08/21/2025 - 10:30pm
Empire State of Mind: President Shuler Rallies at AFL-CIO Bus Stops in Hudson Valley, Times Square
![Attendees at the New York City event [top] and the Croton-on-Hudson event [bottom].](https://aflcio.org/sites/default/files/2025-08/times-square.png)
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler rode the AFL-CIO “It’s Better in a Union” bus into the Hudson Valley and New York City this week to rally local unions.
Shuler joined union members for an accountability rally on Tuesday to call out Rep. Mike Lawler for his vote to pass disastrous cuts to critical programs and investments. Hudson Valley union members and leaders gathered in Croton Point Park, in the heart of New York’s 17th Congressional District, to highlight how Lawler failed to advance the Protect America’s Workforce Act and thereby harmed the working people he represents.
“Ripping away food from our children and our seniors, gutting funding from our schools, that our hospitals need, voting to give tax cuts to billionaires instead of working families who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads,” Shuler said.
On Wednesday, the bus tour arrived at the iconic Times Square for a rally with Actors’ Equity Association President Brooke Shields as members face contract negotiations with the Broadway League beginning next week. Broadway actors and stage managers are gearing up to fight for the improved scheduling, better sick coverage and secure health care they deserve.
“Every working person deserves a fair deal at work. We need reasonable schedules, protection when we get hurt,” Shields said, adding that she had torn her meniscus and still danced on it for three months. “Our stage managers don’t have swings. They get sick, they have to still come to work. It’s too much. We need safer staffing practices. We need [a] fair share [of] money going into our health insurance.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 15:41
Tags:
Better in a Union Bus Tour
08/21/2025 - 4:00pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: SEIU Members at Butler Hospital Ratify New Contract, End Historic Strike
Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
After three months walking the picket line, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199NE members reached a tentative agreement on Monday and voted overwhelmingly to ratify their new contract with Butler Hospital and its owner, Care New England.
Staff at the Rhode Island psychiatric and substance abuse facility made history in their fight for a fair agreement, staging one of the longest walkouts in the state’s history. The previous contract, which covered nearly 800 front-line workers, expired in March. Throughout negotiations, the union’s core sticking point was securing higher wages to address the staffing shortages. The new agreement contains major victories, such as language that ensures no current employee will earn less than $20 an hour by the end of the contract, maintains health care benefits and includes improvements to workplace safety, retirement security and more.
“This resolution is a sign of true unity that brings the hospital and its mission forward,” said Brooke Huminski, a clinical social worker. “We are incredibly thankful for the support of so many in our community as well as elected leaders, especially House Speaker [Joseph] Shekarchi who helped us find a pathway forward toward resolution.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 10:00
08/21/2025 - 4:00pm
Solidarity and Strength: What Working People Are Doing This Week
Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing across the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week.
Actors' Equity:
Equity's next memorial gathering will be held next Monday, August 25. Don't let theater landlords decide how we honor recently passed Equity members. Join us as we read their names, share our stories and memories with each other. RSVP via zoom - https://bit.ly/4lyT75m
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— Actors' Equity Association (@actorsequity.bsky.social) August 20, 2025 at 9:45 AM
AFGE:
AFSCME:
Alliance for Retired Americans:
Amalgamated Transit Union:
American Federation of Musicians:
American Federation of Teachers:
American Postal Workers Union:
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA:
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers:
Boilermakers:
Bricklayers:
Communications Workers of America:
Department for Professional Employees:
Congratulations to the stage managers at Boston Ballet who have officially joined together in union with @weareagma.bsky.social! www.musicalartists.org/agma-and-bos...
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— Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (@dpeaflcio.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Electrical Workers:
Fire Fighters:
08/21/2025 - 4:00pm
Worker Wins: True Unity
Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.
NNU Members at Oneida Health Hospital in New York: Nurses at Oneida Health Hospital, members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), voted to ratify a new three-year contract. The new deal includes yearly 3-percent wage increases and incentives to help recruit and retain nurses, no concessions on benefits, and a bonus on ratification. “I’m so proud of what we were able to achieve,” Donna Maccarone, a registered nurse, said. “We fought because we care for this community and believe that patients and nurses deserve better. These improvements will ensure that we have enough nurses to provide the absolute best care possible.”
