Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Punchbowl News
July 18, 2025
The AFL-CIO is leading more than 25 unions in opposing a provision in the Republican reconciliation bill that would withhold broadband funds from states unless they agree not to regulate artificial intelligence.
Senate Republicans Propose Key Tax Tweaks to House Bill
The New York Times
By Tony Romm
June 17, 2025
Two weeks after the House adopted a sprawling package of tax cuts, Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled their legislative vision proposing a series of tweaks that would primarily enhance the benefits provided to businesses. The legislative text released by the Senate Finance Committee mirrors in broad strokes the effort the House adopted. Both aim to extend a set of tax cuts on individuals and corporations that will soon expire, which President Trump signed into law during his first term and has pushed to expand in his second.
PBS
By Lisa Mascaro
June 17, 2025
Senate Republicans on Monday proposed deeper Medicaid cuts, including new work requirements for parents of teens, as a way to offset the costs of making President Donald Trump’s tax breaks more permanent in draft legislation unveiled for his “big, beautiful bill.” The proposals from Republicans keep in place the current $10,000 deduction of state and local taxes, called SALT, drawing quick blowback from GOP lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, who fought for a $40,000 cap in the House-passed bill. Senators insisted negotiations continue.
Senate looks to cut $1 trillion from Medicaid. Here’s who would be hurt most.
Market Watch
By Chris Matthews
June 17, 2025
Senate Republicans have unveiled a sweeping plan to overhaul the Medicaid program, with changes policy analysts warn could lead to even greater coverage losses and pain for hospital systems than the aggressive proposal passed by the House of Representatives last month. The text — released by the Senate Finance Committee as part of the party’s broader effort to pass new tax and spending legislation championed by President Donald Trump — shows that the legislation aims to slash Medicaid spending by as much as $1 trillion over a decade, or $200 billion more than the House version.
NBC News
By Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
June 17, 2025
Rural hospitals across the U.S. — many already hanging by a thread — could take a serious hit if a proposed Medicaid cut in the Senate’s domestic spending bill is signed into law. The provision, outlined in the 549-page bill released by the Senate Finance Committee on Monday, would gradually limit states’ use of Medicaid’s so-called provider tax. Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government and states. States cover the upfront cost of care and then are reimbursed by the federal government for at least 50%.
The Senate Wants Billions More in Medicaid Cuts, Pinching States and Infuriating Hospitals
The New York Times
By Sarah Kliff and Margot Sanger-Katz
June 17, 2025
The Senate policy bill released Monday would cut billions of dollars more from Medicaid than the earlier, House-passed legislation — in large part by cracking down on a budgeting maneuver used by 49 states that congressional Republicans have called a scam or gimmick. It does this by limiting Medicaid provider taxes, a loophole that states use to collect more federal matching funds for Medicaid, an insurance program for the poor that covers roughly 70 million Americans.
Hospitals stunned by Senate GOP’s Medicaid plan
Politico
By Robert King, Caitlin Oprysko, Jordain Carney and Amanda Chu
June 17, 2025
One of the most powerful lobbies in Washington is redoubling its efforts to avoid a cut to Medicaid payments in the GOP’s megabill. Hospital executives weren’t happy last month when the House included a provision in its version of the bill freezing a loophole states have used to boost payments to hospitals serving the low-income patients enrolled in Medicaid. Hospitals have long enjoyed deference from lawmakers — since they both care for and employ their constituents.
Oz to pitch GOP senators on need for Medicaid changes
The Hill
By Alexander Bolton
June 17, 2025
Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is scheduled to speak to Republican senators at lunch Tuesday on the need to reform Medicaid, according to a GOP source familiar with the schedule. Oz is expected to speak in detail about the need to protect the program for low-income families, the elderly and the disabled, and what the administration views as current abuses of the program, such as people in the country without authorization receiving Medicaid benefits.
New state laws target job protections for college professors
The Washington Post
By Jon Marcus
June 18, 2025
“It’s the flip side of the same assault,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, which represents 400,000 faculty and other university and college employees. “Some of the assault is coming from taking away grants, and some of the assault is coming by taking away tenure.”
White House Eyes Rarely Used Power to Override Congress on Spending
The New York Times
By Tony Romm
June 17, 2025
The White House is signaling it may soon invoke a little-known and legally untested power to try to cancel billions of dollars in federal spending, as President Trump’s top aides look for novel ways to reconfigure the budget without obtaining the explicit approval of Congress. Under the emerging plan, the Trump administration would wait until closer to Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, to formally ask lawmakers to claw back a set of funds it has targeted for cuts. Even if Congress fails to vote on the request, the president’s timing would trigger a law that freezes the money until it ultimately expires.
