Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
Unions Demand Release Of David Huerta, SEIU Leader Arrested In LA ICE Raids
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
June 9, 2025
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, which includes 63 unions, told HuffPost at a rally in Washington, D.C., that unions needed to stand together and defend workers against deportation. “I think our mission now is basically to show that these raids on workplaces and attacks on families at the community level… [these] are our neighbors, our co-workers,” she said. “These are people who are looking for a better life and are contributing to our economy.”
Labor unions around US demand release of union leader arrested in LA protest
The Guardian
By Michael Sainato
June 9, 2025
“As the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda has unnecessarily targeted our hard-working immigrant brothers and sisters, David was exercising his constitutional rights and conducting legal observation of Ice activity in his community,” Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said in a statement. “The labor movement stands with David and we will continue to demand justice for our union brother until he is released.” Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest public employee union in the US, also called for Huerta’s release.
POLITICS
GOP bill could worsen inflation and lead to financial crisis, economists warn
The Washington Post
By Abha Bhattarai
June 9, 2025
The boost to the national debt from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax bill could add fresh fuel to inflation just as his tariff policies are already pushing prices up, a range of mainstream economists are warning. Those concerns echo worries among lawmakers — and fierce criticism from erstwhile Trump adviser Elon Musk — that the measure would cause too much new government borrowing.
Republican lawmaker’s raucous town hall reflects challenges in promoting Trump's bill
Reuters
By Helen Coster
June 9, 2025
Democratic voter Joe Mayhew, a union representative living in a New York swing district, was one of several people at a rowdy town hall with Republican Representative Mike Lawler on Sunday keen to point out potential pitfalls with President Donald Trump's budget. He fears proposed changes to Medicaid requirements could have a devastating effect on people unable to work through no fault of their own.
DOGE Access to Government Personnel Data Blocked by Judge
Bloomberg Law
By Ian Kullgren
June 9, 2025
“Today’s legal victory sends a crystal-clear message: Americans’ private data stored with the government isn’t the personal playground of unelected billionaires,” AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a statement.
In Trump’s ‘Patriotic’ Hiring Plan, Experts See a Politicized Federal Work Force
The New York Times
By Eileen Sullivan
June 10, 2025
Republicans have long complained that the federal government is filled with ideologically opposed bureaucrats who stand in the way of their policies and are too hard to fire. Presidents from both parties have kicked off their time in office with a hiring freeze, looking to put their own stamp on personnel strategies. But President Trump is the first to ask federal job applicants to describe their allegiance to administration policy in an essay or to mandate training for senior government officials on White House executive orders, experts said. Senior agency officials, who are often political appointees, are to be directly involved in the hiring process, which has not previously been the case.
Trump foes press Supreme Court to reject bid to restart layoffs
E&E News
By Robin Bravender
June 9, 2025
Unions and other groups challenging the Trump administration’s plans for large-scale layoffs are urging the Supreme Court to reject the administration’s latest bid to let those layoffs proceed. The Supreme Court should refuse the Trump administration’s request to intervene, challengers said in a motion filed Monday. Their response comes after the Trump administration last week asked the justices to block a lower court’s ruling that has paused layoffs across much of the government. “If the breakneck reorganization of the federal government ordered by the President is implemented before the merits of this case may be decided based on a full record, then statutorily required and authorized programs, offices, and functions across the federal government will be abolished, agencies will be radically downsized from what Congress authorized, critical government services will be lost, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will lose their jobs,” says the response filed by unions, conservation groups and other organizations fighting the layoffs in court.
Judge says administration can dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services
AP
By Staff
June 6, 2025
The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed a lawsuit to stop the administration from gutting the institute after President Donald Trump signed a March 14 executive order that refers to it and several other federal agencies as “unnecessary.”
Unions protest veteran job cuts, warn of downstream impacts
Government Executive
By Sean Michael Newhouse
June 9, 2025
Everett Kelley, an Army veteran and national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, in his speech emphasized that veterans make up a sizable percentage of employees for the federal government and VA specifically. “The VA is a place of veterans, by veterans, for veterans; however, these mass reorganization plans that stand before us today are a targeted attack on veteran jobs, health care, benefits and union rights,” he said to those assembled.
RFK Jr. purges every vaccine adviser on CDC panel; will pick replacements
The Washington Post
By Lena H. Sun and Lauren Weber
June 9, 2025
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he was removing the entire membership of the influential vaccine advisory panel that makes immunization recommendations for the United States, an unprecedented move by Kennedy and escalation of his overhaul of federal vaccination policy.
