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In the News
Philly campaign consultant Tracy Hardy pleads guilty to $2M pandemic loan fraud, union hall scheme
September 16, 2025 // Aliya Schneider for The Philadelphia Inquirer
He also pleaded guilty on Thursday to his role in a scheme in which he created fake bids for a union hall bar renovation job in Manayunk for District 1199C, a local chapter of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees. This made it seem like his construction company, Manayunk Construction & Development Corp., offered the best price for the job even though he inflated the price by $45,000. As part of the federal court agreement, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office will drop state charges against Hardy related to the union hall matter, so his codefendant, Christen Woods, the former head of District 1199C, is expected to be charged alone.
Unions place early bets on Republicans in key Ohio races
September 16, 2025 // Henry J. Gomez for NBC news
Organized labor is shifting to the right in Ohio, where several unions have issued surprisingly early endorsements of Republicans in the state’s races for governor and U.S. Senate.
Shawn Fain, Who Pledged to Reform U.A.W., Faces Internal Dissent
September 16, 2025 // Neal E. Boudette for New York Times
The dissident workers’ main complaints about Mr. Fain are rooted in internal union matters like budgets and his treatment of other union officials, rather than in grand philosophical disagreements about labor and political issues. The people seeking to oust him say that he has spent too much of the union’s money on organizing campaigns in the South and other initiatives they consider misguided. They contend that he has improperly stripped two board members of critical duties and say he failed to prevent a Michigan-based automaker from laying off thousands of workers.
Tinley Park teachers union may strike Sept. 22
September 16, 2025 // Lilly Rossi for Illinois Policy
Walking out on students has become a go-to strategy for many affiliates of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association, the two biggest teachers unions in Illinois. Earlier this school year, Valley View Council Local 604, an affiliate of IFT, set a Sept. 18 strike date but reached a tentative agreement before walking out. The Naperville Unit Education Association, an affiliate of IEA, voted to authorize a strike but reached a tentative contract agreement one day later.
Farm Aid 40 Will Go on as Planned Following Labor Strike Resolution
September 16, 2025 // Erinn Callahan
Farm Aid has an epic event planned for its 40th anniversary. Artists like Margo Price, Dave Matthews, Billy Strings, and Sierra Ferrell will take the stage Sept. 20 at the University of Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Organized in 1985 by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp, the benefit concert raises both awareness and funds for struggling family farmers in the United States. Unfortunately, the event’s status looked unclear earlier this week following an ongoing union strike at several University of Minnesota campuses. Fortunately, Farm Aid organizers took to Instagram Saturday (Sept. 13) with good news.
How California reached the unthinkable: A union deal with tech giants
September 15, 2025 // Tyler Katzenberger for Politico
In roughly six weeks, three California Democrats, a labor head and two ride-hailing leaders managed to pull off what would have been unthinkable just one year prior: striking a deal between labor unions and their longtime foes, tech giants Uber and Lyft. California lawmakers announced the agreement in late August, paving a path for ride-hailing drivers to unionize as labor wanted, in exchange for the state drastically reducing expensive insurance coverage mandates protested by the companies. It earned rare public support from Gov. Gavin Newsom and received final approval from state lawmakers this week.
Freelance Busting: ‘Jeopardize Public Safety’
September 15, 2025 // Kim Kavin for Freelance Busting
More than 885,000 drivers in New Jersey called AAA in 2024 to request emergency roadside assistance. That’s according to the public comment that AAA filed opposing the Department of Labor & Workforce Development’s proposed independent-contractor rule. This comment states that the proposed rule “threatens the viability of AAA’s business model in New Jersey, which will jeopardize public safety on New Jersey roadways.”
Opinion: Hochul must shame LIRR unions —by revealing their outrageous strike demands
September 15, 2025 // Ken Girardin for New York Post
The agency’s overtime spending regularly stands out by national standards (only periodically rivaled by the MTA’s other big rail outfit, Metro-North, which is stuck operating under the federal law that governs the LIRR). LIRR employees in 2023 made an average of more than $26,000 each in overtime alone.
UAW workers reach tentative deal with GE Aerospace at Ohio, Kentucky plants
September 15, 2025 // author for Reuters
The tentative agreement covers a five-year term and secures strong job security protections for both Erlanger and Evendale locations, including minimum headcount and new work, the statement said. On Friday, the UAW said in an X post that members will vote on ratification on September 19. Until then, all picket lines will continue.
Fred Rogers Prod. & Spiffy Pictures Animation Writers Unionize Under WGA East-PBS Contract
September 15, 2025 // Maarten Lemmens for Animation Magazine
The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) announced Friday that children’s entertainment studios Fred Rogers Productions and Spiffy Pictures have both recognized the organization for collective bargaining for animation writers working on their public television programs. The move achieves unionization for writers on future seasons of PBS KIDS favorites Alma’s Way, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Carl the Collector.
Striking Boeing workers reject latest offer
September 15, 2025 // author for First Alert 4
On Wednesday, the IAM Union District 837 Negotiating Committee announced a five-year tentative agreement had been reached with Boeing Defense. Friday morning, union members voted against the tentative agreement at St. Louis Music Park, with 57% of members rejecting the contract. According to Boeing, the rejected offer would have increased the average wage for union workers from $75,000 to $109,000. The contract also would have increased from a four-year deal to a five-year deal, and included a ratification bonus of $4,000.