House Policy Bill Would Add $3.4 Trillion to Debt, Swamping Economic Gains
The New York Times
By Tony Romm
June 17, 2025
House Republicans’ sprawling package to cut taxes and slash federal safety-net programs would add about $3.4 trillion to the debt, according to nonpartisan congressional analysts, who reported on Tuesday that the minor gains in economic growth under the bill would not offset its full fiscal impact. The updated findings from the Congressional Budget Office amounted to yet another dour report card for the president’s signature legislation, which passed the House last month but now faces the prospect of significant revisions to its core components in the Senate.
Judge Extends Temporary Freeze on Trump’s Job Corps Wind Down
Bloomberg Law
By Beth Wang and Rebecca Rainey
June 17, 2025
A New York-based federal judge extended until next Wednesday his order temporarily blocking the US Department of Labor from shutting down its Job Corps training program for low-income young adults. Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. on Tuesday seemed skeptical of Trump administration arguments that shutting down operations at nearly 100 Job Corps centers nationwide is different from ending the program entirely—something that only Congress can approve.
Civil rights agency’s acting chief to face questions on anti-DEI, transgender stances
AP
By Alexandra Olson and Claire Savage
June 18, 2025
The acting chief of the country’s top agency for enforcing worker rights will face questions at a Senate committee hearing Wednesday over her efforts to prioritize anti-diversity investigations while sidelining certain racial and gender discrimination cases and quashing protections for transgender workers.
US judge blocks Trump passport policy targeting transgender people
Reuters
By Nate Raymond
June 17, 2025
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from refusing to issue passports to transgender and nonbinary Americans nationwide that reflect their gender identities. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston expanded, opens new tab a preliminary injunction she issued in April that allowed just six transgender and nonbinary individuals who challenged the policy to obtain passports consistent with their gender identities or with an "X" sex designation while the lawsuit moves forward.
Judge says government can’t limit passport sex markers for many transgender, nonbinary people
AP
By Michael Casey
June 17, 2025
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from limiting passport sex markers for many transgender and nonbinary Americans. Tuesday’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick means that transgender or nonbinary people who are without a passport or need to apply for a new one can request a male, female or “X” identification marker rather than being limited to the marker that matches the gender assigned at birth.
“No Kings” Seeded a Mass Movement Against Trump, Backed by Labor
In These Times
By Luis Feliz Leon
June 16, 2025
Millions of demonstrators across the country came out into the streets on June 14 at more than 2,000 protests in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Organizers estimated that the mobilization, called “No Kings Day of Defiance,” drew at least five million people nationwide, which would make it the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.
AAUP and AFT appeal after judge tosses lawsuit over canceled Columbia funds
Higher Ed Dive
By Ben Unglesbee
June 17, 2025
AAUP and AFT appealed the decision the same day. “This is a disappointing ruling, but by no means the end of the fight,” AAUP President Todd Wolfson said in a statement Monday, adding that the university’s canceled funding is “part of an authoritarian agenda that extends far beyond Columbia.”
EPA will revisit Biden-era ban on the last type of asbestos used in US
AP
By Michael Phillis
June 17, 2025
The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal appeals court it will reconsider the Biden administration’s ban on the last type of asbestos used in the United States to determine whether it went “beyond what is necessary.” Asbestos is linked to tens of thousands of deaths annually and causes mesothelioma as well as other cancers. It has been largely phased out in the United States. Last year, the Biden administration sought to finish the decades-long fight by banning chrysotile asbestos. At the time, the EPA called it a milestone in the fight against cancer.
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Clean energy helps Alaska workers and the economy. Congress needs to retain the tax credits. (Opinion)
Anchorage Daily News
By Todd Springer
June 16, 2025
I’m proud to represent nearly 200 workers in Alaska as the business manager/secretary-treasurer of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) Local 1959, District Council 5. One of the most important parts of my job is finding and securing the best work for the hardworking, incredibly skilled industrial coaters, commercial painters, drywall finishers, glaziers and other workers who make our union proud.
ORGANIZING
Starbucks employees in Chapel Hill unionize (Video)
The News & Observer
By Grace Richards
June 17, 2025
Matthew Wynne and Annie Pederson, workers at the Starbucks Coffee on Franklin St. in Chapel Hill, N.C., officially announce their unionization on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. “We are writing to demand dignity from Starbucks,” said Wynne. “This company was built on the work of partners like us.”
Armstrong Steel workers consider forming union to address working conditions
Denver 7
By Jaclyn Allen
June 17, 2025
Armstrong Steel employees rallied with union organizers on Tuesday, alleging poor working conditions inside the factory. For years, Denver7 Investigates has reported on customer complaints about the Englewood-based company that manufactures and sells steel buildings. This is the first time we're hearing from employees.
