Posts tagged unionize
Massachusetts House Democrats Kill Bill That Would’ve Let Legislative Staffers Unionize
April 6, 2026 // BARRING A SUDDEN REVERSAL by their ostensibly pro-labor bosses, the Massachusetts legislative staffers who have long fought to form a union will once again need to wait ‘til next year. House Democrats have quietly smothered legislation that would have given aides in both chambers a clear legal right to organize and collectively bargain. A similar bill is technically still alive in the Senate, but given that top lawmakers there have already voiced concerns about the legal framework for a staff union, the prospects appear dim.
Mountain West Holding Company Traffic Safety Workers Across Montana Vote LIUNA Union Bosses Out of Power
April 6, 2026 // This isn’t the first time that Mountain West employees have voted to escape the clutches of LIUNA Local 1686. In 2024, a unit of Mountain West equipment operators based in Billings, MT, led by Michael Horsman, voted to decertify the union in a near-unanimous vote. Horsman also received free Foundation legal assistance. Foundation attorneys have noticed a marked increase in worker requests for help in decertifying unpopular unions. NLRB statistics indicate that in 2025, decertification petition filings were up almost 40 percent from 2020.
University of Alaska staff vote to unionize
April 5, 2026 // University of Alaska staff announced a vote to form a union on Wednesday. The union would represent 2,300 permanent staff across the three universities and a dozen community campuses. Staff voted to form the union Coalition of Alaska University Staff for Equity, or CAUSE, which would be part of the national United Auto Workers union, in a 1,106 to 610 vote, with 64% voting yes. UA staff that would be represented by the union include student services staff, researchers, fiscal and administrative staff, development staff, science communicators, information systems specialists, library workers, athletics coaches
Federal judge tosses Brightline suit, upholding workers’ vote to unionize
April 3, 2026 // The case centered on whether Brightline qualifies as a railroad under federal labor law. Brightline argued that because it operates only within Florida and is not regulated by the Surface Transportation Board, it should not fall under the Railway Labor Act, the law that governs rail and airline labor relations. If the judge had agreed, the union election would have been invalid. Judge Gayles rejected that argument, saying the law does not limit labor protections only to railroads regulated by the Surface Transportation Board. He also pointed out that Brightline received federal grants to help build and improve its rail system. Under federal law, companies that use rail infrastructure built with those funds are considered rail carriers and must follow federal railroad labor laws, including allowing workers to organize.
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.
As Michigan’s childcare costs rise, workers debate risks of unionizing
March 31, 2026 // Instead of childcare workers unionizing against owners, the model most commonly seen in childcare unions across the country is owners unionizing against their state, as Henderson is advocating for — specifically, childcare owners who receive state reimbursement payments for care they provide low-income families and therefore can be considered state employees. The purpose is to get more robust and permanent public dollars through contract negotiation to fund things providers say they can’t currently afford because of limits on their revenue, like higher wages, insurance benefits, and overall more stability for the struggling industry. Critics of this model say childcare providers shouldn't be considered public employees just because they receive payments from the state or put in a position where they may feel they have to pay union dues. They also say the fractured layout of the industry doesn't lend itself well to unionization and could create division among already under-resourced owners and staff.
Graduate fellows seek to unionize in unprecedented move
March 31, 2026 // The move appears to be the first of its kind at a private U.S. institution of higher education, something union organizers argue is made possible by a novel Rhode Island law passed in August that explicitly codifies the right of graduate student employees — including fellows not working as teaching or research assistants — to unionize. Graduate fellows are students who receive stipend funding unrelated to whether or not they officially work as research or teaching assistants. The University’s current contract with GLO includes only graduate student employees recognized by the National Labor Relations Board, many of whom are teaching or research assistants
More Democratic legislative staff seek to unionize in Washington
March 30, 2026 // A 2022 law cleared the way for partisan legislative staff to unionize starting in 2024 and to negotiate workplace terms and conditions. Legislative assistants, policy analysts and communications staff in the House Democratic Caucus, legislative assistants in the Senate Democratic Caucus and legislative assistants for Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate did so. Each has since negotiated their first collective bargaining agreements. Washington Public Employees Association represents the Democratic employee bargaining units and the Legislative Professionals Association represents the Republican staff unions. Democratic policy and communications staff are looking to be part of the same bargaining unit as legislative assistants in the Senate Democratic Caucus.
SAG-AFTRA Communications Staffers Attempting to Unionize
March 30, 2026 // The announcement comes as SAG-AFTRA takes a break from negotiations with Hollywood’s top studios and streamers over its next three-year film and television deal, with talks set to resume later this spring. Given that so many staffers in the union touch some part of these negotiations, that timing could improve the leverage of the workers, who are seeking voluntary recognition from their employer rather than an election at the National Labor Relations Board.
Op-Ed: Are unions intentionally exploiting the language barrier?
March 26, 2026 // They don’t know dues are voluntary. They don’t know they can stop payments. They don’t even know they have a choice. And just as importantly — they’re too often made to feel like they shouldn’t ask.