SEIU Members at Butler Hospital Ratify New Contract, End Historic Strike: After three months walking the picket line, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199NE members reached a tentative agreement on Monday and voted overwhelmingly to ratify their new contract with Butler Hospital and its owner, Care New England. Staff at the Rhode Island psychiatric and substance abuse facility made history in their fight for a fair agreement, staging one of the longest walkouts in the state’s history. The previous contract, which covered nearly 800 front-line workers, expired in March. Throughout negotiations, the union’s core sticking point was securing higher wages to address the staffing shortages. The new agreement contains major victories, such as language that ensures no current employee will earn less than $20 an hour by the end of the contract, maintains health care benefits and includes improvements to workplace safety, retirement security and more. “This resolution is a sign of true unity that brings the hospital and its mission forward,” said Brooke Huminski, a clinical social worker. “We are incredibly thankful for the support of so many in our community as well as elected leaders, especially House Speaker [Joseph] Shekarchi who helped us find a pathway forward toward resolution.”
Howard Community College Faculty Reach Tentative Agreement: Members of the United Academics of Maryland-Howard Community College (UAMD-HCC)—an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFT-Maryland and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)—have secured a tentative agreement for their first union contract. The bargaining unit covers full-time faculty at HCC, who will vote on whether to ratify the deal later this month. In addition to a 4% cost-of-living adjustment and a $3,500 bonus for all full-time faculty, members also won a clear disciplinary process, greater job security, defined workload guardrails, increased shared governance with the college and more. “This agreement is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our faculty,” said United Academics of Maryland-HCC Chair and Associate Professor Nadene Vevea. “After tough negotiations, we have secured vital advancements that not only recognize the contributions of our educators but also lay a foundation for a stronger academic environment at Howard Community College.” “This tentative agreement is a monumental leap forward in improving faculty working conditions at Howard Community College and for the broader movement to strengthen higher education in Maryland,” said AFT-Maryland President Kenya Campbell. “Faculty at Howard Community College stood together to demand better, and this tentative agreement delivers not only for them but also builds momentum for the fight for all community college faculty statewide.”
Blizzard’s Story and Franchise Development Workers Join CWA: Blizzard’s Story and Franchise Development (SFD) team became the latest group of video game workers to organize after they voted to form a union with Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9510 on Tuesday. After a majority of the video game company’s in-house cinematic, animation and narrative team endorsed union authorization, parent corporation Microsoft recognized CWA as the workers’ bargaining representative. Nearly 3,000 workers at Microsoft-owned studios have organized as part of the union’s Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) project to build better standards across the industry since 2023. “After more than a decade working at Blizzard, I’ve seen all the highs and lows. For years, Blizzard has been a place where people could build their careers and stay for decades, but that stability’s been fading,” said Bucky Fisk, a principal editor and member of the organizing committee. “With a union, we’re able to preserve what makes this place special, secure real transparency in how decisions are made, and make sure policies are applied fairly to everyone.” “These workers are setting the standard for animation, cinematics, and storytelling across the video game industry, creating the breathtaking cutscenes, trailers, and other narrative content that fans have come to love across all Blizzard franchises. We are excited to have them join our union family,” said Local 9510 President Jason Justice. “Their decision to organize is another powerful step toward ensuring that every worker at Blizzard and Microsoft has a seat at the table to shape the conditions under which their art is made.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 08/21/2025 - 10:35
Tags:
Organizing
08/20/2025 - 9:30pm
AFL-CIO Bus Tour Joins AFSCME for a March on Rep. Kim’s Office to Demand Accountability for Service Cuts
On Tuesday, as part of the AFL-CIO “It’s Better in a Union” bus tour, AFSCME President Lee Saunders and more than 100 union members in Anaheim, California, called for Rep. Young Kim to be held accountable for her vote to cut services at local hospitals, nursing homes and schools to pay for billionaire tax breaks.
Workers gathered for a press conference to speak out against the disastrous funding cuts in the Trump administration’s budget and then marched to Rep. Kim’s office to deliver a letter detailing how the bill will hurt their communities.
“Rep. Young Kim voted for the largest cuts to Medicaid and affordable health care in our nation’s history,” said Saunders. “She voted to increase health care premiums and rip coverage away from [more than] 15 million people across America—including as many as 31,000 people right here in California’s 40th district. She voted to kill thousands of jobs funded by Medicaid—nurses, home care workers, paramedics, special education aides and more….So, today, we’re here to send a message to Congresswoman Kim: With this vote, it’s clear we can’t count on you.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 08/20/2025 - 15:17
Tags:
Better in a Union Bus Tour
08/20/2025 - 3:30pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Labor Leaders and Workers Rally Nationwide for Stand for Veterans, Stand for Unions Day of Action
Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Across more than 10 cities, union members and veterans gathered to fight back against the Trump administration’s aggressive attacks on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staffing and collective bargaining agreements.