Denver auditor backs unionization of labor division
The Denver Gazette
By Luige Del Puerto
June 17, 2025
Denver's auditor is backing the unionization campaign among employees in a division within his department. In a statement, Timothy O’Brien said he supports the unionization of the Auditor Office’s Denver Labor division. The workers have officially affiliated with Communications Workers of America Local 7777, O'Brien said.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Writers Guild East Files Another Unfair Labor Practice Charge Against ITV
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
June 17, 2025
The Writers Guild of America East technically has a union at the production company behind the popular true crime show The First 48, but it’s more a union in name than in practice. That’s because more than 12 years into its existence, members still don’t have a first contract outlining the basics, like grievance procedures, wages and working conditions. After years of false starts at ITV’s Kirkstall Road Enterprises, negotiations began anew in May 2024. But according to a new unfair labor practice charge filed by the writers’ union to the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, ITV isn’t being a good bargaining partner.
Safeway strike will continue to grow across Colorado until agreement is reached, union leaders say
Denver 7
By Colette Bordelon
June 17, 2025
On Monday, workers at more Safeway stores went on strike, demanding better pay, benefits, and staffing levels. Employees held signs and paced in front of Safeway stores in Littleton and Castle Rock, adding to the strikes already seen in Estes Park, Fountain, Pueblo, and a Denver distribution center. Union leaders told Denver7 the strike will continue to expand across the state until a contract is reached. Albertsons Companies, Inc. and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7, which represents 7,000 Safeway and Albertsons employees across Colorado, have spent the past few months trying to reach an agreement on a new contract.
Boeing and local machinist union to start contract talks
ST. Louis Public Radio
By Olivia Mizelle
June 17, 2025
The St. Louis-area machinists union is scheduled to start contract negotiations with Boeing today. Last fall, a seven-week strike in Washington state that shut down Boeing factories there was ended by an agreement that included a 38% general wage increase over four years. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 president told the St. Louis Business Journal that he is striving for a similar agreement. The strike in Washington was closely followed by nearly 700 layoffs at Boeing locations in the St. Louis area and thousands nationwide. Of the St. Louis employees laid off, 111 were IAM members.
Healthcare union authorizes strike at HealthPartners Stillwater Medical Group
KARE11
By Lydia Morrell
June 17, 2025
Union members voted to authorize a strike Tuesday at HealthPartners Stillwater Medical Group. SEIU Healthcare MN & IA shared in a press release that 99% of union members supported an Unfair Labor Practice strike if the bargaining team cannot reach a deal. The two sides are scheduled to bargain Thursday.
Another postal union approves its collective bargaining agreement
Government Executive
By Sean Michael Newhouse
June 17, 2025
Also Monday, the American Postal Workers Union began mailing ballots for members to vote on its own three-year tentative agreement with USPS. Ballots are due by July 10.APWU President Mark Dimondstein urged members to support the deal. “We have been negotiating when government workers and our unions are under severe assault and with the specter of postal privatization looming. Yet even in this environment, the tentative national agreement contains annual wage increases, six full cost-of-living adjustments for career employees, no-layoff protections including for tens of thousands of members with less than six years’ service, 50-mile limits on excessing, elimination of some entry level steps, restoration of one more top step in pay grades 4-7 on the lower tier pay scale, increase in uniform allowances and much more,” he said in a statement. “All these gains were accomplished with no givebacks or concessions.” In contrast, the membership of the National Association of Letter Carriers in January rejected, 63,680 to 26,304, a four-year tentative agreement that its union leadership reached with USPS following grassroots complaints that the proposed pay raises and adjustments were inadequate.
Butler striking workers and management return to bargaining table
Rhode Island Current
By Alexander Castro
June 17, 2025
The hospital administration and SEIU 1199 NE — the union representing about 800 workers including mental health staff, nurses, certified nursing assistants, and support personnel — had not convened in 12 days because there was no federal mediator available to referee. The union has expressed skepticism that a third party is needed, indicating its willingness to negotiate without a mediator as it tries to secure better wages and working conditions.
Grocery Workers in Palm Desert Prepare to Strike Over Pay and Staffing
NBC Palm Springs
By NBC Palm Springs
June 17, 2025
Grocery workers in Palm Desert are preparing to strike as early as next week if contract negotiations with major chains fail to reach a resolution. Employees at stores like Vons, Albertsons, and Ralphs say they are dealing with low pay, understaffing, and worsening working conditions — issues they claim have persisted for far too long. Union leaders say the potential strike could impact thousands of workers and further frustrate customers, many of whom are already seeing longer lines and empty shelves.