US Health Secretary Kennedy guts vaccine advisory committee
Reuters
By Ahmed Aboulenein, Michael Erman and Julie Steenhuysen
June 9, 2025
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all 17 members of a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel of vaccine experts and is in the process of replacing them, his department said on Monday, drawing protest from many vaccine scientists. The move is the most far-reaching in a series of actions by Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic, to reshape U.S. regulation of vaccines, food and medicine. Scientists and experts said the changes to the vaccine panel, which recommends how vaccines are used and by whom, would undermine public confidence in health agencies.
Judge blocks administration from enforcing anti-diversity and anti-transgender executive orders
AP
By Janie Har
June 9, 2025
A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing anti-diversity and anti-transgender executive orders in grant funding requirements that LGBTQ+ organizations say are unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar said Monday that the federal government cannot force recipients to halt programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion or acknowledge the existence of transgender people in order to receive grant funding. The order will remain in effect while the legal case continues, although government lawyers will likely appeal. The funding provisions “reflect an effort to censor constitutionally protected speech and services promoting DEI and recognizing the existence of transgender individuals,” Tigar wrote.
For Trump, seizing emergency powers has become central to governing
The Washington Post
By Naftali Bendavid
June 9, 2025
The specter of federally controlled troops in American streets has historically signaled a seismic social crisis, from forcing integration in Arkansas to protecting civil rights marchers in Alabama. But President Donald Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles at a time when state and local officials said they had protests there under control. The move reflects an increasingly evident pattern of his presidency: Trump declares an emergency or crisis where many others do not see one, enabling him to take sweeping actions, rally supporters and fight on political terrain he finds favorable. Trump’s declaration of an economic emergency in April enabled sweeping tariffs.
IMMIGRATION
California union leader faces criminal charge for protesting ICE raid
Axios
By Emily Peck
June 9, 2025
What they're saying: "In this moment, obviously, given David's role in our union, is one where we are being outspoken," SEIU president April Verrett told Axios Monday morning before the criminal charges were filed. "But this is not just about David. This is about all of us who just want to go to work every day."
Local labor leader arrested during Los Angeles immigration protests (Video)
ABC News
June 9, 2025
SEIU President April Verrett joined ABC News Live to discuss the arrest of David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California during LA's immigration protests.
Trump’s Immigration Plans Meet a Powerful Adversary: Unions
The Wall Street Journal
By Paul Kiernan
June 9, 2025
“Whether you’re documented or not, you can be a member of a union, and those we represent, we vow to protect,” said Steve Smith, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO.
Labor Leader Arrested During Immigration Protest Is Released on Bond
The New York Times
By Jill Cowan
June 9, 2025
A Los Angeles labor leader who has become a national rallying cry after he was arrested and apparently injured during a protest over an immigration raid last week appeared on Monday in a federal court for a bail hearing on a charge of conspiring to impede an officer and was released on a $50,000 bond. The arrest of the official, David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union California, drew swift condemnation from Democratic elected officials, labor leaders and immigrant rights groups across the country. If he is convicted, he faces up to six years in federal prison.
California labor leader charged with impeding officer during immigration crackdown
AP
By Amy Taxin and Jason Dearen
June 9, 2025
The arrest of a California labor leader has become a rallying cry for immigrant advocates across the country who called for his release and an end to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. David Huerta, the 58-year-old president of Service Employees International Union California, was arrested Friday while protesting outside a business where federal law enforcement agents were investigating suspected immigration violations, authorities said. He was released from federal custody Monday on a $50,000 bond after a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles.
Union leader faces federal charge of conspiracy to impede an officer during L.A. ICE raids
Los Angeles Times
By Brittny Mejia
June 9, 2025
Federal authorities on Monday charged David Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to impede an officer in connection with his alleged actions during an immigration enforcement raid last week. Huerta, 58, had been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles since Friday and made his initial appearance in federal court Monday afternoon. He is facing a felony charge that carries up to six years in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. Huerta was released on a $50,000 bond. As part of his conditions, he can’t knowingly be within 100 yards of federal agents or operations.
Who Is David Huerta, the Labor Leader Arrested in Los Angeles?
The New York Times
By Christina Morales
June 9, 2025
The arrest of the prominent California union leader David Huerta on Friday as he protested an immigration raid in Los Angeles quickly drew condemnation from national labor activists and Democrats. Mr. Huerta — the president of the Service Employees International Union of California — was released on Monday but is still facing charges. He has become a symbol for those protesting the Trump administration’s immigration raids. The protests were further inflamed by the president’s decision on Saturday to send 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell demonstrations, followed by his decision on Monday to more than double that deployment. Here’s what we know.
