Posts tagged Detroit
Monitor: Shawn Fain, staff unfairly blamed UAW treasurer over investments
May 15, 2026 // Reports of the mismanaged finances were leaked to the news media in 2025, prompting a request from U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, a few months later to explain, as news agencies had reported, how the union had missed out on approximately $80 million by failing to reinvest the strike fund. Mock had largely been blamed for the misstep as the top steward of union funds, but Mock has also been the target of retaliation schemes in the union, something the monitor has reported on in-depth before. This finger-pointing over the investment flub was retaliatory, too, the monitor concluded in his latest report issued on Thursday, April 30. According to the 82-page report, numbers were "exaggerated," and blame was placed unfairly
Detroit’s Michigan Science Center Workers win union victory under UAW
May 13, 2026 // Museum cultural workers achieved a victory on May 8 as Guest Relations and Education workers at Detroit’s own Michigan Science Center voted overwhelmingly to unionize under the UAW. The victory follows a two-year campaign for the right to collective bargaining and includes demands for better access to sick leave, health insurance, livable wages, and improved, safer working conditions on the museum floor.
DIA budget hearing: About 200 employees unionize
April 4, 2026 // Proposed fiscal year 2027 budget: $0 from the City of Detroit. DIA’s current budget is $45.5 million, with revenue generated through ticket sales, fundraising and a tri-county property tax millage. The DIA functions as an independent nonprofit since the city’s bankruptcy.
Special Legal Notice for Michigan-Based Corewell Health Nurses Facing Teamsters Strike Threats
March 19, 2026 // In short, nurses who want to work during a union-ordered strike should ensure that they are not members of the union before they work during a strike. Unions can only fine their voluntary members for working during a strike. If an employee is not a union member, union officials have no power to fine or otherwise discipline him or her. Employees have a legal right not to be a member of the Teamsters or any other union. Employees who are union members, or are unsure as to what they might have signed, have a legal right to resign their membership at any time. So if an employee who joined a union wants to work during a strike, the employee can resign from the union before returning to work.
Corewell Health Niles nurses vote against joining Teamsters union
March 11, 2026 // According to results posted by the National Labor Relations Board, 82 nurses voted against joining the Teamsters union while 47 voted in favor. A total of 152 employees were eligible to vote in the Feb. 26 election.
DIA workers say museum’s Diego Rivera murals inspired them to form a union
November 7, 2025 // Those murals, in part, have inspired DIA workers to move to form a union. The DIA Workers United effort was announced Tuesday by the Michigan chapter of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which is asking for voluntary recognition from the museum. “It’s been something that workers at the museum have been discussing, honestly, since I’ve been there,” says Tyler Taylor, who started at the DIA as an intern in 2008
Detroit Institute of Arts Workers Move to Unionize
November 5, 2025 // Since workers at the New Museum unionized in 2019, cultural workers at institutions across the nation have followed suit. Last week, staff at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announced plans to unionize (AFSCME). If recognized, the new union, LACMA United, will represent over 300 museum employees across institutional departments. A recent survey of more than 3,000 museum employees by Museums Moving Forward (MMF) found that while working conditions for unionized museum staff have shown modest gains since the survey’s first iteration, widespread low pay, burnout, and career dissatisfaction persist. The report also found that non-union staff earn about 78 percent of what their unionized counterparts make. (However, the report noted, unionized museum workers are “more dissatisfied on nearly all metrics than the average museum worker.”)
The 15 Most Unionized Places in America
October 16, 2025 // To determine the most unionized locations in the U.S., researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed data from UnionStats.com and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The researchers ranked metropolitan statistical areas according to total union members as a percentage of total employment. In addition to union membership, the researchers also included statistics on union representation, which is the share of workers whose terms of work are collectively negotiated (whether or not they are union members). Only metropolitan statistical areas with available data were included in the analysis.
Striking Genesys nurses launch effort to unionize other Henry Ford hospitals
October 3, 2025 // The strike at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital, which began Sept. 1, centers on disputes over nurse-to-patient ratios, wages, and health insurance costs. Striking nurses claim there are unsafe staffing levels at the hospital, with some nurses caring for up to 11 patients at once. Henry Ford Health cites financial losses at Genesys and describes the unionization efforts as a recruitment tactic.
UAW Faction Seeks to Oust President Fain in Sign of Union Unrest
August 6, 2025 // Turnout at some locals has been small. At the Sterling Heights plant that voted over the weekend, 63 workers showed up with all but one voting to oust Fain, Pillsbury said. The plant has 6,200 employees. If the union challenges any of the victories because of low voter turnout or for any other reason, he said he wants enough wins to maintain the six victories needed to push ahead.