Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Kentucky Governor speaks at SC AFL-CIO convention in Greenville
Audacy
By Matthew Causey
July 16, 2025
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear was in Greenville this morning to speak at the annual South Carolina AFL-CIO convention as part of the AFL CIO “It’s Better in a Union” bus tour. Beshear spoke out against President Trump’s agenda and recent actions during his speech, pushing for South Carolina to other states like Kentucky in pushing for union-supporting legislation.
Gov. Beshear makes stop in South Carolina to speak at pro-union convention
WLKY
By WLKY Digital Team
July 16, 2025
Gov. Andy Beshear was in South Carolina this week to speak at convention supporting unions. Our sister station in South Carolina, WYFF4, reported that Beshear spoke at the AFL-CIO's 67th annual convention. Beshear discussed some of his accomplishments, including vetoing every anti-union bill, walking a picket line during his re-election, and winning over a Republican-led state as a Democrat.
The White House’s plan to downsize the federal government, in charts
The Washington Post
By Jeremy B. Merrill, Kati Perry and Jacob Bogage
July 16, 2025
President Donald Trump and his advisers have called for dramatically shrinking the size and scope of the federal government, dispatching officials to agency after agency to block funding and slash staffing. The Supreme Court has revived the administration’s efforts to lay off workers, allowing planned reductions in force to resume in a ruling last week. The State Department announced staff cuts a few days later. The administration aims to go beyond that. As part of Trump’s 2026 budget request, the White House laid out in detail how many employees the executive branch hopes to cut. It envisions a government with 5 percent fewer employees compared to the final year of the Biden administration.
Amid push to deregulate OSHA and cut budgets, lawmakers debate compliance assistance
Safety + Health Magazine
By Barry Bottino
July 16, 2025
Rebecca L. Reindel, safety and health director for the AFL-CIO, claimed that the Trump administration’s rollback of OSHA resources will create a situation akin to “the fox guarding the hen house.” “You have fewer inspections, less presence in the workplace by OSHA,” Reindel said. “You also don’t have an avenue for workers to reach out (about safety issues). This has a severe dampening effect.”
Trump administration sued by US states for cutting disaster prevention grants
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
July 16, 2025
A group of 20 mostly Democrat-led U.S. states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block the Trump administration from terminating a multibillion-dollar grant program that funds infrastructure upgrades to protect against natural disasters. The lawsuit filed in Boston federal court claims that the Federal Emergency Management Agency lacked the power to cancel the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program in April after it was approved and funded by Congress.
20 States Sue Trump Administration Over Ending FEMA Funding for Disaster Mitigation
The New York Times
By Maxine Joselow
July 16, 2025
A coalition of 20 states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over its decision to shut down a multibillion-dollar grant program aimed at protecting communities from floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, accuses the Federal Emergency Management Agency of unlawfully terminating the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, or BRIC, without approval from Congress. The filing came two days after heavy rains inundated parts of New York and New Jersey and nearly two weeks after catastrophic floods hit Central Texas.
Trump’s anti-union EO can remain in effect during challenge, appellate court says
Government Executive
By Erich Wagner
July 16, 2025
Afederal appellate court on Wednesday allowed President Trump’s executive order purporting to strip two-thirds of the federal workforce of its right to join and be represented by a union to go into effect while a legal challenge from the National Treasury Employees Union proceeds.
Appeals Court Upholds Stay of Federal Union Worker Pacts
Bloomberg Law
By Parker Purifoy
July 16, 2025
The Trump administration will not yet face an injunction ordering it to recognize federal workers’ unions after a federal appellate court upheld a decision to stay it during appeal. The full US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a petition by the National Treasury Employees Union to rehear en banc an earlier panel decision to stay a preliminary injunction in the case. Judge J. Michelle Childs, an Obama appointee, said in her concurring opinion that the motion for reconsideration didn’t satisfy the “high threshold for review” by the whole court.
Another report suggests Medicaid cuts could lead to thousands of deaths
NBC News
By Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
July 16, 2025
The Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill could result in more than 1,000 additional deaths every year, according to a report published Wednesday in JAMA Health Forum. The cuts could also lead to nearly 100,000 more hospitalizations each year, the report found, and around 1.6 million people may delay seeking care.
