Posts tagged AFL-CIO
Union president urges U.S. to halt deportation of workers born in Philadelphia.
September 8, 2025 // James A. Williams Jr., a Philadelphia native and president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, has embarked on a nationwide tour aimed at fostering solidarity among union members amidst heightened scrutiny and deportation efforts targeting immigrant workers. Williams is particularly vocal regarding the federal government’s decision to revoke legal protections for workers, many of whom are immigrants or descendants of immigrants.
US union membership declining in ‘right-to-work’ states, report reveals
September 8, 2025 // 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.
Op-ed: Trump Is Right to Take On the Federal-Worker Unions
September 4, 2025 // 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.
Strike Funds help union members survive when strikes occur
September 3, 2025 // In recent years, the Teamsters have gone on strike at New Dairy Select Milk and at Leinenkugel’s. Strickland said the strike fund kept the union workers flush during a tough time. “Those folks were on the picket line for eight weeks because there was a strike fund,” Strickland said. “In addition, the union insurance. It’s not just the strike fund. Our health people stepped up to provide healthcare coverage while our members are striking. So it’s not just our strike fund, it’s also our union health benefits.”
Eaton Worker’s Federal Complaint Sheds Light on Union Fee Threats in St. Louis
August 29, 2025 // Another critic, the nonprofit Institute for the American Worker (I4AW), highlighted the LMRDA’s origins in addressing labor corruption and stressed the importance of robust financial reporting. I4AW expressed concern that the current proposal focuses too heavily on reducing paperwork rather than preserving oversight. They recommended reconsidering OLMS’s 2020 proposal, which raised thresholds more moderately and introduced a “long form” LM-2 for the largest unions. I4AW also cited recent criminal convictions for embezzlement and financial misconduct involving union officials whose unions would have benefited from the proposed threshold increase, underscoring the need for strong reporting to prevent abuse.
Connecticut Union Raises. Incompetence or Worse?
August 25, 2025 // By telegraphing guaranteed raises, Lamont places unions on offense, emboldened to demand wage and benefit enhancements, rather than defending existing gains. As negotiation expert Chester Karrass once said, “You don’t get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate.” Revealing your playbook isn’t negotiation — it’s surrender. State unions, representing 45,000 employees, already secured a staggering 33% in raises and step increases under the 2017 SEBAC agreement, far outpacing the wage growth of the private-sector workers whose taxes pay their salaries. These contracts, negotiated in the name of taxpayers, are meant to balance fairness to employees with fiscal responsibility. Yet, taxpayers are left out, footing the bill for what resembles a feast.
Labor Day 2025: More protests than parades and picnics
August 20, 2025 // But the biggest blowout, organizers hope, is going to be on Labor Day itself. Local events can be found at MayDayStrong.org. There is also a toolkit for event hosts and organizers to coordinate their actions. The organizers hope to exceed the estimated five million people who hit the streets on No Kings Day back in April. The key demands at all the protests will be: “stop the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration, protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs for working people,” plus “fully funded schools, and healthcare and housing for all.” Marchers will also demand the Trump regime “stop the attacks on immigrants, Black, indigenous, trans people, and all our communities and invest in people, not wars.”
Flight attendants union says summer storms drove record Delta signatures
August 14, 2025 // The AFA collected a record number of pro-union signatures among Delta flight attendants in June, organizer says. According to the Association of Flight Attendants, which has been working to unionize Delta’s nearly 30,000 flight attendants for decades, with a new campaign started in 2019, this June collected a record number of pro-union signatures seeking a union election.
North Alabama Area Labor Council encourages Huntsville auto workers to unionize
August 12, 2025 // On Thursday, 220 full-time and part-time manufacturing workers at the International Motors/Navistar powertrain manufacturing plant in Huntsville will be holding an election to determine whether the facility will become unionized under UAW.
VA severs ties with most federal unions, terminating worker contracts
August 7, 2025 // Veterans Affairs leaders on Wednesday announced plans to terminate nearly all of its collective bargaining contracts with federal unions, upending employment agreements for hundreds of thousands of department workers. The move affects members of the American Federation of Government Employees, the AFL-CIO (AFGE), the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).