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In the News
LAUSD strike averted after tentative deal reached with 3rd union; schools to open Tuesday
April 14, 2026 // Tim Caputo, Leo Stallworth, for ABC7.com
- A 24% wage increase that will make a significant difference in workers' livelihoods; - Increased work hours that will ensure health care benefits for thousands of workers and their families and increase services and support for students; - Rescinding layoffs of hundreds of IT technicians; - Expansion of health care benefits for teacher assistants, after-school workers, community representatives and others; - No subcontracting of work to outside vendors with a pathway to bring more work into the district.
Unleash Prosperity Hotline: Unions Are SOOO Yesterday
April 14, 2026
We all want higher wages for workers, but we wince when the Bernie Sanders Dems and the NatCons say the way to reach that goal is to expand union power. That can’t work today because, as Rachel Greszler of Advancing American Freedom notes in her latest policy brief, only one in 16 private workers is in a union. And that percentage keeps drifting down.
Potas: Trump cut federal employees — and the system didn’t break
April 14, 2026 // Dace Potas for Detroit News
The federal workforce is smaller than at any point since the 1960s, the result of a deliberate effort by the Trump administration. Critics have asked how many employees the federal government can lose before it breaks. So far, the answer appears to be more than a 10% reduction. Most of the cuts were in white-collar roles: administrative, accounting and human resources.
Long Island Rail Road Strike Looms, as M.T.A. and Unions Reach Impasse
April 13, 2026 // Stefanos Chen for New York Times
Five unions representing more than 3,500 workers have threatened for months to walk off the job unless they receive bigger raises than other divisions of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the railroad. The unions, which represent engineers, machinists, signalmen and other jobs critical to the rail operation, are seeking a retroactive 9.5 percent wage increase covering the last three years — the same offered to many other New York transit and civil servant unions. But they also want an additional 5 percent raise starting in 2026. The M.T.A. has argued that such a divergence in pay would upset the typical pattern for wage increases established with other groups, and would not be feasible unless the unions compromised on other aspects of the contract.
Commentary: Even socialist NYC mayor Mamdani can’t satisfy the teachers union
April 13, 2026 // Aaron Withe for Washington Examiner
Mulgrew has already threatened to try to kill the entire state budget unless it includes revisions to the Tier VI pension rules enacted in 2012, demanding a rollback that would allow teachers to retire earlier without massive penalties. He declared, “If we don’t have the significant fixes in Tier VI, then vote the budget down.” The changes would cost local governments, including New York City, hundreds of millions of dollars a year in higher pension contributions.
Teachers earn whopping pay raise as under-fire LAUSD folds to avert strike
April 13, 2026 // https://nypost.com/2026/04/12/us-news/teachers-earn-whopping-pay-raise-as-under-fire-lausd-folds-to-avert-strike/ for New York Post
The pay hike comes even as the district’s roughly 390,000 students perform below both state and federal literacy averages. The agreement, expected to cost at least $650 million, also includes a plan to hire 450 additional support staff, including counselors, psychologists and social workers. The deal follows months of tense negotiations after the union’s contract expired last June, and is aimed at heading off a strike planned for Tuesday. But the threat of walkouts has not been fully eliminated. Service Employees International Union Local 99, which represents custodians, cafeteria workers and other service staff, has yet to reach a deal with the district.
LA hotels face financial strain exacerbated by city policy shifts: report
April 13, 2026 // Jenna Graber for Hotel Dive
Increasing labor expenses are a major concern for hoteliers nationwide, as total salaries, wages and benefits paid by U.S. hotels are projected to increase approximately 3% year over year in 2026 amid a weakened performance cycle. In Los Angeles, however, local legislation is exacerbating this challenge, hoteliers reported. Last year’s passage of the Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance, in particular, has forced local hoteliers “to make serious changes to maintain business operations,” according to the report. For example, 88% of hotel stakeholders said they have reduced staffing or hours in the past year as a result of LA city council policies, per the report.
A giant barrier to being self-employed is falling, state by state
April 13, 2026 // Jonathan Wolfson for Washington Post
As more states pass permanent reforms, millions of independent contractors could gain access to benefits they’ve never enjoyed. But states aren’t the only ones that can act. Congress could also amend federal law so that companies may offer benefits without facing liability. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-California) have introduced bills to that effect in their respective chambers. They deserve the support of the full Congress and the White House in giving millions more workers long-term financial security along with the flexibility that self-employment provides. The portable benefits revolution can’t sweep the nation fast enough.
Ex-workers from the Hampden MOM’s Organic Market decry pay discrimination
April 13, 2026 // Fern Shen for Baltimore Brew
Giving employees at the first MOM’s store to unionize lower weekend pay and fewer paid holidays than non-unionized locations doesn’t jibe with the chain’s high-minded core values, they say
In another letter to court, member urges monitor investigate UAW local
April 13, 2026 // Liam Rappleye Detroit Free Press for Liam Rappleye Detroit Free Press
The latest letter, submitted by UAW retiree Rick Michael, a former parole officer represented at UAW Local 6000 in Lansing, requests that the monitor look beyond President Shawn Fain and his administration's conduct. Previously, Michael wrote in December to ask the monitor to investigate claims of discrimination taking place at Local 6000. He had previously been told it was outside of the monitor's purview.
Commentary: Congress is about to undo DOGE’s biggest win
April 13, 2026 // Jace White for Washington Examiner
That corrupt flow of campaign cash into Congress’s coffers is ultimately why, instead of being eliminated by DOGE, the FMCS is on track to be given a whole new set of powers. New Jersey Democrat Donald Norcross recently filed a discharge petition on the Faster Labor Contracts Act. The petition will force the House to vote on the bill once it reaches 218 signatures. The bill can easily hit that target if all 214 House Democrats sign the petition, along with any four of the bill’s 17 Republican cosponsors. Understanding a politician’s real priorities often requires zooming into these quiet battles over little-known agencies.