Senate approves Trump’s bill to cut spending, sending it to the House
The Washington Post
By Theodoric Meyer and Marianna Sotomayor
July 17, 2025
The Senate narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s request to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and federal funding for public broadcasting early Thursday morning, handing the administration a victory in its ongoing power struggle with Congress over federal spending. The vote was 51-48. Two Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) — voted with Democrats against the bill. One Democrat, Sen. Tina Smith (Minnesota), was admitted to George Washington University Hospital on Wednesday after feeling unwell and did not vote. The bill now returns to the House, which must pass it by Friday under the law that Republicans are using to undo spending that Congress previously approved. The rescissions — as such cuts are called — would be the first passed at a president’s request in decades.
Senate Approves Trump’s Bid to Cancel Foreign Aid and Public Broadcast Funds
The New York Times
By Catie Edmondson
July 17, 2025
The Senate early on Thursday morning approved a White House request to claw back $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting, as Republicans bowed to President Trump in an unusual surrender of congressional spending power. The 51-to-48 vote came over the objections of two Republicans, who argued that their party was ceding Congress’s constitutional control over federal funding. The Republicans who opposed the measure were Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Senate passes $9 billion in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by Trump
AP
By Kevin Freking and Mary Clare Jalonick
July 17, 2025
The Senate has passed about $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid, moving forward on one of the president’s top priorities despite concerns from several Republican senators. The legislation, which now moves to the House, would have a tiny impact on the nation’s rising debt but could have major ramifications for the targeted spending, from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to U.S. food aid programs abroad.
US Senate passes aid, public broadcasting cuts in victory for Trump
Reuters
By Patricia Zengerle
July 17, 2025
The U.S. Senate early on Thursday approved President Donald Trump's plan for billions of dollars in cuts to funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, handing the Republican president another victory as he exerts control over Congress with little opposition.
The Senate voted 51 to 48 in favor of Trump's request to cut $9 billion in spending already approved by Congress.
Senate weighs Trump’s DOGE cuts package as deadline to pass it looms
CNN
By Morgan Rimmer and Ted Barrett
July 16, 2025
The Senate is weighing whether to claw back $9 billion in federal funds already congressionally approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting programs as a deadline to act on the White House priority looms. A “vote-a-rama” on the administration’s request – known as a “rescission package” on Capitol Hill – was underway Wednesday after senators narrowly cleared two procedural hurdles late Tuesday to move closer to a final vote. If passed, the GOP effort would effectively codify a small portion of the Department of Government Efficiency’s spending cuts.
CNN
By Sunlen Serfaty and Riane Lumer
July 16, 2025
Aspire Afterschool Learning, where Gabriel spends his days during the summer school break in Arlington, Virginia, is one of more than 10,000 summer and after-school programs across the country that has been pushed into a state of perilous uncertainty after the Department of Education abruptly paused the grant it depends on to keep things running. The fund, called 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), is a federal program that was among a huge swath of nearly $7 billion of education grants that the department suddenly froze this month, with little notice. The halt came amid a review that alleged the money was being used to promote “leftwing” ideologies. It comes as the Trump administration is seeking to dismantle the Department of Education, with mass layoffs underway and severe funding cuts under consideration. Much of the money goes towards programs that serve some of the US’ poorest children.
Vance Tries to Sell the Benefits of Trump’s Megabill but Ignores the Costs
The New York Times
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs
July 16, 2025
Vice President JD Vance traveled to a crucial swing state on Wednesday to sell the Trump administration’s signature domestic policy legislation as a victory for working American families, despite concerns even among some Republicans over its cuts to the safety net in service of benefiting the rich. In what amounted to an attempted brand relaunch of legislation that Democrats have framed as an attack on the middle class, Mr. Vance traveled to a machine shop in eastern Pennsylvania to spotlight provisions in the package that would cut taxes, preserve overtime pay and create $1,000 savings accounts for newborns. Left unmentioned by Mr. Vance were the cuts to Medicaid and the nutritional assistance programs that many of Mr. Trump’s own supporters rely on.
Senate Democrats Rail at ‘Sloppy, Rushed’ State Dept. Firings
The New York Times
By Michael Crowley
July 16, 2025
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled a top State Department official on Wednesday at a hearing about the firing last week of more than 1,300 department employees, including longtime policy experts in key national security areas.
