Posts tagged working conditions
New York Foundation for the Arts Workers Move to Unionize
September 14, 2025 // Workers at the nonprofit New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) are moving to unionize through Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers (UAW). Never before in NYFA’s history have its workers led such an initiative. The nonprofit offers grants to artists and institutions, though it is even more well-known in the New York art world for the classifieds section of its website. Staff members there said they decided to push for unionization due to a lack of transparency, unfair wages, and unsustainable working conditions.
Op-ed: Trump Is Right to Take On the Federal-Worker Unions
September 4, 2025 // Today, only 6 percent of private sector workers are union members. Virtually the only unions that are growing are public sector unions — such as the teachers’ unions. Today, more than one in three government workers in the U.S. belongs to a union. But over 85 percent of those work at the state and local level — not in the federal government. That makes it vital for states to follow President Trump’s lead — along with that of states like Wisconsin — and end collective bargaining for their public employees.
Opinion: It’s time to put American workers ahead of big labor
September 3, 2025 // in 2024 alone, the Department of Labor documented 177 enforcement actions against unions for fraud, embezzlement, wire fraud, and falsified records. Congressional investigations have targeted a dozen unions for similar abuses, highlighting a pattern of self-dealing that diverts funds from pensions, training programs, and strike support. When union officials embezzle or racketeer, it’s the everyday worker who pays the price through diminished benefits and tarnished reputations. Perhaps most troubling is the growing chasm between union leaders’ policy stances and the actual views of their members. Union bosses, often ensconced in Washington or state capitals, pour millions into liberal causes and Democratic campaigns, even as their grassroots base leans increasingly conservative or independent. In the 2024 election, while top labor officials doubled down on Democratic endorsements and criticized Republican outreach, many union households shifted toward Donald Trump.
For first time in decades, Mountain Cement plant workers to vote for unionization
August 18, 2025 // This marks the first time since 1991 that a union election at the plant reached the threshold for a formal vote. Previous efforts failed to secure the 30% employee support required to trigger an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, which gives workers the chance to decide on union representation.
How Federal Workers ‘Without A Union Can Still Act Like A Union’
August 13, 2025 // In fact, this was the state of organizing in the Federal Sector before 1962. Whether its well-established local Unions or newly formed Organizing Committees, many Workers are asking: “What’s the point in a Union?” or “What can our Union do at this point?”
Educator urges Illinois teachers to reject union pressure, politics and coercion
August 7, 2025 // Sarah Fletcher, a former charter school educator and now the Head of School at White Horse Academy, a private school, said her own teaching career trajectory was shaped by a desire to avoid union involvement altogether. “When we moved here to Illinois from Arizona, I had very little interest in teaching at the public school,” Fletcher said. “Part of that was because I didn’t want to be pressured into or have to be mandated to pay dues. The IEA and IFT, which are part of larger organizations like the NEA, use the majority of their funds not to represent teachers, but for political advocacy.”
Minnesota Teamsters unanimously vote to authorize a strike
August 5, 2025 // “Teamsters Local 120 represents hundreds of Sysco workers who deliver across the state of Minnesota, and a work stoppage at the company’s Mounds View facility would have a direct impact on the company’s operations in Duluth,” explained a representative from Local 120. The union further stated that Sysco is one of the largest and most profitable food service companies in the United States. They say, in 2024, it reported $1.95 billion in net profits, which is up more than 10 percent from the year prior.
Court allows Trump to end union bargaining for federal workers
August 5, 2025 // Trump's order exempted more than a dozen federal agencies from obligations to bargain with unions. They include the Departments of Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, and Health and Human Services.
Minnesota Teamsters unanimously vote to authorize a strike
July 31, 2025 // Workers at Sysco Minnesota, a food delivery service company based in Blaine, have unanimously voted in favor to authorize a strike if their union finds it necessary. More than 230 drivers and warehouse workers, represented by Teamsters Local 120, say they want higher pay, stronger benefits, and better working conditions.
AFL-CIO rallies Atlanta workers to unionize ahead of Labor Day
July 24, 2025 // AFL-CIO, brought its “It’s Better in a Union” national bus tour to Atlanta, rallying workers across industries to organize and demand better pay, benefits, and working conditions. The event, held in partnership with the Atlanta chapter of the AFL-CIO, drew workers from restaurants, healthcare, sanitation, and logistics, many of whom say they’re fed up with corporations profiting while employees struggle to make ends meet. “We’re doing everything, but we’re not rewarded for what we’re doing,” said Teresa Kennard, a Waffle House employee who spoke during the rally. “We all know there is power in numbers.”