Posts tagged AFL-CIO
Major federation of unions calls for ‘worker-centered AI’ future
October 15, 2025 // The AFL-CIO represents the UAW and dozens of other unions and wants more collective bargaining and state bills regulating AI.
NY sisters who own DQ franchise hit with $6M lawsuit for paying workers every 2 weeks — they helped change the loophole but it was too late for them
October 10, 2025 // New York's Frequency of Pay law (2) requires “manual workers” to receive their pay on a weekly basis. It’s a law that the sisters said they’d never heard of, which is why they paid their employees biweekly — a process that they said was never flagged by anyone, including during an audit conducted by the state’s Department of Labor. Robey told CBS that the lawsuit was “ridiculous,” adding, “we knew we paid every employee every dime that they were owed." But her sister noted that the former employee, who’d been laid off, “would say all the time, 'I'm gonna get you, I'm gonna get you,' and she did.”
Trump’s NLRB Nominees Get Grilled While Board Faces Uncertain Future
October 3, 2025 // If confirmed by the whole Senate, Mayer and Murphy will join the NLRB’s only member, Democratic appointee David A. Prouty, returning the usually five-person board to a three-person quorum with two GOP members and one Democratic one. Historically, the political affiliation of the board members breaks along a 3-2 split, with the majority coming from the president’s political party. With a quorum, the board should be able to return to its work of helping settle labor disputes as outlined under the National Labor Relations Act.
Unions rally around new plan to boost clean energy jobs
September 30, 2025 // Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Climate Jobs Massachusetts Action coalition and a handful of individual locals were among those who voiced support for a bill (H 3476 / S 2275) that would require energy and air quality audits for public schools, universities and colleges. The assessments would estimate the costs of energy improvements as well as greenhouse gas reductions that would result if improvements were made, and it would establish a new Healthy and Sustainable Schools Office within the Department of Energy Resources that could implement the recommended changes.
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.