Posts tagged public employee union
Longtime Union Leader Prepares to Step Back From a Movement Under Threat
July 30, 2026 // Mr. Saunders had to reckon with another internal division after George Floyd’s murder, when a subset of members called for law enforcement groups to be banished from the union. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is a liberal union, but its political composition can be quite diverse: Its 1.4 million dues-paying members across the country include nurses in Michigan, transportation workers in New York and corrections officers in New Mexico, along with domestic workers, clerks, cops and librarians. Mr. Saunders thought it would be a mistake to push out the police.
As Newsom’s return-to-office mandate is just one week away, state workers and unions continue pushback
June 29, 2026 // Governor's order requiring most employees in the office four days a week takes effect July 1 amid concerns over costs, staffing and workplace readiness
New York unions say fixing Tier 6 will drive hiring. Data suggests otherwise.
April 19, 2026 // The situation in Albany, where retirement costs account for about 9% of the city's budget, underscores a reality for many cash-strapped local governments across New York. And the dire financial outlooks are in place as state lawmakers weigh whether to address changes to the Tier 6 state pension system. Rochester, for example, is facing a budget gap of $131 million, the largest in the city's history. Rochester's largest expenditure is its increasing pension and health care costs. Those projected pension costs for the next fiscal year are $74 million. Health care costs for active and retired employees have escalated to $108 million. "This budgetary framework is simply not sustainable," Mayor Malik D. Evans told a state legislative panel last month. "And it threatens the incredible momentum we're making toward violence reduction, job creation, workforce development, affordable housing, home ownership, economic
State worker union investigating former president over claims of long work weeks, high pay
February 12, 2026 // Minnesota’s largest public employee union is investigating its former president after members questioned whether she was actually working the long hours she allegedly claimed at her union and state jobs. Between her two jobs, Megan Dayton earned about $180,000 annually in recent years — far more than her predecessor.
Major state employee union approves new contract after bitter negotiations
August 12, 2025 // After one of the most bitter contract campaigns in recent memory, members of the union representing some 18,000 state employees approved a two-year contract that largely maintains the status quo with modest pay increases. Although voting, dues-paying members supported ratifying the contract by a wide margin — 6,857 to 1,813 — the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees said the 79% approval was the lowest since the union went on strike in 2001.
School custodian appeals union wage case dismissal
July 29, 2025 // According to the lawsuit, the union continued to remove dues for four months before stopping in April 2024. The suit says the union resumed removing dues in May 2024. The appeal argues the lower court erroneously ruled jurisdiction solely rests with the State Employment Labor Relations Board and goes against an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that Sheldon argues gives public employees the right to sue over private contract disputes, despite the Ohio Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act. Sheldon wants the union to stop removing dues from his paycheck and refund the money taken after he quit. He also wants an injunction to prevent further removal.
Political fights put spotlight on leader of Washington’s largest public employee union
June 13, 2025 // And he didn’t hold back with rhetorical slights against the new governor, calling Ferguson a “pseudo Democrat” at rallies and “Ratfink Robbie Ferguson” on Facebook. The swipes further brightened the exposure of the union’s demands. Yestramski said in a recent interview in the union’s Olympia headquarters that he prefers “adult conversations” to resolve differences, though he realizes what occurred in the legislative session “may have painted a slightly different impression.” But the gravity of the situation demanded a strong retort, he said.
Oregon: Clackamas County’s largest public employee union votes to strike
April 4, 2025 // The union represents more than 1,000 public employees. They work in a variety of departments, including public health, parole and probation and the parks district. Union leaders have yet to provide the county with a formal 10-day notice that they intend to strike, but said in an email that members have authorized them to provide the notice “at any time.”
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.
Public employee unions took over Michigan. Now they’re eyeing Pennsylvania
May 7, 2024 // Bad as this is for taxpayers, the union-backed legislators have made things even worse for workers. A new law requires government employers to provide unions with employees’ personal contact information within 30 days of hiring. Employers must update and resubmit this information every 90 days. Unions are thus given free rein to inundate workers with political or other material whether it is wanted or not.