Posts tagged veto
Don’t You Dare Listen to Your Employees
November 13, 2026 // In 2022 the National Labor Relations Board ruled that T-Voice was illegal. A labor union, which was trying to organize T-Mobile, filed an unfair labor practice allegation. The NLRB found that T-Voice was a “labor organization” supported by the company, in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB was wrong, and on Friday my organization is filing a petition asking the board to restore the proper understanding of federal law by holding that “Employee Involvement Programs” aren’t labor organizations. That would reverse a de facto regulatory ban that dates to 1939.
(Language Alert) Commentary: Will Labor Strike to Overcome Trump’s Vetos?
November 5, 2026 // CWA Local 7250 President Kieran Knutson, who launched the call for the Minneapolis General Strike with four local union presidents, said that labor must keep the option of striking on the table. “Labor has to start understanding that elections may change who is in office, but our ultimate power comes from our numbers and our leverage as workers,” Knutson told Payday Report. “We need to make that leverage a permanent part of our arsenal - not just during contract expiration or first Tuesday in November.”
California approves labor-backed force majeure updates and other laws
September 30, 2026 // Union-backed SB 1371, signed by Newsom on Monday, makes changes to solid waste labor strike rules and force majeure provisions. The bill was unpopular with major waste companies. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, the law will prohibit a city or county from entering into or updating a solid waste hauling agreement if a labor dispute would excuse the hauler from carrying out its duties. The law will also void any existing force majeure provisions from such contracts if that provision is meant to be used due to a work stoppage from a labor strike.
Newsom vetoes bill pushing back on return-to-office orders for state workers
September 24, 2026 // "While I fundamentally believe in-person collaboration is an essential part of a productive and effective workplace, the state's existing telework policy includes a process for departments to consider exemptions on a case-by-case basis," the statement reads in part. "This measure, by limiting department flexibility and encouraging telework to be the default work arrangement, takes the state's telework policy in the wrong direction. For those reasons, I cannot sign this bill."
Commentary: Are Unions Rising from the Political Grave?
September 21, 2026 // Here again, however, there may be less than meets the eye. Despite its surprising bipartisan support, the FLCA would raise significant constitutional questions if enacted. By relying on a government-mandated arbitration panel to resolve labor disputes, the law effectively empowers the state to impose contractual terms on private parties—a form of what constitutional lawyers call “state action.” As attorneys Alex MacDonald and Vinnie Vernuccio observe: “[S]tate action opens the door to a slew of constitutional requirements and restrictions, notably to protect rights of free speech and association.”
Third time’s the charm? Colorado Democrats will once again fight to change how workers unionize next session
September 11, 2026 // Democratic Colorado lawmakers are confident that their plan to change the way workers unionize in the state will be successful next year, hoping that a new governor leads to a different outcome for the legislation. Dubbed the Worker Protection Act by advocates, two iterations of the concept to eliminate the second vote needed to form a union in Colorado have passed out of the state Legislature and were then vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis in 2025 and 2026
After AI layoffs, Newsom orders state government to find ways to ease the pain
May 23, 2026 // In February, AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler, members of the California Labor Federation and labor leaders in Democratic primary states pledged to pull support for a Newsom 2028 presidential campaign if he didn’t take steps to protect workers from artificial intelligence. Newsom’s veto of the predecessor of the No Robo Bosses Act was named as a reason for that pledge. In a statement shared with CalMatters, California Labor Federation president Lorena Gonzalez said the executive order is welcome but not enough
Labor leaders call collective bargaining veto a ‘betrayal’ by Virginia governor
May 19, 2026 // “I remain committed to continuing to work with the General Assembly, unions, localities and public servants across the Commonwealth to develop a public sector collective bargaining system that works for Virginia,” Spanberger said in a statement. “However, I believe additional amendments are needed to the enrolled bill currently before me.” During the Jim Crow era, Virginia banned public sector collective bargaining in 1948 in response to a group of Black workers organizing a union at the University of Virginia hospital. Before Virginia passed a law that permits local governments to enact their own collective bargaining system in 2021, the state was one of only three that have blanket bans on collective bargaining for public sector workers. Even after the law passed, collective bargaining for state government workers remains illegal.
Colorado Senate passes Labor Peace Act overhaul, sends bill to governor
May 7, 2026 // The Democratic governor has said since before this year’s introduction of House Bill 1005 that he’s very likely to veto the bill, as he did in 2025 over concerns that it doesn’t represent consensus between business and labor and could hurt Colorado’s economy. The fact that union and employer representatives haven’t sat down with him to negotiate a potential compromise — something they did last year — reinforces the notion that Polis has no inclination to take a different tact to what would be a major shift in state labor policy.
Key labor bill clears Colorado legislature, faces governor’s veto for second year in a row
May 6, 2026 // The bill would repeal an 80-year-old unionization rule unique to Colorado that mandates workers hold a second election before their union can operate, following a simple majority vote to unionize in the first place. In the second election, a three-quarters majority of a company’s workers must sign off in order to negotiate labor matters as a union. Under a union security agreement, every employee must contribute union fees regardless if they are a union member.