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In the News
St. HOPE Charter School Teachers Successfully OUST SCTA Labor Union
March 7, 2026 // Katy Grimes for California Globe
By Thursday, rather than face a union decertification vote that a federal labor board had scheduled to take place on March 11, SCTA union bosses instead disclaimed interest in maintaining their exclusive representation powers over the St. HOPE educators. Now, over 50 teachers from PS7 Elementary School, PS7 Middle School, and Sacramento Charter High School are free of the unwanted union’s control.
21st Century Worker Act Aims to End Worker Classification Confusion
March 6, 2026 // Sean Higgins for Competitive Enterprise Institute
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the 21st Century Worker Act, a much needed practical step to clear up persistent confusion surrounding worker classification under federal law. The bill would replace the current patchwork of conflicting standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act, National Labor Relations Act, and Internal Revenue Code with a single, clear bright line test for determining independent contractor status across federal labor and tax statutes. It also directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess the impact of these new standards and allows workers and businesses freedom to mutually elect worker status in cases where conventional classifications do not apply clearly.
Is AEA in compliance with state payroll deduction law? National non-profit Freedom Foundation has doubts
March 5, 2026 // Apryl Marie Fogel for 1819 News
Over the last several weeks, representatives from the group whose mission is to “liberate public employees from political exploitation” have been in Alabama to introduce themselves to lawmakers and like-minded groups. One of the problems they’re ready to address is what they describe as a loophole or problem with the way the AEA uses money collected through payroll deductions for political purposes. “The loophole is the fact that paycheck protection, payroll deduction ban, whatever you want to call it, relies on the Alabama Education Association certifying that they do not take any portion of that money, dues, and use it for political fights. That is absolutely false,” Freedom Foundation's Rusty Brown told 1819 News in a phone interview.
Labor Watch: St. John’s Axes Unions, CSU Strike Pays Off
March 5, 2026
St. John’s is the second institution to use a religious exemption to shutter its union this academic year; in the fall, the Loyola Marymount University Board of Trustees announced it would no longer recognize its non-tenure-track faculty union and cease bargaining.
Commentary: Sean O’Brien sold workers and unions out to Trump—these Teamsters are running to oust him.
March 5, 2026 // Maximillian Alvarez for The Real News
As general president of the union, Sean O’Brien has operated with a “Teamsters vs. Everybody” mentality, especially when it comes to dealing with President Donald Trump and embracing the MAGA right. But now, 14 months into the second Trump administration, the labor movement and the entire working class—Teamsters members included—is under attack. In this episode of Working People, we speak with veteran Teamsters Richard Hooker Jr. and John Palmer, who are running to oust O’Brien from leadership in the upcoming union election.
2026 Independent Contracting- DOL Rulemaking
March 5, 2026 // Author for Institute for the American Worker
The proposed rule would revise federal standards for classifying workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It would also rescind the 2024 independent contractor regulation and largely restore the January 2021 framework, with clarifications and updates. The proposal returns to a traditional “economic reality” analysis focused on whether a worker is in business for themselves or economically dependent on an employer. In particular, it restores emphasis on two core factors: The degree of control exercised by the company The worker’s opportunity for profit or loss
DHL Express workers threaten strike if no contract by March 31
March 5, 2026 // Eric Kulisch for Freight Waves
The current national master agreement between the company and the union covers thousands of drivers and warehouse workers across 26 local unions in 16 states. The labor agreement is set to expire on March 31. Top union priorities include pay, strengthening working conditions and protecting benefits. Members voted by a 96% margin to authorize a strike, the Teamsters announced on Tuesday.
Empty classrooms? NYU professors to strike this month if contract agreements are not settled
March 5, 2026 // Barbara Russo-Lennon for AM New York
“The union’s announcement of a strike deadline is unwarranted and unjustifiable,” he said. “It comes immediately after the university offered their members the highest minimum salaries of any unionized full-time contract faculty in the country.” He added that the union’s actions do not justify jeopardizing the students’ education at the university.
Modeling the Impact of Sectoral Bargaining for U.S. Workers
March 5, 2026
New statistical modeling suggests that sectoral bargaining could more than double collective bargaining coverage in the United States and generate big gains in union density.
CHICAGO: BP presents ‘last, best and final offer’ in union negotiations
March 4, 2026 // Maya Wilkins for Post Tribune
BP’S other changes include a discontinuation of non-core craft lines, eligibility for up to five paid shifts of sick leave per year, increased overtime meal payments by 33%, increased boot allowance by 25%, flexibility to adopt artificial intelligence technology, “more equitable” distribution of overtime drafts and a four-day, 10-hour work schedule for maintenance technicians, according to the website. USW President 7-1 Eric Schultz responded to the offer in a Tuesday afternoon statement. He claims that it eliminates and outsources union jobs, cuts base wages across most job classifications, strips bargaining rights, ends seniority protections for layoffs and limits the union’s ability to strike.
