Posts tagged ACLU
What would a general strike in the US actually look like?
April 10, 2025 // But organized labor can plan for a general strike in the future that may not break the terms of their contracts. The UAW has called to align all union contract terminations for the same date in 2028 as a way to promote united action and perhaps even a general strike by circumventing the prohibition on striking during a union contract. That call has already promoted wider discussion of general strikes in labor and social movements. Of course, different unions striking at the same time does not guarantee a united front around issues of common concern: The first half of 1946 saw nearly 3 million workers simultaneously on strike, including auto, steel, coal, railroad and many other industries, but unions pursued separate demands, made little effort to pool their strength, and settled with little consideration of the impact on those remaining on strike.
Teachers’ union holds anti-Trump webinar
January 26, 2025 // One speaker also said that teaching “social and racial justice” is teaching “true history,” according to Parents Defending Education. The Oklahoma Education Association, the state affiliate of the National Education Association, is Oklahoma’s largest teachers’ union.
‘Feeling of dread’ spreads across federal workforce as second Trump term looms
November 13, 2024 // Out of the more than 2 million federal employees working in the US and abroad, Schedule F could have a profound impact on the DC-Maryland-Virginia metro area, where nearly 449,000 federal workers live, according to a 2024 report. The District of Columbia itself has the largest individual chunk of federal workers in any state or territory, with more than 162,000.
Rhode Island convention plans opposed by unions, women’s health groups
July 29, 2024 // It's not yet clear what would be on the agenda for a constitutional convention next year if voters approve the move. With Democrats holding a super majority in the state Legislature, possible amendments might include enshrining the right to get an abortion and other liberal proposals, political observers say. Despite that, critics of the plan — including Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island chapter of the AFL-CIO — are mobilizing in an effort to convince voters to oppose the ballot question.
EXCLUSIVE: Powerful Union Suddenly Courting Republicans Spent Millions On Liberal Advocacy, New Report Reveals
June 20, 2024 // One of the biggest chunks of the Teamster’s advocacy spending, worth roughly $2.5 million, went toward “registered Democrats, Democrat Party-funded initiatives, Democratic campaigns and organizations that focus on advancing the interest of the Democratic Party,” according to the report. Recipients of union funds included The National Democratic Club, a social organization in D.C. where liberal elites meet to hobnob, failed Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ voting rights group, Fair Fight Action, and the inaugural committee of Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The over $2.6 million in political donations made by the Teamsters’ PAC this election cycle have also skewed heavily to the left, with the vast majority of their funds going to Democrats and Democratic-aligned PACs like the Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and the Democratic Governors Association, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Starbucks union claims dozens of stores aren’t allowed to decorate for Pride
June 14, 2023 // Some Massachusetts workers were told there weren’t enough labor hours to schedule partners to decorate, the union said. Managers told employees in Maryland some people didn’t feel represented by the “umbrella of pride,” according to the labor group. In Oklahoma, workers were told restrictions on decorating were out of a concern for safety after recent attacks at Target stores, the union said. In late May, Target pulled some of its Pride merchandise, citing threats against its employees. Some of the retailer’s locations in the South also moved Pride collections to less visible areas on the floor. The Washington Post reported Target stores in at least five states were evacuated this weekend after bomb threats.
Voluntary Recognition of Unions Is Increasingly Popular Among U.S. Employers
January 23, 2023 // In January 2023, Microsoft recognized a union of playtesters at its subsidiary ZeniMax Studios; Major League Baseball voluntarily recognized minor league players’ choice to join the Major League Baseball Players Association in September; workers at a number of media organizations had their unions recognized throughout 2021 and 2022; and mission-driven organizations such as charities, museums, civil rights and environmentalist groups, think tanks, and other nonprofits all voluntarily recognized worker unions as well. Other businesses, including The Metals Company, Forever Energy, and the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, signed neutrality agreements with unions, under which the firms agreed to refrain from engaging in anti-union tactics during an election. Some companies have communicated that they have pursued voluntary recognition because their own organizations’ goals broadly align with those of workers. In particular, a number of mission-driven organizations have opted for voluntary recognition in recent years, including the Whitney Museum, the Shed, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles, the Brookings Institution, the National Center for Transgender Equality, Capital Roots, Code for America, and others. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a national nonprofit that litigates to protect civil liberties, first voluntarily recognized the unionization of national staffers with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 70, also called the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union, in 2021.* One of the ACLU’s state affiliates, the ACLU of Texas, also recognized its workers’ choice to unionize with United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2320 in 2022. Indeed, as the ACLU of Texas stated after recognizing its employee union: Media and news organizations have seen some of the largest voluntary recognition agreements signed in the United States. Along with workers at Politico, The Atlantic, Public News Service, The State, and others, employees at Condé Nast won voluntary recognition for their staff union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 2022. Spurred on by their co-workers at The New Yorker and other Condé Nast publications that voted in favor of joining the NewsGuild-CWA in 2018, these workers organized a union that covers 500 workers, including 100 subcontractors. Workers have also won voluntary recognition in the entertainment industry, including at the International Documentary Association, Seven Seas Entertainment, and the iHeartPodcast Network, as well as through the Animation Guild.