Posts tagged AFL-CIO
CT Union Threatens Lamont Over Striking Worker Bill
June 4, 2025 // S.B. 8, which passed the Senate 24–11 on May 28 with Sen. Norm Needleman (D-Essex) abstaining, rewrites Section 31-236 of state law to allow striking workers to collect unemployment benefits after 14 days on the picket line — even if they volunteered to strike. Gov. Lamont vetoed a similar bill last year, and for good reason. This year, he’s again signaling opposition — but unions aren’t taking “no” for an answer.
Gov. Bob Ferguson signs bill giving unemployment to striking WA workers
May 26, 2025 // The governor has signed a new bill into law which creates a path to collecting benefits while on strike. Unemployment benefits wouldn't start as soon as a strike begins, however. The bill takes effect in 2026.- Striking workers will be able to collect unemployment benefits starting next year. This will make Washington the third state in the United States to pass such a bill, joining New York and New Jersey. Governor Bob Ferguson signed a new bill into law, SB 5041, which will make workers eligible for unemployment insurance while on strike.
The Cost Of Misguided Labor Policies: Winchester’s Cautionary Tale
May 23, 2025 // The bill to provide unemployment benefits for striking workers risks repeating the errors that drove Winchester away. A 2022 Stop & Shop worker testified that similar legislation would have extended their 2019 strike by boosting employee “leverage.” This isn’t about fairness — it’s about manipulating the system to prolong labor disputes at the expense of businesses, taxpayers, and consumers.
Labor unions representing laid off NIOSH, CDC workers to protest in DC next week
May 20, 2025 // The unions are demanding four things, per the release: Full reinstatement of all laid-off employees Restoration of funding to all affected programs An end to “retaliatory and offsetting” layoffs Direct engagement with union leadership before any future restructuring at the federal level
A ‘War’ on the Civil Service or Controlling a Powerful Union Political Machine?
May 17, 2025 // Fed unions remain unable to strike — enforced by President Reagan’s firing striking air-traffic controllers — so unions became powerful in more subtle ways. A study by the Institute for the American Worker documents how Federal government unionization works today. “Generally, federal employees are not permitted to strike, and their unions are limited in what conditions of employment they may bargain over.” Management rights and other matters “specifically provided” for by federal statute are still not bargainable. “This includes pay, health insurance, retirement, and certain workplace insurance (e.g., workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance), among other benefits.” The study continues,
Gov. Jared Polis’ coming labor bill veto will strain Democrat’s labor ties — and set stage for ballot fight
May 15, 2025 // Polis has said that Colorado’s 81-year-old labor law has worked well and that he wants maximum employee input in negotiating union dues. He added Thursday that he wanted a deal that would bring stability to business-labor relations in the state, referring to fears that a change to the status quo would usher in a tug-of-war over competing ballot measures and legislation. Asked about Polis’ skeptical views of SB-5, Dougherty said those were concerns “that were not relayed to us when he was running for governor.”
Trump’s tariffs hurt the working class. Why are some unions on board?
April 28, 2025 // “In truth, our trade deals were not really trade deals; they were investment deals. Their goal was not to promote America’s exports — it was to make it easier for global corporations to move capital offshore and ship goods back to America,” Richard Trumka, the former president of AFL-CIO, said in 2015. “The logical outcome was trade deficits and falling wages, and that’s exactly what we got.” For unions, tariffs were a part of the answer to failures of free trade along with other protectionist policies. But to free trade proponents, tariffs represent a break from consensus and threaten to break down trade relations across the globe.
Labor demands return of union apprentice jailed in El Salvador
April 20, 2025 // Abrego Garcia’s fate has drawn enormous national attention, including from the union movement. SMART has been demanding his return and asking supporters to call their member of Congress. The national AFL-CIO is echoing that call. At the annual legislative conference put on by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), NABTU president Sean McGarvey also spoke up for Abrego Garcia.
Michael Watson: Big ESG’s Big Partner: Big Labor
April 20, 2025 // Unions’ principal interest in the ESG activism movement is on the “S” or “social” prong of the acronym. Both unions themselves, like the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and critics of unions, like the Institute for the American Worker, will argue that Big Labor views ESG as a category for advancing union organizing and other core union priorities. Proxy Preview shows unions and union-aligned groups (like city and state pension funds and the largely union-owned and union-controlled Amalgamated Bank) pushing shareholder resolutions demanding that companies “adopt a noninterference policy respecting freedom of association” or “respect for freedom of association and collective bargaining”—euphemisms for neutrality in union organizing. Under a neutrality agreement, the employer agrees not to present its views on the potential consequences of union organizing to employees, and it may agree not to confirm union majority support by a government-supervised secret-ballot election, instead using public union-card signatures (known as “card check”).
Unions Form Pro Bono Legal Network for Federal Workers Targeted by Trump
April 16, 2025 // “We knew there would be a lot of quick and valiant legal work in the federal courts, but we knew there was a chance you’d have to go to the employee agencies to protect the workers’ rights,” Deborah Greenfield, the network’s executive director, said in an interview. One challenge for the network and their potential clients is that some of these bodies, like the National Labor Relations Board, are themselves in a state of limbo as courts weigh whether Mr. Trump has the power to fire appointed board members.