WNBA vet and union leader’s strike insight is a wake-up call for fans
March 4, 2026 // Stephanie Kaloi for High Post Hoops
The league has proposed giving players who are on rookie contracts and who make First or Second Team-All WNBA will have the chance to earn the maximum salary during their fourth season. If approved as part of a new CBA, this would give Aliyah Boston the opportunity to sign a maximum contract this year, while Caitlin Clark could do so in 2027, and Paige Bueckers could follow suit in 2028 The proposed first year salary cap is $5.7 million, which is a big increase of 280% from the 2025 season and the January 2020 CBA. By the end of the deal, the team salary cap would be $8.6 million, and maximum salaries in the WNBA would increase by $1 million. The current maximum salary is $249,000, and that number would ultimately jump up to $1.3 million.
US judge leery of blocking FEMA job cuts pending unions’ lawsuit
March 4, 2026 // Daniel Wiessner for Reuters
A federal judge in California on Tuesday said she would likely deny an early bid by unions representing government workers to block President Donald Trump's administration from cutting thousands of disaster-response jobs at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
IUE-CWA Union Bigwig Joe Scott Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
March 4, 2026 // author for National Institute for Labor Relations Research
On January 21, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Joe Scott, former Treasurer of International Union of Electrical Workers – Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA) Local 81154 (located in Gardner, Mass.), pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement of union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston-Buffalo District Office.
Op-ed: ‘The issue is the revolution’: Who is running your city’s teachers union?
March 4, 2026 // Mika Hackner for The Hill
Under the banner of “social justice unionism,” teachers’ unions are increasingly treating classrooms, teachers, and even students as instruments in a wider ideological project — one organized, replicated, and funded across the nation. This shift helps explain why contemporary political controversies are now being filtered into elementary, middle and high schools. As one activist leader put it during the NEA Educators for Palestine webinar, the anti-ICE movement is “the spark that could ignite the fire under Labor.” As the saying goes, “The issue is never the issue — the issue is the revolution.”
National Labor Relations Board Schedules Vote for St. HOPE Charter School Teachers Seeking to Remove SCTA Union
March 4, 2026 // Author for National Right to Work Foundation
Despite union’s legal attempt to block vote, NLRB schedules election for March 11 in response to majority-backed petition from teachers to decertify union
Stacked Deck: How the NLRA Favors Organized Labor and Fails Workers
March 4, 2026 // Karen Harned for Institute for the American Worker
Today we find a law of unintended consequences. The interests of the workers are often buried under legal precedents and arcane labor rules that make it hard, if not impossible, to make informed decisions regarding unionization. Moreover, the NLRA’s legal landscape is unpredictable and so complex that only the largest employers have a chance of successfully navigating it.
1199SEIU begins organizing after consumer directed home care overhaul
March 4, 2026 // Ethan Geringer-Sameth for Crains New York
This month, 1199SEIU sent letters about the effort to aides in the state’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, an $11 billion Medicaid program that allows disabled and elderly residents to hire and manage their own home care. The letter informs workers of a September agreement between 1199SEIU and the administrator, Georgia-based Public Partnerships, creating a process through which they can vote to join a union. The effort could add more than 250,000 members to the powerful union’s rolls, growing its already large base by as much as 55% and amplifying its influence in the city and state. The notice comes after Hochul’s controversial overhaul of the program, which centralized its administration and opened the door for organizing a new sector of labor.
Wave of California teacher strikes ‘is no coincidence’
March 4, 2026 // Carolyn Jones for LAist
Thousands of California K-12 teachers have walked off their jobs or voted to strike in the past few months, as part of a strategic, statewide effort by the California Teachers Association to boost salaries and benefits — and get the public’s attention. “All these districts going out on strike — it’s not a coincidence at all,” said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union. “Everywhere in the state there are people with unmet needs. The conditions have been ripe for a long time.”
Lorain County files unfair labor practices charge against striking JFS workers
March 4, 2026 // Dave O'Brien for The Chronicle-Telegram
Lorain County officials on Thursday filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union representing striking county Job and Family Services workers. The county accused the union of trying to force it to engage in "direct dealing" by bypassing designated negotiators, which is prohibited under state labor laws. The claim was filed two days after the union, United Auto Workers Local 2192, filed its own unfair labor practices claims against the county.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis backs a new bill targeting unions; those who support him won’t be affected
March 3, 2026
In 2023, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 256, a measure designed to attack public sector unions by making it harder for them to collect dues, while simultaneously forcing them to show that at least 60% of their members were paying their dues. Any union that failed to meet that 60% threshold faced a decertification vote.