Posts tagged AFL-CIO
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).
Hochul proposes $500M pension sweetener as she battles unions in budget stand-off
May 11, 2026 // Still, whatever deal is struck is likely to put a major strain on local governments, schools, public hospitals and law enforcement — which risk a mass exodus that could lead to service cuts. The cost of Albany’s public pension giveaway will also translate into higher property taxes and school taxes for New Yorkers.
Shrinking unions grasp hold of power through ESG activism
May 11, 2026 // Under the ESG pretense, unions are pushing shareholder resolutions that would ditch secret-ballot elections at companies. That’s a key labor demand because it enables unions to harass and intimidate workers into publicly signing cards in favor of unionization. Unions also push shareholder resolutions ordering companies to adopt “non-interference policies,” ensuring a business can’t talk to its employees about the downsides of unionization. Practically, unions promote these policies in two significant ways. The simplest approach is to use their own pension funds, which invest hundreds of billions of dollars, to demand that the businesses they invest in adopt pro-union policies. Union officials are also appointed to pension boards, where they directly support activist investment strategies based on ESG. Public pension plans have great clout thanks to the trillions of dollars at their disposal, enough to take significant ownership stakes in banks or investment funds. Either approach lets organized labor push shareholder proposals that tilt the scales in unions’ favor.
Self-Checkout Is Under Fire Across the Country. Is Theft Really the Reason?
May 8, 2026 // For instance, the Connecticut bill mandates that stores must have one employee for every two self-checkout machines, in addition to having one manual checkout station for every two automated lanes. Stores cannot go over eight self-checkout lanes total. And any employee designated with the task of supervising self-checkouts is barred from engaging in any other simultaneous duties that could interfere with such supervision.
Op-ed: Unions are acting as a toll booth on the road to unaccountable single-party power
May 8, 2026 // Unions do not write personal checks. They collect dues from membership — teachers, construction workers, public employees — then steer voluntary PAC contributions through ActBlue, the Democrats’ preferred fundraising apparatus. The tilt is so extreme it would embarrass a slot machine. The National Education Association’s PAC raised nearly $27 million in the 2024 election cycle, virtually every dollar aimed at electing Democrats. The four largest government unions — the NEA, the American Federation of Teachers, AFSCME, and the Service Employees International Union — spent more than $700 million on election-related activity in the 2021–22 cycle alone, with 96 percent flowing to Democratic candidates and organizations. That is not grassroots democracy — it is a toll booth on the road to single-party rule.