House advances crypto, defense spending bills following standoff
Politico
By Jasper Goodman and Meredith Lee Hill
July 16, 2025
The House late Wednesday advanced a trio of cryptocurrency bills and a 2026 Defense spending measure after a group of GOP hard-liners dropped their opposition to the effort following a chaotic day of turnabouts and negotiations with Republican leaders. The House voted 217-212 to advance the bills following a closed-door standoff between House conservatives and the leaders of the Financial Services and Agriculture committees, which crafted the legislation. The vote was held open more than nine hours for the negotiations.
Can Trump Fire Powell? He Likely Lacks a Case, Legal Experts Say.
The New York Times
By Colby Smith and Tony Romm
July 16, 2025
President Trump on Wednesday continued his assault on Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, saying it was “highly unlikely” that he would fire him “unless he has to leave for fraud.” The warning shot related to Mr. Powell’s handling of a renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, involving a pair of buildings that are around 100 years old and undergoing a roughly $2.5 billion revamp.
IMMIGRATION
Judge won’t rule this week on releasing Kilmar Abrego Garcia from jail
AP News
By Travis Loller, Jonathan Mattise and Ben Finley
July 16, 2025
Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia tried to poke holes in the federal human smuggling case against him on Wednesday, while a federal judge won’t rule this week on releasing Abrego Garcia from jail, a decision that could ultimately lead to his deportation. Sean Hecker, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, questioned Homeland Security special agent Peter Joseph over the possibility that government witnesses cooperated against Abrego Garcia.
Judge delays decision on Kilmar Abrego García release to ICE custody
The Washington Post
By Jeremy Roebuck and Maria Sacchetti
July 16, 2025
A federal judge delayed ruling Wednesday on whether Kilmar Abrego García should be released from criminal detention — a consequential decision that government lawyers have suggested could lead to his swift deportation before trial on human smuggling charges. U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. said he intends to issue an order next week on the government’s push to overturn a federal magistrate judge’s earlier finding that there is no legal basis to hold Abrego in criminal custody pending trial.
Federal judge says she would block Trump’s birthright citizenship order nationwide
AP
By Associated Press
July 16, 2025
A federal judge in Maryland could soon become the second to block President Donald Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship from taking effect nationwide, if an appeals court were to allow it. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said in an opinion Wednesday that she would grant class action status on behalf of all children affected by the order and grant a preliminary injunction blocking it. But she did not immediately rule, noting a previous decision of hers to block the order was on appeal to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court and that court would have to return the case to her.
SUPREME COURT
Supreme Court Keeps Ruling in Trump’s Favor, but Doesn’t Say Why
The New York Times
By Adam Liptak
July 16, 2025
In clearing the way for President Trump’s efforts to transform American government, the Supreme Court has issued a series of orders that often lacked a fundamental characteristic of most judicial work: an explanation of the court’s rationale. On Monday, for instance, in letting Mr. Trump dismantle the Education Department, the majority’s unsigned order was a single four-sentence paragraph entirely devoted to the procedural mechanics of pausing a lower court’s ruling. What the order did not include was any explanation of why the court had ruled as it did. It was an exercise of power, not reason.
Supreme Court justice pauses ruling weakening Voting Rights Act
The Washington Post
By Justin Jouvenal
July 16, 2025
Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh on Wednesday paused a federal appeals court ruling that bars individuals in some states from filing lawsuits claiming discrimination based on the landmark Voting Rights Act. The administrative stay will allow the Supreme Court more time to consider whether to take up an appeal by Native American tribes in North Dakota who claim the ruling endangers a powerful tool to ensure equitable voting laws. It’s unclear when the high court might issue a decision to hear the case.
ORGANIZING
Beaumont baristas and unionizing supporters host “Sip-in”
Beaumont Enterprise
By Mbu Maqungo
July 16, 2025
The front of house staff at a large-chain coffeehouse on Dowlen Road invited supporters and regulars to “order small and tip big under the ‘Union Strong’ name” in support of their unionization efforts on June 29. Workers at the Starbucks in the shopping center at 3935 Dowlen Rd.Westfield organized a “sip-in,” a play on the sit-in tactic popularized during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s and the sit-down strikes of the 1920s labor movement, to generate an unexpected rush of business in support for the workers.