The rallies followed the VA's unilateral cancellation of nearly all of its union contracts last week. Workers who provide essential care and services for returning service members are represented by unions like AFGE, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), National Nurses United (NNU), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) and the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE/SEIU).
“Unfair treatment in the workplace will skyrocket,” said Aimee Potter, a social worker and AFGE Local 789 union steward who spoke in Chicago. “[VA Secretary Douglas] Collins claims this will improve veterans’ care, but the truth is, this decision paves the way for mass job cuts, terminations and the hollowing-out of the agency.”
"They canceled my appointment because they literally do not have the staff to cover everybody," said veteran Alissa Ellman who attended a rally in Syracuse, New York. "The waiting room was empty, and the last three visits I’ve had to the VA, the bathrooms in the Buffalo VA have been absolutely filthy. Why? Not because people don’t want to do a good job, don’t want to clean, they’ve been clean for the last 20 years while I’ve been getting health care there, it’s because they are lacking in staff.”
“The call to order is to stop trying to privatize the VA, to stop trying to give our health care, our health care service to a private sector person that’s going to make a profit off of it,” said Nashville, Tennessee, rally goer and Navy veteran Jim Wohlgemuth. “The government for decades, for decades, has been more than happy to send us overseas to wherever and then leave us alone when we get back.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 08/19/2025 - 09:59
08/20/2025 - 3:30pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Steelworkers Fundraise for Clairton Coke Works Explosion Victims
Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1557 members are mobilizing to raise donations and provide community support for the victims of the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works explosion.
The fatal explosion at the Pittsburgh-area coal-processing plant last week killed two workers and injured 10 others. The day after the tragic disaster, the co-chairs of Local 1557’s NextGen committee, Zack Mainhart and Travis Laing, sprang into action with local businesses and faith leaders to support victims, survivors and their families.
“We’ll do everything in our power to help them. If they need school supplies, groceries, a shoulder or an ear, [Local] 1557 will be there,” said Mainhart. “We are in this together. Our members and their families have a tough [road] ahead, but they will not be alone.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 08/20/2025 - 09:43
08/20/2025 - 3:30pm
Workers First: In the States Roundup
It's time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations on X.
Alaska AFL-CIO:
Arizona AFL-CIO:
08/18/2025 - 8:00pm
AFL-CIO Bus Tour Stops in Philadelphia as Teachers Prepare to Strike; Travels to Long Beach to Defend VA Union Contracts
![Photos from the Long Beach [left] and Philadelphia rallies [right].](https://aflcio.org/sites/default/files/2025-08/philly.png)
The AFL-CIO “It’s Better In a Union” bus made two powerful stops on Friday as its nationwide tour rolls on. In Philadelphia, the bus tour joined the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) at its last strike preparation gathering before the new school year begins; in Long Beach California, it stopped by a Protect Veterans’ Care and Stop Retaliation Against Workers rally at the Tibor Rubin Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.
PFT members are currently in negotiations with the School District of Philadelphia in hope of reaching a new contract and avoiding a walkout. However, they are still preparing to strike if necessary. At the event, teachers received support from other local unions and the families of their students. Attendees made signs and gathered materials that will be needed if the strike becomes a reality. PFT’s current agreement expires on Aug. 31.
“You have a calling to prepare and educate the next generations of Philadelphians and Americans. You’re patriots! You’re really making it happen here in Philadelphia and across the commonwealth,” Philadelphia Council of the AFL-CIO President Danny Bauder told the crowd gathered in front of the bus. “No matter what it takes, if it’s escalated activities, rallies or shutting the city down, we’re gonna do it and we’re going to win when we do!”
In Long Beach, AFGE National President Everett Kelley and Reps. Nanette Barragán and Derek Tran joined Los Angeles-area union members, veterans and community members to fight back against attacks on the VA. Speakers called on Congress to stop the Trump administration’s efforts to privatize the nation’s largest public health care system and demanded the restoration of federal workers’ collective bargaining rights.
AFGE Local 1061 President and Army veteran Dewanda Mitchell said: “Trump is trying to silence union VA workers because we’re the ones standing in the way of his ultimate goal: privatizing all VA care and selling veterans out to the lowest bidder. This is retaliation! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Mon, 08/18/2025 - 13:19
Tags:
Better in a Union Bus Tour
08/18/2025 - 8:00pm
Stand Up for Working People: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
Julie Su: Union-Buster in Chief: “Up until now, the go-to example of a president using his power to try to destroy unions and set back the labor movement was Ronald Reagan’s firing of striking air traffic controllers in 1981. That move threw 11,000 dedicated workers who kept Americans safe and flight paths clear out of their jobs. It declared open season on workers who exercised their fundamental rights to improve their working conditions, sending a message to private employers that they, too, could fight worker organizing drives, break strikes, and undermine workers’ rights. And its impact—a decades-long decline in union density and workers’ bargaining power—reverberated throughout the 1980s, ’90s, and into this century.”