'A Declaration of War': Trump Sends National Guard to LA Over Anti-ICE Protests
Common Dreams
By Olivia Rosane
June 8, 2025
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond said in a statement Saturday: The nearly 15 million working people of the AFL-CIO and our affiliated unions demand the immediate release of California Federation of Labor Unions Vice President and SEIU California and SEIU-USWW President David Huerta. As the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda has unnecessarily targeted our hard-working immigrant brothers and sisters, David was exercising his constitutional rights and conducting legal observation of ICE activity in his community. He was doing what he has always done, and what we do in unions: putting solidarity into practice and defending our fellow workers.
Peaceful rally held in Raleigh critical of ICE actions, demands release of union leader
ABC 11
By Michael Perchick
June 9, 2025
About 200 people gathered in Raleigh's Moore Square Monday afternoon, calling on the release of union leader David Huerta. "It was shocking that they're really going there, that they are arresting peaceful observers at peaceful protests," said Jeremy Sprinkle, Communications Director for NC State AFL-CIO. "We feel that people should be able to stand up for the rights of every human being and should not be detained or arrested for that," noted Rev. Mira Sawlani-Joyner, who serves as Minister of Justice, Advocacy and Change at Riverside Church in New York. Huerta, who is the president of the Service Employees International Union California and Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, was arrested Friday as he protested immigration raids in Los Angeles.
Activist groups gather in Raleigh in solidarity with Los Angeles ICE protests
The News & Observer
By Ronni Butts and Twumasi Duah-Mensah
June 9, 2025
Protesters in Raleigh gathered in Moore Square on Monday afternoon to display solidarity with ongoing protests in Los Angeles and in response to the arrest of labor union leader David Huerta. The Raleigh protest, which was organized by North Carolina’s state chapter of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), amassed a crowd of over 100. Members of the Union of Southern Service Workers, North Carolina Association of Educators and immigrant rights group Siembra NC were also in attendance.
Atlanta labor workers call for release of arrested Calif. union leader in L.A.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Riley Bunch
June 9, 2025
Labor union members in Atlanta are joining nationwide calls for the release of David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union of California who was arrested amid protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles last week. Videos of the incident circulating online show Huerta tackled to the ground by law enforcement before being arrested. The 58-year-old union leader now faces a felony charge of conspiracy to impede an officer.
Mass. AFL-CIO president says Trump administration is 'ripping up' the First Amendment
WBUR
By Stephaie Brown and Tiziana Dearing
June 10, 2025
A top union leader was arrested over the weekend at a protest in Los Angeles. Massachusetts unions leaders and members rallied at Boston City Hall in response. Chrissy Lynch, the president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, joins WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss.
Boston unions lead rally against L.A. ICE raids
WBUR
By Eve Zuckoff
June 9, 2025
“ If David Huerta can be arrested for exercising his rights, who's next? Which one of us is next? Where does it end?” asked AFL-CIO Massachusetts President Chrissy Lynch. “ When ICE agents attack and detain peaceful protesters, they are shredding the constitutional rights and fundamental freedoms we all rely on as a labor movement.”
WHYY
By Cory Sharber
June 9, 2025
After a weekend of tense standoffs between law enforcement and protesters in Los Angeles in response to a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, protesters in Philadelphia took to Independence Hall to demand an end to ICE raids and the immediate release of union leader David Huerta. Monday’s protest in Philadelphia and other major U.S. cities was organized by the Service Employees International Union, which Huerta leads in California, as part of a nationwide day of action to bring attention to the Los Angeles clashes.
Connecticut union leaders rally at Capitol after ICE protest arrest in L.A.
Greenwich Time
By Crystal Elescano and Paul Hughes
June 9, 2025
Chants of "Free David! Free David!" echoed outside the Capitol as members of the Service Employees International Union demanded the release of David Huerta, the California president of a union that represents janitors, security officers and airport service workers. Huerta, was arrested Friday by federal agents during a protest against a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a Los Angeles garment warehouse. The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the Los Angeles area climbed above 100, and included Huerta, according to federal authorities.
