Posts tagged unionized
Two Tucson arts organizations unionize
November 8, 2026 // Most of the benefits were already offered by The Loft prior to the agreement, Lopez said, but the contract makes those protections more permanent.
Grower plans to close 6 recently unionized farms in Ventura, Oxnard
November 4, 2026 // SoCal Berry Growers notified the city of Oxnard that it plans to close six farms in Ventura and Oxnard in January. It will lay off 572 workers when the farms close. The farmworkers at SoCal Berry Growers recently voted to join the United Farm Workers union. Experts say strawberry farming in Ventura County has gotten much harder in recent years, and last year, the average grower lost money.
VA Contract Fight: 320,000 Employees and Union Dues Payments at Stake
October 23, 2026 // VA had already stopped withholding union dues from the paychecks of most affected employees on April 25, 2025, following EO 14251. OPM subsequently instructed agencies to end dues allotments for employees excluded from federal collective bargaining. Consequently, the latest VA action may reinforce an existing financial burden rather than create a new one. For AFGE, the consequences can be substantial. See “It’s Going to Be Devastating”: Court OKs Trump Order Impacting Federal Union Dues. Automatic payroll deductions provide a reliable way to collect membership dues. Without that service, the union must persuade members to pay directly, which reduces collections and increases administrative costs. AFGE has established alternative electronic dues collection, but losing government payroll withholding remains a financial pressure point.
NY Home Care Provider Files Unfair Labor Practice Charges & Motion to Intervene Challenging SEIU’s Push to Unionize 190,000 Providers
October 14, 2026 // Elena Rizzo, a home care provider who cares for her fiancé under New York’s Medicaid-funded Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), has just filed unfair labor practice charges and a motion to intervene with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Both actions are related to a case filed by 1199 Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers East (SEIU), seeking to unionize an estimated 190,000 personal assistants who care for people with disabilities, often family members, through CDPAP. Rizzo, who would be subjected to unwanted unionization under an SEIU petition filed with NLRB Region 3 in Buffalo on September 22, filed the charges and motion to intervene with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Commentary Mailee Smith: Federal labor bill could force social agendas into private school contracts
October 8, 2026 // A union that organizes employees with the intent of ultimately closing their schools also is capable of organizing a private school with the intent of introducing drastic contract provisions, especially when those provisions already have been demanded in its other contracts. The FLCA would give teachers unions an additional tool in their arsenal against anything that isn’t a traditional public school.
Editorial Board: Congress wants faster union contracts — except for its own staff
October 8, 2026 // Nicole Waring, the shop steward in Khanna’s office, explained why it took so long. “There’s a lot of back and forth. It takes time to review each passback of the contract [and] redline everything,” she told Politico. “The biggest thing was we wanted to make sure that this contract would be governable, and rather than just make things convenient and take shortcuts, make sure that it was going to be something that we knew would stand the test of time.” Other staff explained that going slowly was important because union contracts are binding and directly affect workers’ lives. They noted the unique workplace circumstances of a congressional office. Here’s the thing: Every workplace is unique. Every union contract directly affects workers’ lives. And that’s why the government should never force a contract on people without their consent.
Opinion: The Postal Service is Drowning the NLRB
September 30, 2026 // Around 15 percent of all ULP charges brought against employers are brought against the USPS. Around 23 percent of all ULP charges brought against unions are brought against the postal unions. The charges brought against the postal unions are generally individuals alleging that their union violated the duty of fair representation (DFR). Most of these charges appear to be without merit, as less than 15 percent of them result in some kind of remedy, whether a formal remedy from the Board or an adjusted dismissal/withdrawal. This is pretty typical of DFR charges across the country. What usually happens is an individual worker tries to pursue a grievance, the union decides the grievance is no good and opts not to pursue it, and the individual worker files a meritless DFR charge against the union.
Unionized Fremont County first responders say they’ll strike over rift with local officials
September 22, 2026 // But the Fremont County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to instead negotiate with Cody Regional Health. The county’s contract with Priority Ambulance, which operates under the name Frontier Ambulance in Fremont County, is set to expire in October. Its tentative agreement with Cody Regional Health would begin Oct. 1 and last for about a year while the county considers a more permanent strategy. If the county goes with Cody Regional, the EMTs would no longer be able to bargain as a union.
Powerful teachers’ unions share striking link with states struggling to teach kids to read
September 19, 2026 // Eight of the ten states to score among the worst in the Progressive Policy Institute’s (PPI) assessment of early-literacy policies were home to powerful teachers' unions. Among the top 60% of states in terms of early-literacy policy scores, only four had strong teachers' unions. Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Indiana, all Republican leaning states with weak unions, were among the states with the best literacy outcomes. Maine, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, Washington and Rhode Island, blue states, were among the worst.
Editorial Board: $10,000 bonuses teach Mamdani a lesson about the teachers union
September 9, 2026 // Compensation changes for unionized city employees are usually negotiated through collective bargaining between the city and organized labor, but the United Federation of Teachers instead pushed the measure through the City Council. UFT President Michael Mulgrew threatened “all-out war” against Mamdani if he opposed the payouts to school paraprofessionals.