it amid an outcry from the health care industry, advocates and voters.
Mine safety office in Hempfield remains on the chopping block
Trib Live
By Joe Napsha
June 2, 2025
“We’ve said from day one that cutting these offices would compromise inspectors’ ability to respond quickly to accidents, enforce safety regulations, and protect the lives of our members and their coworkers,” said UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts.
Trump tax bill poses limited benefits, higher costs for lower-income Americans
Reuters
By David Morgan
June 2, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's signature tax break on tips promises relatively few upsides for low-income Americans, who face a net loss of income under his massive tax and spending bill in Congress, analysts say. The new tax break is one of several aimed at helping working-class Americans who are a key bloc in Trump's political coalition. But experts say it would reach only a fraction of the bartenders, hairdressers and other workers who rely on tips. And those who benefit could see gains outweighed by cuts to healthcare and food assistance.
Government job cuts have disproportionate effect on Black federal workers
WAMU
By Mitchell Hartman
June 2, 2025
The federal workforce has been reduced by about 23,000 since the Trump administration took office in January and began aggressively downsizing federal agencies, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Establishment Survey. Reuters estimates more than 260,000 federal jobs will ultimately be eliminated this year through firings, early retirements and buyouts initiated by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. The economic impact of this mass downsizing has a particular impact on African Americans in civil service, as government employment has long been seen as a reliable pathway to Black middle-class prosperity. There don’t seem to be any hard numbers on how many Black workers have been affected by the recent federal job cuts, but for decades, there has been a higher percentage of Black workers in federal jobs compared to their percentage of the population. Sheria Smith of Dallas used to hold one of those jobs. “March 11 is when I received an email saying that my position as a civil rights attorney was being abolished,” said Smith, “along with every position in Dallas.”
Dept. of Labor to suspend Job Corps programs across America
WBNG
By Daniel Curren
June 2, 2025
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced an upcoming phased pause that will suspend operations at Job Corps locations across America. Job Corps helps students ages 16 to 24 from troubled backgrounds earn their high school diploma, G.E.D. and learn a trade. Students like Alexandra Fraze said Job Corps provides life-saving opportunities. “Job Corps was my last chance, quite honestly. I was homeless for several years, and I ended up needing somewhere to go because I exhausted all other resources,” Fraze said. “So, Job Corps gave me a chance to build my future. It gave me a foundation, and I plan on going to college from here.”
Report Details Global Deterioration of Workers' Rights—Including in US Under Trump
Common Dreams
By Eloise Goldsmith
June 2, 2025
A report released Monday by the International Trade Union Confederation, a global network of unions, states that workers' rights around the world are in "free fall"—including in the United States, where U.S. President Donald Trump has taken "a wrecking ball to the collective labour rights of workers." The report, titled The 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index, details "a stark and worsening global crisis for workers and unions."
Trump's budget calls for a 15% funding cut to the Education Department
NPR
By Cory Turner
June 2, 2025
The Trump administration has released new details of its vision to wind down the U.S. Department of Education. The budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 calls for a 15% funding cut to the department and a handful of changes to key K-12 and higher education programs.
NLRB
Grindr’s Abrupt Return to Office Was ‘Union Busting,’ NLRB Lawyer Tells Judge
Bloomberg
By Josh Eidelson
June 2, 2025
Grindr Inc. changed its remote-work policy “out of the blue,” demanding employees return to the office in retaliation for a union drive after previously telling them they could keep teleworking, US labor board prosecutors told an agency judge. An NLRB judge in Los Angeles is currently considering allegations that the LGBTQ dating company violated federal labor law by using a return-to-office mandate to force out about half of its staff in an attempt to thwart unionization. The agency’s prosecutors brought the case against Grindr in November, at the end of President Joe Biden’s term, seeking an order that would force the company to negotiate with the union. Under the NLRB's acting general counsel William Cowen, who President Donald Trump appointed as the NLRB’s top prosecutor in February, the agency has continued forging ahead with the case.
ORGANIZING
Unionized Barnes & Noble workers in Hadley OK contract
Mass Live
By Staff Reports
June 2, 2025
Booksellers and baristas at the Barnes & Noble have voted unanimously to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with a union. The workers were represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 1459.
Employees at Hadley store approve union contract
Western Mass News
By Samantha O’Connor and Ryan Trowbridge
June 2, 2025
The booksellers and baristas at Barnes and Noble in Hadley have voted to approve one of the first union contracts to be negotiated in the company’s history. The contract with the United Food and Commercial Workers union came after multiyear negotiations marked with worker rallies, standouts, work stoppages, and pickets organized with other recently unionized stores across the country.
