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In the News
Here’s how much money Shawn Fain, other UAW leaders made in 2025
May 15, 2026 // Liam Rappleye for Detroit Free Press
April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, made $322,045. Sean O'Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, made $443,539. Fain's compensation for the year was the highest of his tenure by about two thousand dollars. In 2023, filings show Fain made $228,872. In 2024, Fain was paid $274,407.
Congress Should Reject the “Faster Labor Contracts Act”
May 15, 2026 // Rowan Saydlowski for Americans for Tax Reform
“What would happen if workers lost that ability to ratify a contract?” Cassidy asked. “That would be removing democracy from the workplace,” replied the Democrats’ witness, himself a union organizer. Despite this, the Faster Labor Contracts Act has since gained more cosponsors, which are almost entirely Democrats. In the House, Democrats are pushing for the passage of a discharge petition to force the bill through Congress. Union bosses such as Teamsters President Sean O’Brien are running an aggressive campaign to push for the bill’s passage, including attempts to fool Republicans into signing on.
Seattle Art Museum Workers Are Unionizing
May 15, 2026 // Jas Keimig for The Stranger
Unbothered by grey skies, dribbling rain, and that stale-ass statement, SAMWU and its supporters held a rally and press conference outside the museum at 1st Ave and University. Before the press conference started, members chomped on pizza and cupcakes, handing out union t-shirts and buttons with the SAMWU logo—Jonathan Borofsky’s “Hammering Man” sculpture, mid-hammer, natch—and socialized. Representatives from SAM Visitor Service Officers (VSO) union, Tacoma Art Museum Workers United, and the Washington State Labor Council AFL-CIO all commingled.
Employees of DC Paint-Your-Own Pottery Studio Vote to Unionize
May 14, 2026 // Jenae Barnes for Washingtonian
The employees of the Cleveland Park paint-your-own pottery studio All Fired Up have voted to unionize. The staffers began a campaign to formally unionize in early April, and they voted to do so during a National Labor Relations Board election Monday. The decision was unanimous, staffer Toni Lewis tells Washingtonian. “Unionization gives us a formal role in shaping policy and process,” the employees’ organizing committee’s members—who said staffers were inspired by similar efforts at Crumbs and Whiskers cat cafe in Georgetown and Aslin Beer Company—wrote in a statement. “As a small business without HR, we need a way to advocate for our needs.”
WWE Wrestlers To Unionize? Legend Pushes for Strong Response to TKO’s Bold Cost-Cutting
May 14, 2026 // Andrew Ravens for Sportsnaut
Nash went further by proposing a path forward, pointing to SAG-AFTRA as a model that wrestling talent could realistically pursue, given how closely the production of modern pro wrestling resembles scripted television and film industries that Endeavor Group Holdings already operates within.
Op-ed: The right’s growing crackup over organized labor
May 14, 2026 // Jarrett Dieterle for Washington Examiner
In the face of its growing crackup over organized labor, the Right is badly in need of developing a labor policy that is pro-worker without being pro-union. The best bet would be to coalesce around a flexible work agenda that empowers workers to achieve autonomy and agency in their employment arrangements. This policy agenda could take many different forms, but it might include championing the independent contracting status of gig workers while simultaneously expanding so-called portable benefit models that provide these workers with funds to access workplace benefits. This provides a more nimble, nuanced alternative to reclassifying them as employees or unionizing them. Or right-leaning politicians could seek to address issues like just-in-time scheduling, a common sore spot for workers in many industries, by striking a grand bargain with the business community regarding overtime averaging. By focusing on flexibility rather than cribbing the union political playbook, the Right can take a pro-worker stance without needing to fully repudiate its pro-business instincts.
Despite Arizona Dispensary Employees’ Landslide Vote to Remove UFCW, Union Bosses Seek to Overturn Election Result
May 14, 2026 // author for National Right To Work Foundation
Employees of Curaleaf Camelback Dispensary overwhelmingly voted United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 99 union bosses out of power at their workplace. Dispensary employee Jennifer Mooney, who filed a petition for her coworkers with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last month, led the workers’ effort. The petition sought a “decertification” election to terminate the status of UFCW Local 99 as the workers’ exclusive “representative.”
Ocean State Media Staff Members Announce Intent To ‘Go Union,’ Join SAG-AFTRA
May 14, 2026 // author
Staff employed at Ocean State Media - Rhode Island’s NPR and PBS station, have announced their intention to form a Union with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). A majority of Workers - including Hosts, Reporters, And Digital, Audio and Video Producers, have signed a petition to Unionize. Ocean State Media was formed following a merger between The Public’s Radio, Rhode Island’s NPR affiliate, and Rhode Island PBS. The combined organization provides news and cultural coverage on the unique stories of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.
The Union Organizing Boom Has a Number They Don’t Want You to See
May 14, 2026 // author for Coalition to Protect American Workers
The Faster Labor Contracts Act, championed by union-aligned legislators on Capitol Hill, would impose a 90-day bargaining deadline. If no deal is reached, a government-appointed arbitrator writes the contract — and workers do not get to vote on the result. Critics have pointed out that this structure actually incentivizes union negotiators to stall and run out the clock, betting an arbitrator delivers better terms than good-faith bargaining would. Workers get a contract faster. They just lose the right to approve it. The dues keep coming either way.
