Posts tagged mediation
School bus workers strike in Mat-Su as contract negotiations stall
March 2, 2026 // “Teamsters Local 959 has announced its intention to strike on Monday, March 2, despite the fact that the Union proposed—and Durham accepted—formal negotiation dates of March 17 and 18 with a mediator present. A strike before those dates is both unnecessary and disruptive, especially when the parties were already scheduled to meet and finalize an agreement."
Op-ed: Why is Government Empowering Public Sector Unions?
February 26, 2026 // Government empowers unions, and unions use that power to protect themselves. Forget any potential harm to taxpayers. The irony here is that union members are also taxpayers. So, in effect, unions are hurting their own members. But union leadership doesn’t think about that. Leadership is more interested in keeping their power and clout.
MINNESOTA: Anoka-Hennepin district and union come to a tentative agreement just 1 day before strike date
January 7, 2026 // The school district includes 50 schools and learning centers and is staffed by 3,200 teachers, counselors, social workers and nurses. In the press release Wednesday, Anoka-Hennepin Schools stated that 82% of the district's operating budget goes to personnel costs.
UCSD Preuss School teachers strike over alleged unfair labor practices
December 17, 2025 // The Preuss School is a charter middle and high school operated by the University of California, San Diego to help low-income students go to college. UC-AFT, the union representing the educators, shared teachers are striking from Tuesday to Wednesday to get a contract that gives Preuss staff the same benefits as other San Diego Unified schools
Anoka-Hennepin teachers’ union planning for possible strike vote
December 11, 2025 // Anoka-Hennepin teachers’ union planning for possible strike vote Anoka-Hennepin Education Minnesota, the union representing more than 3,200 educators in the state’s largest school district, set up a strike office on Tuesday in Coon Rapids. The union and district shared that the sticking points include pay and healthcare premiums on a new contract. The AHEM executive board met on Monday and approved a strike authorization vote.
San Francisco Teachers Take Key Step Toward Strike
December 1, 2025 // SFUSD is currently in the second of a two-year budgeting process to curb a massive ongoing deficit. Last year, it slashed $114 million in annual expenses through hundreds of early retirement buyouts, the implementation of a strict staffing model in schools and administrative position reductions. This year, it will need to make another $48 million in cuts, which Superintendent Maria Su has indicated could be even more challenging.
CALIFORNIA: WCCUSD teachers’ strike not inevitable, union says, but sides remain far apart on salary and benefits
November 23, 2025 // The district has said it doesn’t have sufficient funding, citing a budget deficit that has put it at risk of state takeover. The district plans to withdraw $13 million from reserve funds to cover the projected deficit for this school year. The union’s demands include a 10% increase in salary over two years, full medical benefits coverage, and reductions in class sizes. The district initially offered no increase in salary or in the percentage of benefits it pays, but then offered a 2% salary increase and a bump in its health coverage from 80% to 85%, which the union rejected.
UC reaches contract agreement with 21,000 employees, averting a strike
November 10, 2025 // The union was set to strike Nov. 17 and 18 and be joined by more than 60,000 supporters from two additional UC unions, AFSCME 3299 and the California Nurses Assn. The unions said it would have been the largest labor strike in UC history. AFSCME 3299 represents patient care technical workers, custodians, food service employees, security guards, secretaries and other workers at UC hospitals and campuses. UC and UPTE said details of the tentative contract, which union members must ratify, would be released next week. Prior to the agreement, UPTE workers were seeking investments from UC into retention, pay and ensuring safe working conditions to help address a staffing crisis that the union said "threatens patient care, student services, and the research mission at the heart of the UC system."
MINNESOTA: 1,400 U of M workers prepared to strike as students move in
August 18, 2025 // If an agreement is not reached by Tuesday at midnight, a spokesperson for Teamsters Local 320 said workers could go on strike on Wednesday in Duluth and then on Monday in the Twin Cities, just in time for new students to move in on campus.
A ‘War’ on the Civil Service or Controlling a Powerful Union Political Machine?
May 17, 2025 // Fed unions remain unable to strike — enforced by President Reagan’s firing striking air-traffic controllers — so unions became powerful in more subtle ways. A study by the Institute for the American Worker documents how Federal government unionization works today. “Generally, federal employees are not permitted to strike, and their unions are limited in what conditions of employment they may bargain over.” Management rights and other matters “specifically provided” for by federal statute are still not bargainable. “This includes pay, health insurance, retirement, and certain workplace insurance (e.g., workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance), among other benefits.” The study continues,