Posts tagged AFL-CIO
Social conservatives split over abortion and transgender medicine in union contracts bill
June 16, 2026 // Beck said he believes abortion and transgender medical coverage would be “an easy thing” for arbitrators to use as a bargaining chip to reach an agreement on the three-person panel. “It’s going to be easy for the arbitrator to say, ‘OK, employer, I’m not going to make you pay the high wages that the union is demanding,’” Beck said as a hypothetical. ‘“But what I am going to make you do is I’m going to make you give generous health benefits and give very generous access to abortion on demand and give very, very generous access to so-called gender-affirming care.”
Op-ed: A GOP Gift to the Cultural Left
June 15, 2026 // We wonder if Republicans know what they’ve voted for—and not merely on wages or pensions. Unions, allied with Democrats, have long supported a progressive agenda that includes collective bargaining for abortion coverage and transgender healthcare. The model language the AFL-CIO recommends to local chapters says “all health plans offered to bargaining unit members shall cover comprehensive . . . reproductive healthcare services, including contraceptives, abortion services . . . and gender affirming care.” In 2012 the Service Employees International Union unanimously approved a resolution “calling on local unions to bargain for trans-inclusive healthcare.” The NewsGuild of New York/Communications Workers of America said in 2022 it “unequivocally supports access to abortion as a healthcare right.”
Exclusive: Group warns labor bill allows govt takeover of union contract negotiations
June 14, 2026 // Institute for the American Worker President Vinnie Vernuccio called the House-passed bill an example of “gross government overreach.” “There are better ways out there, things that increase collaboration, increase penalties even, to get people to negotiate,” Vernuccio told The Center Square. “Those are far preferable than government forced arbitration.”
AFL-CIO president aims to unionize 2 million workers in 5 years
June 9, 2026 // To get there, Shuler said the labor movement would turn out an additional 2 million voters to the polls this November along with 50,000 "trained election protectors." Shuler was addressing a crowd of hundreds of union members on the first day of the labor federation's national convention in downtown Minneapolis. The convention, which happens every four years, brings together representatives from 65 unions covering all sectors of the American economy, from Hollywood actors to Pittsburgh steelworkers.
Cannabis industry, citing low profits, opposes move to set mandatory wages
June 4, 2026 // Joe Calderone, president of the Cannabis Farmers Alliance, said that "as farmers we know the value of good labor." "But this bill, introduced in the waning days of session, sacrifices many of the goals of the (law that legalized marijuana in New York) simply to bolster labor unions," he continued. "We have serious concerns about the overbroad powers and authorities of the proposed wage board and fear that the costs of compliance will simply push consumers and operators back into the illicit market."
The Faster Labor Contracts Act Is a Backdoor for Union Leadership’s Political Agenda
May 28, 2026 // Here's what the FLCA's backers won't say out loud: mandatory arbitration doesn't just remove workers from the ratification process, it removes union leadership from the obligation to bargain in good faith. Why negotiate seriously when running out the clock gets you a government arbitrator who is far more likely to deliver the political contract provisions your members would have voted down? The FLCA doesn't just create a shortcut. It creates an incentive to stall.
Whistleblower Bombshell Shakes Midtown Hotel Union As Owners Quietly Dig In
May 26, 2026 // New York hotel owners have quietly launched internal reviews after a whistleblower alleged corruption inside the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, the powerful union that represents thousands of hospitality workers across the city. The allegations surfaced this month and have hotel bosses rethinking negotiations and communications at a particularly sensitive time for the industry.
After AI layoffs, Newsom orders state government to find ways to ease the pain
May 23, 2026 // In February, AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler, members of the California Labor Federation and labor leaders in Democratic primary states pledged to pull support for a Newsom 2028 presidential campaign if he didn’t take steps to protect workers from artificial intelligence. Newsom’s veto of the predecessor of the No Robo Bosses Act was named as a reason for that pledge. In a statement shared with CalMatters, California Labor Federation president Lorena Gonzalez said the executive order is welcome but not enough
How Teachers’ Unions Became Political Big Spenders
May 18, 2026 // A new report out today accuses both the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) of spending tens of millions of dollars on electing Democratic political candidates, and prioritizing politicking over the needs and interests of their union members. The report, conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), Gevura Fund, and Rutgers University, among others, found that of the NEA’s $450 million annual disbursement budget from fiscal year 2025, less than $46 million, or 10 percent, was spent on activities directly representing the union’s constituents.
Unions and billionaires pour cash into SQ 832—and call it ‘compassion’
May 12, 2026 // 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).