Commentary: A teacher strike would hurt kids, but LAUSD can’t afford to give in to the union’s demands
April 13, 2026 // Aaron Garth Smith for Los Angeles Daily News
The bottom line is that LAUSD can’t afford the union’s demands. A lengthy teachers’ strike would harm students, but giving in to UTLA risks weakening the district’s ability to serve those students for years to come. For their part, teachers and other union employees could come to regret whatever concessions UTLA manages to squeeze out of the district. LAUSD has already approved a plan to lay off 3,200 employees, and they’ll need to cut more if UTLA gets its way.
Wisconsin Reined in Public Sector Unions. Now Those Reforms Are in Jeopardy.
April 12, 2026 // C. Jarrett Dieterle for Reason
According to a recent analysis by the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR), Wisconsin has seen the sharpest decline in union membership rates of any state in the country over the past 40 years. While the number of union members has declined nationwide in recent decades as America has transitioned to a more service-based economy, Wisconsin's decrease has been particularly notable, especially since it historically had been one of America's most unionized states. Act 10 played a large role in the drop. Wisconsin's public sector union membership rates saw "by far" the largest decline—at close to 29 percent—of any state, according to CEPR's report. "Wisconsin's steepest losses," the report notes, "coincided with the 2011 passage of Wisconsin Act 10."
Maryland lawmakers pass bill granting some college professors union rights
April 12, 2026 // Ellie Wolfe for The Banner
The unions would be under the American Federation of Teachers, which represents K-12 educators, higher education faculty and staff, state employees, nurses and health care professionals. The Maryland chapter represents over 18,000 workers. Kenya Campbell, president of AFT Maryland, said she expects Moore to sign the bill this year but said the work isn’t over. “We’re going to continue to fight until all faculty across the state of Maryland have the right to collectively bargain,” she said. The bill has advanced despite opposition from the University System of Maryland, the parent organization overseeing most of the public universities in the state.
Apple to shutter its first unionized US store in Maryland
April 12, 2026 // author for Reuters
The iPhone maker described the decision as "difficult", citing the departure of several retailers and worsening conditions at the Towson Town Center mall as key reasons for the closure. Apple said Towson employees will be eligible to apply for open roles at the company. In 2022, more than 100 Apple workers in Towson voted to join the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, marking a milestone for unionization at major U.S. corporations such as Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Starbucks (SBUX.O), opens new tab.
Chicago teachers want no school on May Day, testing the city’s mayor and school leaders
April 12, 2026 // Sophia Tareen for Washington Post
“What our students need, and what history teaches us is the only thing that works, is educators, labor unions, and community groups standing together to defend each other and our democracy and demand that the government put our families over their fortunes,” the CTU said in a statement. This week, Macquline King, the newly-named district CEO, said she had no plans to cancel class.
Cemex Survives: Board Declines Chance to Overturn Novel Representation Framework
April 12, 2026 // JD Supra for JD Supra
While many expected that the Board in Trump’s second administration would quickly overturn Cemex, likely via a representation petition – the procedural posture where the issue would first come up – the decision in St. John’s College indicts just the opposite. The Board’s approach here instead appears consistent with the Board’s broader current goal of clearing its substantial backlog, which has led to the Board ruling narrowly in some recent cases. The Board did somewhat expand an employer’s ability to file an RM petition to test a union’s majority status more than two weeks after it received a demand for recognition, but left open the key question of whether a “late” filed RM petition would serve as a defense to a later unfair labor practice charge. We will need to wait for a later unfair labor practice case in order to gain clarity on this important question.
Op-ed: A bipartisan bill that would hurt employers and unions
April 12, 2026 // Editorial Board for Washington Post Opinion
The bill would mandate that workers sometimes be subjected to labor contracts that they never vote for. The idea is to reduce the amount of time it takes between a union being recognized as the collective bargaining agent in a workplace and the enactment of an agreement. The National Labor Relations Act requires recognized unions and employers to negotiate in good faith, but it does not say how long that negotiating may last. In some cases, it can last years.
The Disillusioned College Grads Turning to the Labor Movement
April 10, 2026 // Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein for New Republic
The fate of the college-educated working class is probably worse than most people assume. In one darkly hilarious detail from Scheiber’s book, he notes in a chapter about “salts” (people who intentionally go to work at a company in order to promote unionization) that one of these college-educated salts at Starbucks is actually making his highest wage ever there. When Starbucks is the best-paying job you’ve ever had with a college degree, something is truly wrong.
Commentary: Maryland Portable Benefits Success Shows a Model For States to Follow
April 10, 2026 // author for Door Dash
Maryland has become the third state in the nation to complete a portable benefits pilot – highlighting how independent workers can maintain the freedom they value while accessing the benefits they want. Following successful pilots in Pennsylvania and Georgia, DoorDash launched and funded a four-month portable benefits pilot in Maryland, bringing more than 4,000 Dashers into the program. DoorDash and Dashers contributed more than $800,000 to their portable benefits accounts, setting aside money to be used for healthcare, paid time off, retirement, and more, an independent analysis from BW Research showed. Crucially, an overwhelming majority (96%) of participants support legislation requiring companies to contribute to flexible benefit accounts while preserving independent contractor status.
Research ● Labor
Andrew Dunn
State Policy Network
100 State Leaders Urge Washington to Protect Independent Work