JOINING TOGETHER
Rochester transit workers demand action over unpaid wages
KIMT3
By Sananda McCall
June 16, 2025
Tensions rose at Rochester's City Council meeting Monday as transit workers gathered to voice their frustrations. Holding signs and chanting, they aimed to ensure their concerns were heard by city officials. The workers, part of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005, are demanding overdue pay and accusing the city of retaliating against their leader. They claim they have not been properly compensated for overtime, vacation, or sick time since last fall.
Transportation District’s disregard to collective bargaining agreement troubling (Letter)
Tillamook Headlight Herald
By Tyler L. Hellner
June 17, 2025
My name is Tyler, and I serve as the liaison for Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 757 at Tillamook County Transportation District (TCTD). We are currently facing a deeply troubling situation. Since February 27, 2025, management has refused to meet with any of our bargaining representatives, blatantly disregarding our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Management has been consistently hostile toward members As a result, seven grievances have been filed. These actions are clear union-busting tactics that are sowing fear and division among our members and threatening the solidarity we have fought to uphold.
STATE LEGISLATION
The Providence City Council has passed 14 pro-union resolutions. What's behind the push?
The Providence Journal
By Nish Kohli
June 17, 2025
The current Providence City Council has taken an active pro-local labor union stance this term, passing 14 resolutions so far supporting local unions in their push for better wages and working conditions. Recently, the Council took the unusual step of declaring that the body would not communicate with the WLNE-TV news station, also known as ABC6 while negotiations are underway between management and workers to address wages and working conditions.
Labor unions, trade groups clash on bill to expand apprenticeship ratios in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Public Radio
By Lorin Cox
June 17, 2025
A handful of labor unions across the state have registered in opposition to the bill, including the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 7, or IUPAT, which includes Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Andy Buck, director of government affairs for the IUPAT in Wisconsin, told “Wisconsin Today” his members are concerned about maintaining safety standards and the quality of training.
IN THE STATES
Hundreds rally outside CT Governor's Residence for unemployment benefits for striking workers
CT Insider
By Paul Schott
June 16, 2025
“Whether this bill is signed or vetoed, they can’t veto our movement nor can they veto our voice or our power,” said Shellye Davis, secretary-treasurer of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. “Gov. Lamont, we’re going to be in the streets, we’re going to be in the halls, we’re going to be in the Capitol, at the ballot box, until justice speaks louder than any lobbyist’s checkbook.”
Union launches dueling ballot measures, escalating fight over L.A.’s tourism worker wage hike
Los Angeles Times
By Suhauna Hussain and David Zahniser
June 17, 2025
The hospitality union that won a major increase in the minimum wage for Los Angeles hotel and airport workers is escalating its fight with a hotel and airline industry group, which recently launched a campaign to repeal the wage hike. Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, filed paperwork Monday for a pair of ballot proposals. One would raise the minimum wage for all workers in the city to $30 by July 2028. The other would force a public vote on the construction of large hotels or major hotel expansions.
Unions, politicians meet on Boston waterfront to push for domestic shipbuilding policies
Boston Globe
By Jon Chesto
June 17, 2025
Union leaders and three members of New England’s congressional delegation are heading to Boston’s industrial waterfront on Tuesday to push for federal policies that will promote domestic shipbuilding and ship repair work. Representatives Joe Courtney of Connecticut and Jared Golden of Maine are expected to join Representative Stephen Lynch for a press conference on Lynch’s home turf in South Boston, alongside leaders from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, also known as the IAM, at Boston Ship Repair, owner of one of the last operating drydocks on the East Coast.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Will Trump End the First Federal Heat Protections for Workers?
The New York Times
By Claire Brown
June 16, 2025
Last August, nine workers across the United States, ages 19 to 71, died of heat-related causes while working jobs that involved things like cutting the grass, unloading trucks, repairing farm equipment or doing construction, according to federal workplace data. Because heat-related deaths are difficult to track, that number is likely an undercount. Starting Monday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is holding public hearings on a proposed rule to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths at work, which is the first federal rule of its kind. Put forward last summer by the Biden administration, the regulation would require employers to provide water and rest breaks when temperatures surpass certain levels.
WAGE THEFT
IAFF spotlight compensation for Connecticut firefighters
Fire and Safety Journal Americas
By Isabelle Crow
June 17, 2025
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has announced how the Milford, CT Local 944 members will receive $300,000 in backpay after discovering the city had been miscalculating overtime pay. The settlement agreement was approved by a U.S. District Court in Connecticut. 3rd District Vice President Jay Colbert shared: “Our members put their lives on the line every day. And all they want is what’s fair. I am pleased that the city decided to do the right thing and correct this issue.” The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that longevity pay, education incentive pay, uniform maintenance pay and holiday pay are included as part of firefighter regular rate of pay.