Mark Dimondstein: Mail Workers Union Leader: The U.S. Postal Service Is Not for Sale: “Growing up near the Boston Post Road, I never appreciated that I had the early postal system to thank for this old thoroughfare between New York and Boston. Nor did I know that I would one day proudly earn a living as a postal worker and spend 12 years as the elected leader of my union of postal workers. As the U.S. Postal Service celebrates its 250th anniversary, my experience lends a unique perspective on its past, present, and future. Older than the country itself and enshrined in the Constitution, the Postal Service reflected a then-radical commitment to the free exchange of ideas and information. The Founding Fathers relied on the Postal Service to organize the Second Continental Congress and to circulate the Federalist Papers. Later, the abolitionist movement agitated and organized against the evils of slavery largely through mailed newspapers and correspondence.”
Over 160 Blizzard Workers in Irvine Join Union as Gaming-Industry Labor Movement Expands: “More than 160 workers at video game company Blizzard Entertainment have voted to unionize. The workers, who produce in-house cinematics, animation, trailers, promotional videos and other narrative content, are just the latest batch in the video game industry to unionize, with more than 6,000 having organized across the U.S. and Canada. A wave of organizing in the industry has been driven in recent years by such issues as crunch-time hours before a product releases, job insecurity and workplace harassment.”
WMU Board of Trustees Approves New Contract with AFSCME Union: “The Western Michigan University Board of Trustees held their first meeting Wednesday with new President Russ Kavalhuna driving the agenda. It was a meeting only in the official sense, as the board met virtually in a special online session to ratify a contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.”
Labor Unions Mobilize to Challenge Advance of Algorithms in Workplaces: “As employers and tech companies rush to deploy artificial intelligence software into workplaces to improve efficiency, labor unions are stepping up work with state lawmakers across the nation to place guardrails on its use. The renewed drive to regulate AI could change how workers are exposed to AI in their jobs and complicate industry plans to roll out technology such as robotaxis or tools that track individuals’ productivity. It comes after the Senate killed a proposed federal moratorium that would have banned states from regulating AI for the next 10 years.”
Fred Redmond Joins Tavis Smiley: “Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American labor official in history as secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, says we’re in the middle of another Hot Labor Summer with a big Boeing strike, a beautiful bus tour, and bad Black unemployment numbers.”
AFL-CIO Bus Tour Stops at Chicago A. Philip Randolph Gathering: “Beginning on July 5, the AFL-CIO has been sending two buses to collect testimony from workers across the country who are concerned about the Trump administration’s policies, in a lead-up to rallies across the country on Labor Day and in preparation for the 2026 midterm elections. Prior to Friday’s address, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Fred Redmond and others attended rallies in support of striking workers in the Chicago area at QSL America, The Emily Hotel and The Chicago History Museum. ‘We want to make sure that people understand that organized labor is committed to stand up for working people and their concerns are our concern,’ Redmond said in an interview with People’s World. ‘We’re going to elevate their voices in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country.’”
Latino Labor Organization Pushes Unity Among All Workers: “The leadership of the nation’s largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO, was represented by top labor leaders including Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond who moved the attendees with his declaration that ‘the attack of the administration on everything we believe in has been tremendous, the attack on federal workers, immigrant workers, women, collective bargaining that built the middle class in this country. Cut funding for healthcare and education for tax breaks for the billionaires! Ten million will lose healthcare! They have further destroyed due process. They sold out the working class.’”
Fred Redmond: Trump Didn’t Just Fail to Protect Black Jobs. He’s Leading Us to Black Unemployment: “President Trump likes to say he is delivering for working people. He promised on the campaign trail that he would protect ‘Black jobs.’ But like so many of his promises, it is an empty one. In fact, we have been living with the effects of Trump’s policies since he took office in January and the only thing he has delivered for us is employment uncertainty and financial insecurity. The July jobs report that came out last week is starting to reflect that.”
MaryBe McMillan: 'Big Beautiful Bill' Will Deplete Medicaid Coverage, Close Rural Hospitals: “The so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ that President Donald Trump signed into law on the Fourth of July will have devastating impacts on the health and food security of working people across North Carolina. The coming wave of drastic cuts to federal spending on essential social programs will ripple through every community.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 08/15/2025 - 11:31
