Posts tagged fired
After financial troubles and firings, MASTERS Program staff starts union
August 14, 2026 // Nugent is in her fourth year at the school, but the effort began in just her second semester there, when she started working to bring in the state’s other teachers’ union, the National Education Association of New Mexico — “because Northern New Mexico schools are supposed to use NEA,” she said. But after a few Santa Fe local leadership positions switched around within NEA and a “poor meeting of about two hours that wasted teachers’ time,” she said, the partnership fell through. She was ultimately told the union “did not want to bother with unionizing small charter schools because it wasn’t profitable.” NEA New Mexico President Bethany Jarrell disputed that characterization.
Employees attempting to unionize Toledo parts supplier
April 1, 2026 // Employees with ValuePoint Material Solutions are preparing a vote to unionize, but some say it’s been an arduous effort. ValuePoint Material Solutions supplies parts for machines used by General Motors. The employees will vote on Wednesday to join the United Auto Workers Local 14. But throughout the organizing process, some former employees say the company’s management has resented their efforts.
One TRiiBE, divided?
March 23, 2026 // After the TRiiBE management terminated two employees in January and early March, their last two remaining union-eligible employees—Tonia Hill, who covers the systemic racism beat, and culture correspondent Jerome “Rome J.” Johnson, who covers arts and entertainment, make up the TRiiBE’s award-winning editorial desk—will vote on March 25 on whether to join the Chicago News Guild. The union represents journalists and staff across legacy, alternative, and now nonprofit and independent newsrooms, including multiple Chicago-area news outlets such as the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Reader.
Build-A-Bear workers fired for unionizing in St. Louis, dispute claims
March 1, 2026 // The company has said the employees were terminated for “fraudulent activity related to improper use of customer rewards and Bonus Club Reward Certificates,” not for union activity. In a public statement, Build-A-Bear said all individuals terminated acknowledged understanding company policies and that many admitted to violating them. The company said it applies its policies consistently and will present its case through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) process.
Starbucks defends union organizer’s firing before Fifth Circuit
February 3, 2026 // The NLRB found that Starbucks illegally fired James Schenk, a shift supervisor at a Starbucks store in the Albany, New York, area who in 2021 and 2022 helped lead a campaign to unionize the store. Starbucks fired Schenk in August 2022 after he opened a letter from the NLRB addressed to the store. But the board found that his termination, as well as previous disciplinary actions for sending profane messages in an employee Snapchat group and failing to complete four assigned tasks by the end of a shift, were retaliation for his union activism.
Colorado Health Clinic Agrees to $1.2 Million Settlement After NLRB Finds Doctors Were Fired Over Union Organizing
January 28, 2026 // Under the agreement, the five doctors will split the $1.2 million payout, which includes approximately $700,000 in back pay, interest, expenses, and tax adjustments, along with $500,000 in front pay in lieu of reinstatement. Two of the physicians will receive roughly $400,000 each, while the remaining three will collect between $100,000 and $200,000, reflecting differences in how quickly they secured new employment.
Ford employee who heckled Trump got suspended from his job
January 19, 2026 // A message seeking comment from Ford to confirm if the worker was fired or suspended was not immediately returned on Tuesday evening. The worker has since been identified by the Washington Post as 40-year-old TJ Sabula, a line worker and member of UAW Local 600. Sabula told the paper he has "no regrets" about what happened at the factory. "I don't feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity," Sabula told the Post. "And today I think I did that."
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.
Op-ed: Stanford’s Graduate Student Union Tries to Stifle Dissent
September 4, 2025 // At the University of Chicago, graduate students in a similar position have taken their union to federal court, arguing that forced support of the union violates their constitutional rights. In Graduate Students for Academic Freedom v. Graduate Students United, the plaintiffs—including Jewish students—say they are being compelled to fund a union that promotes the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, a stance they view as antisemitic. The graduate unions at both Stanford and Chicago are registered as local chapters of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, a national union that funds progressive activism.
More Than 150,000 Federal Workers Accepted Trump’s Resignation Incentives
August 6, 2025 // A new government estimate, along with a study by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, provides a long-awaited window into the scale of the departures.