Posts tagged blue-collar

    Beyond the assembly line: Auto workers’ labor union emerges as key player in anti-Israel activism

    January 26, 2026 // A number of labor unions have seen a rise of antisemitism and anti-Israel activity since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks, despite many being historically supportive of Israel, dating back nearly a century, when many American unions donated money to the Histadrut, Israel’s national labor union. Multiple groups have now taken legal action against UAW branches in response to certain campaigns, which some legal experts allege were discriminatory against Israelis and Jews.

    Op-ed: Celebrating the Decline of Big Labor

    September 2, 2025 // New York and California have 17 percent of U.S. workers, but almost 30 percent of U.S. union members. The states with the lowest rates include the Carolinas, which do not allow collective bargaining in the public sector. More states should look to abolish public-sector collective bargaining, as Utah did this year. And more states should pick up where Republicans left off in the early-to-mid 2010s by passing right-to-work laws. The first order of business should be restoring Michigan’s law that Democrats repealed. In 24 states, private-sector workers can still be coerced to join or financially support a union.

    Teamsters Doles Out Cash to GOP Candidates as Union Boss Argues Dems Have Abandoned Working People

    August 19, 2025 // The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education (DRIVE) PAC has doled out nearly $70,000 to Republicans this year. The donations mark the second cycle in a row that the Teamsters’ political arm has donated to Republican candidates after contributing to Democrats exclusively for roughly two decades. The Teamsters’ political arm contributed $5,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans’ campaign arm, and a combined $62,000 to 22 House Republicans, including Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota, and Mike Lawler, all R-N.Y., as well as Reps. Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith, both R-N.J., during 2025’s second fundraising quarter.

    Trump Is Making Major Concessions To Union Bosses. Is It Worth It?

    August 15, 2025 // The Institute for the American Worker noted that union members who had funds embezzled by their leaders in recent years would now have less insight into how their dues were being spent. For example, in 2024, the Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 2198 pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $63,000; under the proposed rule, the group would no longer have to file an LM-2.

    Philadelphia, city’s largest blue-collar workers union to continue talks Sunday as strike looms, union says

    June 30, 2025 // CBS News Philadelphia asked if any contingency plans were being made, but the mayor didn't answer that question. If an agreement is not reached, the strike would start at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning, which is only days before the city's Wawa Welcome America July Fourth Festival.

    Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien’s mission to chart a new political path

    March 11, 2025 // The Teamsters president may not claim any vindication, but his approach is encouraging some copycats among his counterparts in other major unions. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention and aggressively campaigned for Democrats up and down the ticket while labeling Trump an anti-union “scab,” has suddenly found a soft spot for the GOP and taken steps to engage with Republican senators.

    White Coats Take a Cue From Blue Collars

    February 26, 2025 // Harking back to the emergence of physician unions, we're seeing a resurgence of interest among resident physicians in hospitals across the country. To varying degrees, U.S. hospitals still require resident physicians to work long, irregular hours (in some cases as many as 80 hours a week). In combination with other adverse workplace issues, this has led to house staff dissatisfaction with the status quo and, ultimately, to unionization.

    The Facts About U.S. Union Membership

    January 29, 2025 // The total number of workers who are union members is 14.3 million. Of those, 7 million are public sector workers, so roughly half of U.S. union members work for the government. The National Education Association reported to the Department of Labor that it had 2.8 million members in 2024. The American Federation of Teachers reported 1.8 million members. That means 32 percent of all U.S. union members are in the two major teachers’ unions.

    Shawn Fain was Kamala Harris’ most forceful union backer. It could cost him his job

    December 30, 2024 // United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain was one of the most prominent union leaders backing Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s US presidential election and one of the harshest critics of Donald Trump while on the campaign trail. And because of that, he’ll have a powerful enemy when Trump takes back the White House on January 20.