Cannabis dispensary workers in Eatontown unionize
NJ Biz
By Kimberly Redmond
June 2, 2025
Employees at a cannabis dispensary in Eatontown are the latest group of workers in New Jersey’s legalized industry to unionize. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360, staffers at Fresh Eatontown LLC recently voted to organize as members of the union, which represents cannabis industry workers in dispensaries, labs, manufacturing, processing, delivery and grow facilities across the U.S. Fresh owns the storefront. The multistate operator also does business in Colorado and Delaware.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
UMass Memorial labor union signals possible strike amid contract negotiations
Worcester Business Journal
By Mica Kanner-Mascolo
June 2, 2025
The labor union for nearly 1,100 workers at UMass Memorial Medical Center has threatened to strike as the union is under contract negotiations with the Worcester hospital system on issues including compensation, staffing levels, and employee protection. The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1445 announced in a Saturday press release it will be ready to strike come June 9 if ongoing contract negotiations do not lead to a meaningful step forward.
BCTGM local #1 strikes against Teasdale Latin Foods in Hoopeston
News Channel 20
By Michelle Husain
June 2, 2025
BCTGM local #1 is currently on strike against Teasdale Latin Foods in Hoopeston. Workers at the plan can beans for distribution.BCTGM local #1 is currently on strike against Teasdale Latin Foods in Hoopeston. Workers at the plant can beans for distribution.
South Bay Transit Workers to Vote on New VTA Contract Offer After Historic Strike
KQED
By Joseph Geha
June 2, 2025
More than 1,500 transit workers in the South Bay — who staged a historic 17-day strike in March over wages and benefits negotiations with the Valley Transportation Authority — are set to vote on a new contract offer from the agency on Tuesday. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, which represents bus drivers, light rail operators, maintenance workers and dispatchers, confirmed its members will vote on the latest offer from the VTA, which includes a 14.5% wage increase over a period of four years.
Lockheed Martin workers end strike, return to work with new union contract
Orlando Weekly
By McKenna Schueler
June 2, 2025
After nearly one month on strike, Orlando employees of weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin headed back to work Monday after securing a new union contract. Hundreds of workers at the defense industry company’s facility off Sand Lake Road in Orlando first walked off the job May 1, a date celebrated in some countries as International Workers Day. The Lockheed Martin workers, represented by the United Auto Workers union, were officially on strike over their employer’s alleged violations of federal labor law, including an allegation of failing to bargain a new union contract in good faith. They were joined by Lockheed Martin employees in Denver, similarly represented by the UAW.
Cummins workers in Oshkosh remain on strike after rejecting latest labor package via union vote
Oshkosh Northwestern
By Justin Marville
June 2, 2025
The strike at Cummins will continue for at least another month. The United Auto Workers union and Cummins will have to return to the negotiating table again after UAW Local 291 membership rejected the company’s latest labor proposal at a union meeting June 2. Faced with a package that would’ve ended the more than two-month strike, membership voted 46-34 against accepting Cummins’ most recent offer to return to the manufacturing plant at 1005 High Ave.
STATE LEGISLATION
Senate’s transit funding, delivery tax proposal stalls in House
Hyde Park Herald
By Andrew Adams and Bridgette Fox
June 2, 2025
At a hearing in the days leading up to adjournment, Amalgamated Transit Union political director Clem Balanoff told lawmakers that thousands of union bus drivers and train operators would be laid off if action wasn’t taken to fill the budget gap. RTA officials have estimated 40% service cuts are necessary to address the fiscal crisis.
Oregon’s clean energy policies must support workers, not undermine them (Opinion)
Portland Tribune
By Garth Bachman
June 2, 2025
As business manager of IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 48, I’ve seen firsthand how policy decisions in Salem ripple through our economy and workforce. During campaign season, candidates often make ambitious, well-intentioned promises, but the real challenge and responsibility comes when lawmakers must translate those promises into policies that actually work. When it comes to meeting our energy and economic development needs, Oregon needs to re-evaluate its approach and priorities.
IN THE STATES
18% of Youngstown-Warren Workers Are Union Members, Study Finds
The Business Journal
By Staff
June 2, 2025
Though less than 10% of all U.S. workers were union members in 2024, 18% of Youngstown-Warren area workers belonged to a union. That makes it the ninth largest union membership state, according to a study from Construction Coverage, an online publisher of construction industry research reports.
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
Maine Biz
By Laurie Schreiber
June 2, 2025
Kloey Arsenault was 18 and had just graduated from high school when she enrolled in the AFL-CIO’s Union Construction Academy of Maine to train as an ironworker. Her dad is an ironworker and at first she was looking to make him proud. The motive evolved. Now age 19, she’s a member of Ironworkers Local 7, making a good wage with raises and benefits and most recently working for Ipswich Bay Glass on construction of the University of Southern Maine’s Crewe Center for the Arts.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
A Brutal Attack Upended Her Life. It Also Exposed Gaps in California’s Hospital Safety Laws
KQED
By Kevin Stark
June 2, 2025
Golomb and her resident colleagues joined the Committee of Interns and Residents, a local of the Service Employees International Union, and engaged in contentious bargaining with Sutter Health over demands for, among other things, 24-hour security in the inpatient psych unit.