Hundreds protest outside DOJ over nationwide ICE raids
NBC Washington
By Aimee Cho
June 9, 2025
“It's not the home of the free when you stop people from demonstrating and fighting for what they believe in, fighting for their rights,making their voices heard,” said Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
Demonstrators rally in DC to protest ICE raids, California union leader’s arrest
WTOP
By Mike Murillo
June 9, 2025
Union leaders at the D.C. rally said Huerta was injured during his arrest and demanded Huerta be released. Among those calling for his release was Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
Union members rally to support California leader arrested during ICE protests
The Sacramento Bee
By Lia Russell
June 9, 2025
Organized labor joined California politicians on Monday in accusing the White House of manufacturing a political conflict to suppress protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Members of Service Employees International Union rallied nationwide Monday afternoon in support of SEIU California President David Huerta, who made his initial courtroom appearance in Los Angeles after he was arrested Friday while protesting raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The Trump administration has since sent Marines and California National Guard members to guard federal buildings and officials and suggested it will arrest Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Seattle marches in solidarity against ICE raids, demands release of detained union leader
KOMO
By Joel Moreno
June 9, 2025
Labor unions joined forces to march through downtown Seattle and protest the immigration raids throughout the country that culminated this weekend when ICE agents detained SEIU California President David Huerta. “For us today, it's really about coming together in solidarity and support for President David Huerta and what happened to him in LA,” said Greg Ramirez with SEIU 6. Led by the Service Employees International Union and others, the march and rally called for an end to the immigration raids and Huerta’s immediate release. Other participants in Seattle included MLK Labor and OneAmerica.
Abrego Garcia's return should not end Trump contempt probe, lawyers say
Reuters
By Luc Cohen
June 9, 2025
The return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. last Friday after his wrongful deportation to his native El Salvador in March should not end a judge's investigation into whether Trump administration officials should be held in contempt for violating a court order, Abrego Garcia's lawyers said. In a court filing on Sunday, Abrego Garcia's lawyers disputed the administration's assertion that it was in compliance with Greenbelt, Maryland-based U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis' order to facilitate his return from El Salvador because it had brought him back to face criminal charges of migrant smuggling in Tennessee.
SUPREME COURT
CNBC
By Lorie Konish
June 9, 2025
The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Department of Government Efficiency access to Social Security Administration data that includes sensitive personal information of millions of Americans. The decision comes as the federal government sought a stay, or temporary suspension, after a federal judge blocked DOGE’s access to that data in April. The nation’s highest court granted an emergency application from the Trump administration to lift that injunction; the case is expected to proceed in lower courts. In its decision, the Supreme Court concluded the Social Security Administration may give DOGE access to agency records while the case plays out “in order for those members to do their work.”
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Union workers at Mayo Clinic Methodist in Rochester approve new contract
The Minnesota Star Tribune
By Trey Mewes
June 9, 2025
Two months after voting for the right to strike, union workers at Mayo Clinic Methodist campus in Rochester approved a new three-year contract. The vote was unanimous among the 600 SEIU health care workers. Mayo Clinic officials said in a statement late Friday that they were pleased to have concluded negotiations with members, which include sterile-processing technicians, patient escorts, surgical techs and maintenance workers among others.
S.F. Ballet secures new contract agreement ahead of 50th anniversary season
San Francisco Chronicle
By Zara Irshad
June 9, 2025
The San Francisco Ballet has reached a new contract agreement with its orchestra seven months before its current one was set to expire this year. As part of the new three-year agreement with the American Federation of Musicians, the union that represents more than 70,000 professional musicians in the U.S and Canada, the Ballet Orchestra is able to add a new position, increasing its ranks to 50 musicians.
Henry Ford Rochester Hospital nurses on strike over staffing concerns
WXYZ Detroit
By Tiarra Braddock and Ryan Marshall
June 9, 2025
Nurses from Henry Ford Rochester Hospital started their strike at 7 a.m. Monday as contract negotiations continue to stall over staffing ratios. "No one wins in a strike. We want to safely serve our patients and that's why we're doing this," said Dina Carlisle, president of OPEIU Local 40. Carlisle, who has been a nurse for 29 years, represents more than 350 registered nurses at the hospital. The union is demanding better nurse-to-patient ratios be included in their contract.
VTA Board, Union Members Accept Four-year Labor Agreement
San Jose Inside
By San Jose Inside
June 9, 2025
The 1,500 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265 have a new four-year contract with the Valley Transportation Authority. The labor agreement, which followed a 17-day strike, with the transit agency’s union was ratified June 3 by union members and unanimously approved by the VTA board of directors on June 5. The agreement includes wage increases of 4%, 3.5%, 3% and 4% over a four-year term, with improved workplace policies and enhanced dental benefits. This brings ATU into alignment with the three other VTA labor unions, all of which ratified agreements in April.
