Posts tagged NYC
‘Power in the hands of people’: union leaders push to revive ailing US labor movement
April 15, 2026 // Leaders of some of the largest unions in the US have unveiled a drive to jumpstart the country’s ailing labor movement and combat growing wealth inequality under Donald Trump. To make it easier for workers to join a union, and strengthen the hand of new unions negotiating with powerful businesses, a string of prominent organizers joined together to launch Union Now, a non-profit designed to increase labor union density.
Commentary: Even socialist NYC mayor Mamdani can’t satisfy the teachers union
April 13, 2026 // Mulgrew has already threatened to try to kill the entire state budget unless it includes revisions to the Tier VI pension rules enacted in 2012, demanding a rollback that would allow teachers to retire earlier without massive penalties. He declared, “If we don’t have the significant fixes in Tier VI, then vote the budget down.” The changes would cost local governments, including New York City, hundreds of millions of dollars a year in higher pension contributions.
NYC apartment buildings could get stinky and gross if the workers that serve them go on strike, union reps warn
April 9, 2026 // Over a million New Yorkers could soon see crucial services in their apartment buildings disappear as tens of thousands of unionized doorpersons, porters, superintendents, handypersons and resident managers prepare to walk off the job later this month if their demands aren’t met. Luis Ayala, a union strike captain and overnight porter who has been in the building service industry for around five years, said the labor contract the real estate industry was offering stinks — and the stench of an odious labor dispute will be one that apartment dwellers will experience if a strike happens. “After a few days, the building is going to stink;
Teachers union flexes on New York state budget: pension boosts or bust
April 1, 2026 // The UFT and other teacher unions are focused on lowering the age when someone can retire without penalty. Under Tier IV, public employees including teachers can retire at 55 if they’ve worked for 30 years. Under Tier VI, an employee must work until 63 in order to retire without losing half of their pension award. Opponents say there’s scant evidence that pensions are contributing to recruitment and retention challenges. Tier VI required employees hired after its 2012 enactment to contribute to the cost of their retirement for the duration of their employment, instead of just the first 10 years. It also set a later retirement age — all measures that are saving state and local governments an estimated $80 billion through 2042.
Union Effort at New York Transit Museum Heads to a Vote
March 17, 2026 // Museum workers first announced plans to unionize in early February, a decision they say was driven by concerns over job insecurity, unfair compensation, a lack of transparency around managerial decision-making, and isolation between workers in separate departments. The museum management’s decision to deny voluntary recognition marked a shift in its response toward unions at the institution: Last year, when three dozen sales associates working in the Transit Museum gift shop unionized through the Transport Workers Union 100, museum management opted to recognize the union voluntarily, allowing those workers to move forward without an NLRB election.
After Nearly Three Months, NYC Starbucks Workers Quietly End Strike
February 9, 2026 // Starbucks workers at 10 unionized New York City stores quietly returned to work on Thursday, ending their nearly three-month strike after failing to force management back to the bargaining table for a first contract. Workers in more than 85 cities nationwide have walked off the job since Nov. 13 in what the union called a “Red Cup Rebellion,” to protest the company’s alleged refusal to finalize a collective bargaining agreement with their union, Starbucks Workers United.
13 nurses arrested for blocking NYC building as strike against three hospitals reaches 25th day
February 9, 2026 // The union said the protest that led to the arrests was against two pro-hospital lobbying groups: the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes (LVHH) and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA). Charges against the 13 arrested nurses were pending with the NYPD telling The Post that officers gave the striking workers multiple warnings to move away. The nurses linked arms during the protest, according to bystanders.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders rally with nurses on ninth day of strike
January 21, 2026 // The democratic socialists, speaking to a boisterous crowd of nurses in front of Mount Sinai West on the Upper West Side, called on hospital executives to return to the negotiating table to resolve the contract impasse that prompted some 15,000 nurses to walk off the job last week.
Prominent Architecture Firm Is Accused of Illegally Ousting Employees
January 21, 2026 // The case comes amid a recent burst in union organizing in fields not traditionally associated with organized labor: tech workers, magazine journalists, doctors and pharmacists. Many see unions as a way to address a sense of lost autonomy and control, skimpy compensation or conflicts with management over the direction of their companies.
Maine Considers Setting Minimum Rate of Pay for Rideshare Drivers on Platforms Like Uber and Lyft
January 21, 2026 // At the close of their testimony, the group suggests that lawmakers consider implementing a “portable benefits” program wherein drivers can accrue benefits across multiple platforms without “sacrificing their independent contractor status.” “We share the goal of ensuring that rideshare drivers can earn a fair living,” Chamber of Progress said. “But the evidence is clear: in city after city, minimum pay mandates have backfired by raising prices for riders, compressing earnings for experienced drivers, and degrading service for everyone.”