Posts tagged New York City
As doormen and porters prepare for strike, NYC luxury condo labor dispute divides Cuomo backers
May 27, 2025 // Gutierrez and his colleagues said they may go on strike as early as Thursday if the board and developer Lightstone Real Estate Partners don’t agree to the new contract. It would be an unusual stoppage at a single building organized by the influential 32BJ union. There were two such strikes last year, a union spokesperson said. The dispute also reveals strange bedfellows in the race for New York City mayor. Campaign finance records show Lightstone contributed $100,000 to the SuperPAC backing Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral bid, just weeks before 32BJ formally endorsed the former governor in the Democratic primary. When asked for comment on the dispute between Cuomo’s two benefactors, his campaign referred questions to his SuperPAC, Fix the City.
Cuomo’s education plan filled with goodies for powerful teachers’ union — as he tones down support of charter schools
May 21, 2025 // “Cuomo is definitely playing ball with the teachers’ union,” said a longtime political insider. His plan does promote other initiatives backed by the UFT and public school teachers, such as more early childhood education programs and “community schools” with wraparound health services. He also backed implementing the UFT-backed class size reduction law with adequate state funding.
NJ Transit, engineers’ union reach deal to end strike and resume service Tuesday
May 18, 2025 // Neither Murphy nor the engineers' union shared the specific details of the agreement. “While I won’t get into the exact details of the deal reached, I will say that the only real issue was wages and we were able to reach an agreement that boosts hourly pay beyond the proposal rejected by our members last month
Teacher unions sue Trump over $400 million Columbia University research cuts
March 26, 2025 // The AFT has also sued Trump over his efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. Trump and AFT President Randi Weingarten have long clashed over the rule of unions in the education system, dating back to Trump's first presidency, when the two fought over return-to-class plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Construction groups decry PRO Act’s reintroduction
March 13, 2025 // “The reintroduction of the PRO Act displays continued disregard for the livelihoods of small business owners, employees and independent contractors,” said Swearingen. “While Congress has long rejected the PRO Act and its provisions, these legislators continue to pursue failed policies and attack business models and fundamental freedoms that have fueled entrepreneurship, job creation and opportunity for the American worker.”
Stephen Starr Opens the Ritzy Reimagined Occidental
March 11, 2025 // There have been protests alleging workplace violations at the restaurants attempting to unionize and picketers were even outside The Occidental opening on Wednesday. Starr maintains in statements that “Unite Here Local 25 has unlawfully targeted” his restaurants and has been “harassing our workers and filing frivolous and untrue claims.” St. Anselm voted to unionize by a thin margin on February 21, while a majority of Pastis workers voted against unionizing on February 28.
Mayor Adams backs out of campaign forum hosted by key NYC union
February 27, 2025 // DC 37 backed Adams in 2021, becoming one of several labor unions that supported his mayoral campaign. But it is unclear whether Adams can retain labor support as he campaigns for a second term. His path to re-election has become increasingly difficult amid poor approval ratings and scrutiny over his relationship with President Donald Trump.
NYC’s Only Unionized Pizzeria Is Closing Due to ‘Rising Costs and Diminished Sales’
February 13, 2025 // Shapell and Walton purchased Barboncino in Fall 2022. As the summer of 2023 approached, workers at the popular wood-fired Neapolitan pizza shop filed for a union election through the National Labor Relations Board with the support of Workers United, a national labor union. In May 2023, Barboncino Workers United asked the restaurant’s owners to recognize the union, which would have prevented the need for an NLRB election. When the deadline for recognition passed, the employees moved forward and voted unanimously to unionize in July 2023.
Making the Plains Great Again: Dealing the NEA Defeats in Two States
February 5, 2025 // The Center for Independent Employees’ (CIE) ongoing “Brushfires of Freedom” campaign in Kansas has spilled over into Nebraska, as CIE assisted teachers with removing the National Educators Association from three school districts in the two states at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025.
NYC lifeguard union boss retires ahead of disciplinary trial
January 30, 2025 // Peter Stein, who was the longtime head of the lifeguards supervisors union, will face a virtual disciplinary trial Thursday with representatives from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The proceeding is not open to the public. An attorney involved in the case and a lifeguard who has long pushed for reform of the union described the allegations to Gothamist. The hearing, they said, centers on charges Stein failed to abide by union bylaws and obstructed lifeguards from participating in union activities.