Santa Clara VTA Board approves new labor contract with ATU, budget for next two fiscal years
Mass Transit
By Staff
June 9, 2025
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors has passed a new labor contract with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265 and a budget for the next two fiscal years (FY). The new contract with ATU, a four-year deal which deviates from the traditional three-year contract, will took effect on June 9. The contract includes a 14.5 percent pay increase over four years, expanded dental benefits, expanded apparel vouchers and workplace policy improvements. The agency says its three other unions, AFSCME, SEIU and TAEA, also have four-year contracts, which were renewed earlier in the spring.
MU workers voice concern over wages and more at Liuna 955 town hall
KRCG
By Amya Henry
June 9, 2025
Several constituents of the University of Missouri and MU Healthcare gathered on Saturday afternoon to seek changes to wages and working conditions. Liuna Local 955 held a town hall as they remain in negotiations with the university over wages and will enter negotiations with MU Healthcare in the coming months. Members of the workforce and behind the scenes in operational roles felt left in the dark about new policies and protocols at the organization.
UCSD nurses to rally, kicking off union negotiations
Times of San Diego
By Alexa Vazquez
June 9, 2025
Registered nurses working at UC San Diego Medical Center plan to rally Tuesday alongside UC nurses statewide to mark the start of their contract negotiations. Labor actions will take place at UCSD’s East Campus Medical Center, and rallies will take place at UCSD Health locations in Hillcrest and La Jolla, according to Veronica Stead-Mendez with the California Nurses Association. According to a release from the CNA and National Nurses United — which represents 25,000 UC nurses — the rallies across all campuses intend to highlight key bargaining issues, including what unions describe as UC management’s increasing reliance on short-staffing, cutbacks to resources, and pressure on overburdened providers to take on more work with little support.
Henry Ford Rochester Hospital nurses are on strike
The Detroit News
By Myesha Johnson
June 9, 2025
Hoisting signs, wearing red shirts and raising their voices, more than 100 registered nurses spent hours picketing outside Henry Ford Rochester Hospital on Monday to start a strike aimed at securing better staff-to-patient ratios and pay. Members of OPEIU Local 40 planned to strike through Wednesday what they say are unfair labor practices.
SEIU Local 521 secures wage increases and bonuses in new 2-year Kern County agreement
Bakersfield Now
By BakersfieldNow Staff
June 9, 2025
Members of the SEIU Local 521 in Kern County have overwhelmingly voted to approve a new two-year contract with the County of Kern. The agreement, reached on May 21, was supported by 92% of the voting members, marking the largest voter turnout in the chapter's history.
JBS workers ratify new contract with better pay, benefits
KSNB
By Mark Baumert
June 9, 2025
Workers at Grand Island’s JBS Swift meatpacking plant will get better pay, paid sick leave and a pension plan under a new contract between the packer and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW.) In a press release on the UFCW’s website, the union says workers ratified the new contract in May. The agreement covers workers at 14 plants around the country, including Grand Island, which employs about 3,600 workers. The UFCW said the new contract will raise the average wage to $23-$24 per hour. The contract will also implement a paid sick time program and establish a pension fund jointly managed by the UFCW and JBS. There are also increases in paid vacation.
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
Boeing Machinists union training center opens in Everett
Everett Herald
By Randy Diamond
June 9, 2025
The union representing Boeing machinists opened its first training center in Everett on Friday. Brian Bryant, international president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said the circumstances were different than the last time he was in Everett. “Last time I was here, this building was under construction and we were picketing right down here on the sidewalk,” Bryant told 100 union workers at the new training center and union hall, located across from the sprawling Boeing Everett plant. “So it’s nice to be inside here.”
VOTING RIGHTS
White House Pushes Texas to Redistrict, Hoping to Blunt Democratic Gains
The New York Times
By J. David Goodman and Shane Goldmacher
June 9, 2025
President Trump’s political team is encouraging Republican leaders in Texas to examine how House district lines in the state could be redrawn ahead of next year’s midterm elections to try to save the party’s endangered majority, according to people in Texas and Washington who are familiar with the effort. The push from Washington has unnerved some Texas Republicans, who worry that reworking the boundaries of Texas House seats to turn Democratic districts red by adding reliably Republican voters from neighboring Republican districts could backfire in an election that is already expected to favor Democrats. Rather than flip the Democratic districts, new lines could endanger incumbent Republicans.