Posts tagged collective bargaining rights
USDA plant inspectors challenge exclusion from union rights
August 19, 2025 // Due to the change, the USDA no longer recognizes the National Association of Agriculture Employees and refuses to honor the terms of an existing collective bargaining agreement between the union and the federal government, according to the complaint. These actions exceed the government’s authority and violate the free speech and equal protection rights of APHIS plant inspectors, according to the complaint. The lawsuit has asked a federal judge to declare that the exclusion of APHIS inspectors from union representation was unlawful and to order the USDA to recognize the National Association of Agriculture Employees and abide by the collective bargaining deal
Unions’ battle for survival hits new wave with Trump termination of bargaining agreements
August 16, 2025 // “The Teamsters contributed to the NRCC and a sprawling list of House Republicans – signaling a monumental shift of working class voters towards the GOP,” the organization highlighted in an email this week. Beyond the court battles, unions are hopeful Congress could take up a discharge petition that would force the House to take a vote on a bill that would overturn Trump’s March order.
With GLO push, RI becomes first state to explicitly codify student unionization rights in state law
August 11, 2025 // McKee signed House Bill 5187 on July 2, capping off a monthslong effort by Brown’s Graduate Labor Organization to codify federal labor organizing protections in state law. GLO leaders had worked with the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and state legislators to advocate for the bill’s passage since its introduction in January.
California Tries Another Tack to Crush Ridesharing
August 4, 2025 // The latest legislative effort is Assembly Bill 1340, which passed the full Assembly in June and was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee in early July. It would allow drivers to unionize and “promote collective bargaining rights for transportation network drivers and state intent that the state action antitrust exemption apply to … drivers and their representatives.” Democrats couldn’t kill the industry quickly, so they’ll try to destroy it slowly via collective bargaining.
Democrats press discharge petition to restore federal worker union rights stripped by Trump
July 20, 2025 // Golden’s proposal has been endorsed by 221 other House lawmakers, including co-sponsor Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and six other Republicans. And the discharge petition already has two GOP signatures attached: Fitzpatrick and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). To force a vote on the bill requires 218 signatures, meaning supporters will need four more Republicans to endorse the petition for it to be successful, assuming all 212 House Democrats sign on. Golden said he’s in conversations with the other Republican co-sponsors of the underlying bill — singling out New York Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota by name — in hopes of getting them to endorse the petition, as well.
Op-ed: She looked like a pro-worker Trump cabinet appointee. But now she’s gutting the Labor Department
July 17, 2025 // The standards on the chopping block include those issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a unit of the Labor Department, that were developed after years of effort. OSHA standards, Reindel told me, take an average of seven years — and as long as 20 years — to draft. “This is an onslaught on people’s basic protections at work.”
Agencies’ explanations for implementing labor-management EO run a wide gamut
July 8, 2025 // If the main harm the unions are pointing out relates mainly to their own budget problems instead of the rights that they help negotiate for employees, such as working conditions or quick turnarounds for a scheduling perspective or other protections. Their argument seems short sighted and seems to miss the broader point of what the union’s job is.
Editorial: Unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers may speed up their robotic replacement
July 2, 2025 // Here’s the issue for drivers. Labor talks are playing out as Uber and its competitors are investing heavily in driverless vehicles, just like Tesla. Uber isn’t hiding that future. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi even told The Wall Street Journal this year he expects AVs to gradually overtake human drivers.
Editorial: Unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers may speed up their robotic replacement
June 27, 2025 // And as anyone who regularly takes an Uber well knows, the prices went up once the cabs were vanquished. A lot. Taxi prices, a source of complaint for generations of Chicagoans, now often look like a bargain in comparison to Uber or Lyft, especially when it rains or there’s a ballgame in the neighborhood. As Big Tech’s variable pricing ravages our wallets, regulated rates have never looked better to many of us. With ride-share prices rising, policymakers are now weighing how best to support drivers — but those efforts, including unionization, could unintentionally make things worse for both riders and drivers as driverless technology gains traction.
Democratic drama: Union leader exits underscore DNC divisions
June 17, 2025 // “It was very clear to me that they were looking to blow up the DNC,” the source said. “[Martin] is not looking to blow the place up.” The two unions represent significant Democratic constituencies. The American Federation of Teachers boasts more than 1.8 million members, while the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has more than 1.3 million members. The groups and their leaders are also expected to continue to play major roles in the Democratic ecosystem. Some Democrats note Weingarten’s and Saunders’s departures come after Republicans made inroads with some union constituencies in 2024. “Although Republicans are not sweeping unions, Republicans are starting to be viewed by union members as the party of the people who have to take a shower after work or, in this case, the people who have to take an Excedrin after work,” Wilson said.