Star-Tribune Packing to Iowa, Costing Minnesota Jobs
September 14, 2025 // Just Mindy for Twitchy
Most print papers are facing tough times anyway. With Unions making demands impossible to meet and make a profit, papers have to make tough decisions.
New York Foundation for the Arts Workers Move to Unionize
September 14, 2025 // Francesca Aton for Art News
Workers at the nonprofit New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) are moving to unionize through Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers (UAW). Never before in NYFA’s history have its workers led such an initiative. The nonprofit offers grants to artists and institutions, though it is even more well-known in the New York art world for the classifieds section of its website. Staff members there said they decided to push for unionization due to a lack of transparency, unfair wages, and unsustainable working conditions.
Phoenix to Face AZ Supreme Court Scrutiny over Public Records Refusal
September 14, 2025 // Timothy Sandefur for Goldwater Institute
Coming just days before Goldwater lawyers argue another important case before justices—one involving the rights to free speech and privacy—this new case, called Goldwater Institute v. Phoenix, involves the Arizona Public Records Act (the state’s version of the Freedom of Information Act). The Institute sought documents from the city concerning its labor negotiations with public sector unions—negotiations that produce contracts that often include illegal subsidies such as “release time” (which was the subject of still another case we won before the Supreme Court). But the city refused to turn over the documents, claiming the records could be kept from the public under the so-called “best interests of the state” exception—a judge-made rule that enables government entities to withhold information if they think turning over certain information would be bad for the “public interest.” There’s a lot wrong with that. For one thing, the city failed to show that disclosing the documents would actually harm the public. Instead, the city’s witnesses simply claimed that disclosing the documents “may result in” the “politicization” of negotiations between the city and the union.
As an LIRR Strike Looms, the Empire Center Publishes the Disputed Contracts
September 14, 2025 // author for Empire Center
According to figures provided by the MTA, the engineers’ current average wage of $49.92 per hour is 7 percent higher than the industry norm. With overtime, LIRR engineers collected an average of more than $160,000 in 2025. The agency said negotiations have stalled because the unions are demanding 16 percent in pay raises over the next three years, which is 6.5 points more than what other MTA bargaining units previously agreed to.
As Legislature Does Nothing, Manicurists Become Latest Victim of AB 5
September 14, 2025 // Kerry Jackson for Pacific Research Institute
One of those carve-outs, for manicurists, expired on the first day of 2025. An effort was made to extend the exemption, but the bill was killed by a legislative committee, leaving nail technicians, 82% of whom are American-Vietnamese (and 85% are women), with little choice but to sue the state. The lawsuit claims the damage done to the manicurists “will be severe and irreparable.” At the same time, the salons where the manicurists work “will be forced out of business and will be forced to close their doors.” They will also “be subject to significant assessments and financial penalties that will be impossible to pay.”
NY Starbucks Barista Asks Federal Labor Board to Restore Employees’ Right to Vote Out SBWU Union Officials
September 14, 2025 // author for National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
SBWU union bosses prevented worker-requested union removal vote by filing unverified charges, never demonstrated link to worker effort. Starbucks barista Nadia Kuban is asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, DC, to overturn federal policies that are preventing her colleagues from having a vote to remove unwanted Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union officials from their workplace. Kuban is receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
Baltimore City Community College staff demand ‘fair’ and timely wages
September 12, 2025 // William J. Ford for Maryland Matters
After rallying for about 25 minutes, faculty and supporters walked to the administration building to deliver a list of demands to College President Debra McCurdy. They were greeted instead by Michael Thomas, the vice president of workforce development and continuing education, who took the list from Ryan Castle, AFT Maryland higher ed organizer, before everyone left the lobby. The list of requests includes: Timely and accurate pay for all faculty, including overload and adjunct work; Transparent communication and accountability from BCCC administration; Hiring and staffing solutions to fill vacant courses and reduce student impact; and Support for all faculty and respect for collective bargaining rights.
Commentary: From job lock to job choice: Congress rethinks worker power
September 12, 2025 // Liya Palagashvili for The Hill
On the Hill, Senate HELP Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) new Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act is gaining bipartisan attention, and similar efforts are moving forward in the House. Many Democrats and Republicans agree that it’s time to remove what are essentially old legal loopholes that deny access to affordable benefits to millions of self-employed Americans. But there’s something more to the idea: Portable benefits could help all workers to better leverage their own economic power.
California Uber and Lyft drivers closer to being able to unionize after crucial vote
September 12, 2025 // Levi Sumagaysay for CalMatters
Uber called the deal a “compromise,” but a spokesperson would not answer CalMatters’ question about whether the company commits to bargaining in good faith if the drivers vote to form a union. Lyft also expressed support for the deal, but a spokesperson for the company would not comment on the unionization bill. There’s even more political intrigue surrounding the unionization bill: A new lawsuit filed by Rivas’s former press secretary, Cynthia Moreno, alleges Rivas made a deal with the Service Employees International Union over the unionization bill in exchange for its support for the state Democrats’ redistricting effort that will go before voters in November.
Blog Research ● Labor Unions
author
A ‘Copy And Paste’ Campaign? – Opponents ‘Flood The U.S. Department Of Labor With Identical Comments Against Proposed Union Rule