California’s War on Autonomous Trucking
May 14, 2026 // Jordan McGillis for City Journal
As structural economic factors push costs for the freight industry and consumers higher, the American public has three options. It can accept higher prices for all transportation services; it can enlarge the labor pool through immigration; or it can embrace new technology that improves transportation productivity and resolves the Baumol dilemma. Becerra, Steyer, and Khanna have followed the path prescribed by FreightWaves’ Fuller, promising to force higher freight costs onto the public. While the Golden State’s coalition politics might require genuflecting to the Teamsters, Californians are bound to notice before long that they’re paying higher prices than people in other states while also lagging behind them technologically.
MLB, players’ union meet to begin labor talks, sources say
May 14, 2026 // Jeff Passan for ESPN
MLB intends to pursue a salary cap system, a financial structure that players staunchly oppose. The current deal, which came after a 99-day lockout by the league that threatened the beginning of the 2022 season, expires Dec. 1. If there is no agreement by the time the deal lapses, MLB is expected to again lock out the players, causing a work stoppage that could jeopardize games in the 2027 season. During the opening presentations, sources said, the sides outlined their views on the game, noting challenges they see and opportunities to use labor negotiations as a tool to move it forward.
Rachel Greszler: The New Right wants to help workers. Its labor policy will hurt them
May 13, 2026 // Rachel Greszler for Washington Examiner
Wage mandates reduce employment, particularly among younger and less experienced workers. Sectoral bargaining risks cartelizing labor markets, reducing competition, and innovation. Legislation such as the Faster Labor Contracts Act, which would impose binding arbitration on employers, and the Warehouse Worker Protections Act, which would dictate warehouse operations, may aim to help a subset of workers. But the actual outcome would be less growth, reduced flexibility, and a step toward central planning: a guaranteed way to suppress and impoverish workers — just ask the former Soviet Union and East Germany. The Right is right to care about workers, not just for the economic benefits, but because work is a primary source of human dignity.
Maple Grove Hospital nurses authorize strike amid ongoing contract talks
May 13, 2026 // Meghan MacPherson for KARE 11
The vote comes as nurses and hospital leadership return to the bargaining table Tuesday for their 30th negotiation session at North Memorial’s Robbinsdale campus. Maple Grove nurses are working to secure their first union contract. The union says nurses are pushing to close gaps in pay, insurance and pension benefits compared to nurses at North Memorial’s Robbinsdale Hospital, who already have a contract in place. The Minnesota Nurses Association is also seeking stronger staffing protections and improved working conditions. Union leaders say the hospital has experienced a 33% turnover rate over the past three years.
Workers at Planned Parenthood’s largest affiliate are unionizing, citing Trump cuts
May 13, 2026 // Sara DiNatale for San Francisco Chronicle
Sotoa said union representation would secure workers' voices in decisions over staffing and resources under threat by the cuts. Planned Parenthood workers at affiliates in Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other parts of California, have already formed unions in response to the Trump administration and the changes they have prompted in their clinics' staffing, pay and workplace conditions.
When Educational Institutions Drift, Build New Ones
May 13, 2026 // Paul Runko for Daily Signal
For educators who do not want to spend their time or hard-earned paychecks on these unions, alternatives are emerging. Teacher Freedom Alliance and the Association of American Educators offer liability protection and classroom-focused professional development—without forcing members to subsidize political advocacy. This model reflects the original intent of unions to support and protect educators, not push ideological agendas that make their jobs harder. The same pattern appears in standardized testing. Many parents may not realize that SAT is owned by the College Board, an organization that has drifted ideologically left over the past decade. A 2024 report by the Goldwater Institute highlights this with examples of the organization’s embrace of “anti-racism” and “equity.”
Unions, businesses urge legislators in opposite directions on independent contractor rules
May 13, 2026 // Nikita Biryukov for New Jersey Monitor
“New Jersey’s labor department says it may consider some factors in one case but not in another case, so who knows what matters?” said Kim Kavin, a freelance writer long opposed to ABC regulations. “The department says it may consider factors that aren’t listed anywhere.”
U of R workers form new labor coalition ahead of contract talks
May 13, 2026 // author for WHAM
Unionized and non-unionized employees at the University of Rochester are joining forces. University workers, graduate and undergraduate students gathered Monday to announce the formation of the UR Labor Coalition. The group, which includes members from three existing unions, will support staff members across the university system and work to demand fair contracts and union rights.
Detroit’s Michigan Science Center Workers win union victory under UAW
May 13, 2026 // Noelle Belanger for Peoples World
Museum cultural workers achieved a victory on May 8 as Guest Relations and Education workers at Detroit’s own Michigan Science Center voted overwhelmingly to unionize under the UAW. The victory follows a two-year campaign for the right to collective bargaining and includes demands for better access to sick leave, health insurance, livable wages, and improved, safer working conditions on the museum floor.
Possible LIRR strike could happen Saturday if no deal is reached
May 12, 2026
The union representing LIRR workers is pushing for higher pay, but MTA leaders warn that agreeing to those demands could trigger significant fare hikes. Five unions representing 3,500 workers, including engineers, signalmen and trainmen, are threatening to strike if an agreement cannot be reached.
Unions and billionaires pour cash into SQ 832—and call it ‘compassion’
May 12, 2026 // Tyler Williamson for Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
The National Education Association (NEA), which regularly supports all sorts of left-wing causes, has donated half a million dollars to support SQ 832. This is the same organization that advocated for taxpayer funding of abortion, advised teachers to hide information from parents regarding their students’ sexuality, opposed efforts to protect girls’ sports, locker rooms, and bathrooms from use by the opposite sex, and proposed removing police officers from schools in the name of racial justice. Other financial supporters include the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).