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In the News
US union membership declining in ‘right-to-work’ states, report reveals
September 8, 2025 // Michael Sainato for The Guardian
Right-to-work laws allow workers represented by unions to stop paying dues for the services and benefits they receive through union representation, depleting resources from labor unions. Public sector workers in all 50 states have also had their collective bargaining rights stripped through the imposition of right-to-work laws by the US supreme court’s 2018 decision Janus v AFSCME. In 2024, states that protect collective bargaining saw an increase of nearly 10,000 union members, compared with the loss of 200,000 union members in states with right-to-work laws.
N.Y. Gov. Hochul signs 5 union protection bills, including Staten Island senator’s apprenticeship law
September 8, 2025 // Jillian Delaney for Staten Island Live
Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton joined Gov. Kathy Hochul in celebrating the passage of bills seeking to protect and create union jobs in New York. Hochul passed five different bills on union labor, ranging from pay protections to apprenticeships — which was Scarcella-Spanton’s legislation.
Boeing strike: Sen. Hawley sides with union workers, urges management to ‘suck it up’
September 8, 2025 // James Drew for St. Louis Business Journal
“Management here needs to suck it up and get this thing over with. That company is so important to our state, the jobs that it provides, the great things that it produces,” Hawley said in a statement provided Friday by his office.
UAW group pushing to oust Fain has to restart voting
September 8, 2025 // Luke Ramseth for The Detroit News
Among the group’s charges against Fain: financial mismanagement, workplace retaliation, including against two key international leaders, and appointing certain senior staff without adequate backgrounds in the union. Most of the locals that approved the charges represent Stellantis NV plants, which have faced layoffs since the UAW secured historic contracts with the Detroit automakers in 2023 — cuts that the anti-Fain group said should’ve never happened. But recently, the federal monitor overseeing the union after its years-long corruption scandal told the anti-Fain group that they had made a procedural error, said David Pillsbury, a worker at General Motors Co.’s Flint truck plant and one of the group’s organizers.
Americans for Prosperity Leads Employee Rights Act Coalition
September 8, 2025 // author for Americans for Prosperity
Protect workers’ right to a secret ballot in union elections. Preserve flexible self-employment career-paths across American industries. Protect small businesses that operate as franchises and vendors for other businesses. Give workers control over their personal information during union campaigns. Allow workers in Right-to-Work states to opt out of union representation. Require opt-in consent for union political spending. Prohibit mandatory DEI mandates in union contracts. Ensure only citizens or authorized workers vote in union elections.
Milwaukee police union leader says he’s considering asking Trump to send Guard troops to the city
September 8, 2025 // Lawrence Andrea for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The discussion of National Guard troops in Milwaukee comes after President Donald Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles in June to quell protests. Last month, he deployed troops across Washington, D.C., and has threatened to make similar moves in Chicago.
Judicial Watch Urges Federal Probe of Minneapolis Schools’ Union Contract Over Constitutional Concerns
September 8, 2025 // author for Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch requests the Office for Civil Rights investigate Article 15 of the collective bargaining agreement between the Minneapolis Public Schools, Special District No. 1 (“MPS”) and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59. The contract violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Article 15 exempts teachers of color from MPS’s seniority-based layoffs and reassignments, which means, when layoffs or reassignments occur, the next senior teacher who is not “of color” would be laid off or reassigned. The contract also mandates that MPS reinstate teachers of color over more senior teachers who are not “of color.” Prior to the contract, teachers were laid off or reassigned in order of seniority, with the least senior teachers laid off or reassigned first, without regard to race or ethnicity.
Boeing hires replacement workers as defense unit strike enters second month
September 8, 2025 // Leslie Josephs for CNBC
The company had offered a 20% general wage increase, a $5,000 ratification bonus and other improvements. Boeing said the increases could average about 40% taking into account other improvements. The increases would bring average IAM 837 machinist pay to more than $102,000 from $75,000, according to a note from Jefferies last month. Boeing’s defense unit contributed about 30% of the company’s $42 billion in revenue in the first half of this year.
Judicial Watch Urges Federal Probe of Minneapolis Schools’ Union Contract Over Constitutional Concerns
September 5, 2025 // author for Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch announced today it wrote letters to the Offices of Civil Rights in the Departments of Education and Labor requesting they investigate the collective bargaining agreement between the Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. The letters point out that the contract violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Trucking industry reacts to Trump administration move to protect independent contractors
September 5, 2025 // Dana Guthrie for The Trucker
According to the ATA, for more than 90 years, independent contractors have played a vital role in trucking, providing flexibility for drivers and capacity for the supply chain. More than 350,000 professional truck drivers choose to run their own businesses, set their own hours, and chart their own routes.