Is there power in a union? Why Norfolk Botanical Garden workers think so
VPM News
By Nick McNamara
July 16, 2025
Workers see unionizing as a way to change that and establish clearer rules and procedures. About 70% of the garden's 78 eligible workers signed union authorization cards, easily surpassing the 30% required by the National Labor Relations Board to trigger an election. On July 23, the workers will vote on whether or not to unionize. If successful, they'll be represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
Safeway workers rally in Pleasant Hill ahead of possible strike
KRON 4
By Alex Baker and Dan Kerman
July 16, 2025
Safeway workers rallied in Pleasant Hill Tuesday ahead of a potentially looming statewide strike. On Friday, members of the grocery workers’ union, UFCW 5, voted 95% yes to authorize an unfair labor practice strike. The negotiations, which took place on July 8 and July 9, were centered around fair pay, better scheduling, increased retirement savings, and accessible and affordable health care, according to the union. UFCW 5 and other locals 8 and 648 represent around 25,000 Safeway workers.
Bay Area Safeway workers authorize a strike amid contract talks
NBC Bay Area
By NBC Bay Area Staff
July 16, 2025
Thousands of Safeway supermarket workers in the Bay Area are threatening to strike next week as contract talks resume. Workers on Tuesday held a rally outside one location on Contra Costa Boulevard in Pleasant Hill. The union representing workers across Northern California said they overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike last week, with a 95% approval. The union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, is calling for higher pay, better benefits and improved working conditions from the Pleasanton-based grocer.
SEIU Local 1 janitors seek fair pay
WTOL
By NeeNee Lakatos
July 16, 2025
As negotiations continue between SEIU Local 1 and janitorial contractors, workers throughout Toledo say they’re scraping by while adhering to their duties of keeping essential buildings clean. The Toledo Master Janitorial Agreement, which covers about 400 janitors, expires today, July 14. Camilo Villa, lead negotiator of SEIU Local 1, says that a new contract is being negotiated, with talks of an extension.
Penn Live
By Daniel Urie
July 16, 2025
More than 2,500 workers at 27 Pennsylvania nursing homes have reached collective bargaining agreements. The new contracts for the employees at the Saber Healthcare, WeCare, Kadima Healthcare, and Focus nursing homes were announced on Wednesday by SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Healthcare PA and the Pennsylvania Health Care Association.
Caitlin Clark is face of WNBA, will be in room for CBA meeting with league during All-Star week
Indy Star
By Chloe Peterson
July 15, 2025
Caitlin Clark will be in the room where it happens this week. Clark, who was voted as the face of the WNBA in a recent anonymous players’ poll conducted by The Athletic, will be a part of a crucial collective bargaining agreement meeting between the players’ union and the league in Indianapolis this Thursday, she said pregame. “The meetings that are going to happen in Indianapolis are going to be really important,” Clark said. “Although I'm not our team rep or on the committee, I'm still trying to understand and engage as much as possible.
MCTS bus drivers, mechanics to vote on contract offer
Fox 6 Milwaukee
By Jason Calvi
July 16, 2025
"Striking is not that close, it’s on the horizon, but it’s not close. We have other things we want to try, negotiations, demonstrations and other things," said Bruce Freeman, ATU Local 998 union president.
JOINING TOGETHER
As union action in Indiana continues to grow, here's what one professor has to say
WVXU
By Timoria Cunningham
July 16, 2025
Indiana has seen a wide range of union action this year — from some workers unionizing their workplace, or successfully negotiating new contracts, to others demonstrating outside of the Statehouse. One professor points to wages and health benefits as factors that could be driving these union actions. In February, United Auto Workers Local 933 negotiated a new contract with Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis, with wages and health benefits as the top priority.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
CATS union says buses are unsafe for workers, the latest conflict in Baton Rouge agency
The Advocate
By Haley Miller
July 16, 2025
The Capital Area Transit System's bus worker union says administrators have allowed a "systemic failure" of safety, citing among other examples a recent event in which an operator shielded a woman and child from a violent spouse for 12 minutes while waiting for responders to arrive. "The workforce is shocked, frustrated, and fed up," a release from the union on Sunday said. The disagreements over safety have led the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1546 to hold off on signing the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, which CATS is required to submit as a recipient of funding from the Federal Transit Administration.
Coping with Climate Crises on the Job
Labor Notes
By Alexandra Bradbury
July 16, 2025
Heat, smoke, flooding, hurricanes, fires, turbulence—on the job, workers are already facing the ravages of a changing climate. These problems are ripe for organizing—usually everyone is feeling it. Often it’s very clear what solution would help, and who could deliver it. Such fights don’t address the underlying causes of climate change. But they’re opportunities to build union power by strengthening the bonds among co-workers and getting folks into action together. And they can open the door to talking about how confronting climate change at its root is a union issue, too.
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