Employee Advocate Supports Repeal of Biden-Backed Union Power Scheme Over Temporary Agricultural Workers
September 5, 2025 // author for National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
National Right to Work Foundation comments: Biden DOL lacked authority to impose pro-union boss regulation over temporary agricultural workers
Parental Rights Groups Rip Teachers Union Bosses Boycotting Target Instead Of Helping Kids
September 4, 2025 // Jaryn Crouson for Daily Caller
Weingarten stated the union “rarely engage[s] in this type of action, but we’re doing so here because Target betrayed promises to communities of color throughout the United States.” However, a recent report from Defending Education (DE) found that AFT has funneled millions of dollars in membership dues toward political activism, including to organizations such as the Trevor Project, an organization that supports “affirming” gender-confused children.
AFSCME’s Beverly Hansen Charged with Theft by Swindle
September 4, 2025 // author for National Institute for Labor Relations Research
On August 4, 2025, in the Seventh Judicial District Court of Minnesota, Beverly Hansen, former Finance Director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) State Council 65 (located in St. Cloud, Minn.), was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of theft by swindle, in the amount of $63,031, in violation of Minnesota Statute 609.52.2(a)(4). The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit-Milwaukee District Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Cannabis workers strike to form union in Ann Arbor
September 4, 2025 // Annalise Frank for Axios Detroit
UFCW says an Exclusive Brands worker who was recently fired had been supporting the unionization effort and also claims the company tried to block a union election. UFCW filed a complaint with the state cannabis agency and an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board in late August. An Exclusive Brands spokesperson declined to comment to Axios. The Livonia-based retailer and grower has seven dispensaries in Michigan.
Striking Janesville health care workers to rally at state Capitol
September 4, 2025 // HANNAH POWELL for Janesville Extra
The union has also established a food pantry at 1795 Lafayette St. to support striking members and is accepting donations of non-perishable food and baby items. Donations can be dropped off on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Financial contributions to the strike fund can also be made by check. The strike has garnered support from other labor groups and community members in the Janesville area, who have joined picket lines and contributed to the strike fund.
Op-ed: Trump Is Right to Take On the Federal-Worker Unions
September 4, 2025 // John Fund for National Review
Today, only 6 percent of private sector workers are union members. Virtually the only unions that are growing are public sector unions — such as the teachers’ unions. Today, more than one in three government workers in the U.S. belongs to a union. But over 85 percent of those work at the state and local level — not in the federal government. That makes it vital for states to follow President Trump’s lead — along with that of states like Wisconsin — and end collective bargaining for their public employees.
Op-ed: Stanford’s Graduate Student Union Tries to Stifle Dissent
September 4, 2025 // Jon Hartley for Wall Street Journal Opinion
At the University of Chicago, graduate students in a similar position have taken their union to federal court, arguing that forced support of the union violates their constitutional rights. In Graduate Students for Academic Freedom v. Graduate Students United, the plaintiffs—including Jewish students—say they are being compelled to fund a union that promotes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, a stance they view as antisemitic. The graduate unions at both Stanford and Chicago are registered as local chapters of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, a national union that funds progressive activism.
Some Mount Holyoke College workers went on-strike
September 4, 2025 // Caleb Cook, Ryan Trowbridge for Western Mass News
Dining workers, facility workers, and housekeepers at Mount Holyoke College have gone on-strike. The move comes after workers attempted to negotiate new contracts with wage increases in an effort to get the lowest paid workers a livable wage as the cost of living continues to rise
Trump Ends Union Protections for NASA Employees, Citing ‘National Security’
September 4, 2025 // Passant Rabie for Gizmodo
Although NASA is defined as “America’s civil space program,” the new order argues that the agency’s activities fall under national security. “NASA develops and operates advanced air and space technologies, like satellite, communications, and propulsion systems, that are critical for U.S. national security,” the executive order reads. The order affects the approximately 53% of NASA employees in a bargaining unit represented by two labor unions, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers and the American Federation of Government Employees, according to the agency.
Metro Transit workers’ union is taken over after ‘corruption or financial malpractice’
September 3, 2025 // Joe Holleman for St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The international ATU says Local 788, which represents 2,600 bus drivers, light rail operators and associated service employees in the St. Louis area, has a budget deficit of more than $930,000.
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