‘The Goal Is to Spread the Joy of Reading’: 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.

Teachers Union Leader Blasts Melania Trump's Robot Pitch: 'Every Parent's Nightmare': “Randi Weingarten, president of one of America’s most powerful teachers unions, strongly pushed back Thursday against first lady Melania Trump’s comments that humanoid robot teachers could soon become central to children’s education. Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, delivered the sharp rebuke at Thursday’s inaugural Workers First AI Summit. Hosted by the AFL-CIO, the meeting of labor representatives and civil society organizations aimed to bring workers across industries together to build a unified front against AI’s unchecked growth and its growing impact on American workers. ‘What she did yesterday was every parent’s nightmare,’ Weingarten said at a session exploring the policies that should protect workers’ rights in the midst of fast-moving AI development.”

United Airlines, Flight Attendants Reach Labor Deal for First Raises Since Pandemic: “United Airlines and its flight attendant union have reached a tentative labor deal that will include their first raises in roughly six years. If ratified by flight attendants, it would make United the last of the major carriers to secure a labor deal with cabin crew members since the COVID-19 pandemic ended. United said the agreement will include immediate raises and top pay of $100 an hour at the end of the contract, as well as pay for flight attendants during boarding and ‘a signing bonus for every flight attendant worth a total of $740 million.’ The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the flight attendants union, didn’t provide specific details about the deal but said that in addition to higher base pay, it includes additional compensation for flight disruptions and new restrictions on overnight flight assignments.”

New York University Professors Reach a Deal on a Contract to End Strike After 2 Days: “Faculty members at New York University reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday to end a two-day strike at the private school, winning substantial salary increases after hundreds walked off the job over a contract dispute. The union, the Contract Faculty United-UAW, represents about 950 full-time faculty members who teach roughly a quarter of classes at New York University. and are not on track for tenure. Many complained that their salaries were falling far behind their tenure-track colleagues, and failing to keep up with the steep costs of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities.”

New Group of Alexandria City Workers Vote to Unionize: “A group of Alexandria city workers voted to unionize this month in Virginia as a bill to lift the ban on public-sector collective bargaining awaits the signature of Gov. Abigail Spanberger. On March 3, Alexandria professional employees voted 155-1 in favor of unionizing with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 20. The Alexandria professional employees union includes urban planners, therapists in the city’s Department of Community & Human Services, and accountants like Tia Littlejohn-Adams.”

Nearly 200 New Jersey Health Care Workers Vote to Unionize, Citing Unrealistic Workloads: “Nearly 200 employees who work at Inspira Health and Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice voted to unionize earlier this month, according to labor officials. The workers cited increasing workloads and critically low staffing among their reasons for choosing to organize and join the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union, New Jersey’s largest health care union.”

More Than 10,000 Free Books Are Distributed to Hundreds of Philadelphia Students: “More than 10,000 free books were distributed on Tuesday to hundreds of Philadelphia students. The giveaway was hosted by Murrell Dobbins CTE High School in North Philadelphia. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers delivered the books during the ‘It's a Lit Day’ book fair. Students in kindergarten through eighth grade were invited to pick out a book, and take it home to enjoy. The giveaway was part of AFT's ‘Reading Around the World.’ It is the union's national literacy partnership with First Book. The goal is to spread the joy of reading by providing millions of free books to students and families.”

Oregon Nurses Union Reaches 'Historic' Agreement with Kaiser Permanente After Year of Bargaining: “The Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) and Kaiser Permanente reached the final tentative agreement after a year-long bargaining process, the union announced on Monday. Now, all that remains in the negotiation process is for the six OFNHP employee groups to ratify the agreement in a vote. Union representatives said that vote is likely to succeed.”

Braxton Winston: Stop Giving Free Lunches to North Carolina Tech Manufacturer Corning: “Corning, which has more than 3,000 employees in North Carolina, recently announced a $6 billion agreement to supply fiber optic cables to tech giant Meta to fuel the company’s rapid expansion of data centers. Corning’s fiber optic manufacturing is headquartered in North Carolina and they continue to build out fiber optic manufacturing plants across the state, including in Catawba County. This new agreement should be an economic boon for all of North Carolina, but that won’t happen automatically.”

The Largest Federal Workers Union Says 'Untrained, Armed' ICE Agents Should Not Replace TSA: “‘ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons, and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints—skills that require specialized instruction, hands-on practice, and ongoing recertification,’ Everett Kelley, president of AFGE, said on Sunday in a statement posted online.”

New AFSCME 189 Contract at Portland Auditor’s Office: “Members of AFSCME Local 189 who work in the City of Portland Auditor’s Office ratified a new collective bargaining agreement March 16—after 11 months of bargaining. The contract covers 30 auditors and administrative support staff. They conduct performance audits of city services, manage the city’s Fraud Hotline, oversee city elections, and manage city records.”

Breakthrough First Contract at Labcorp: “Several years after the Legacy and Providence hospital chains outsourced their jobs, about 500 medical testing lab workers have a first union contract. Ratified March 9-15 by 86% of members voting, the contract between Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) and Laboratory Corporation of America (Labcorp) provides wage increases and a $800 signing bonus. Minimum starting pay will now be $20 an hour, up from just over $18.”

HarperCollins Union Wins New Contract: “Workers in the Association of HarperCollins Employees, members of Local 2110 of the UAW, voted to ratify their most recent union contract last week after several months of bargaining. It is the first contract negotiated between the company and the union since the historic strike at HarperCollins that ended with a contract agreement in February 2023. Under the new contract, HarperCollins employees now have one of the highest base pays in the publishing industry.”

ASTTU and Georgia AFL-CIO Launch Workforce Stability Initiative to Protect Skilled Labor: “The Association of Skilled Trade and Transportation Unions (ASTTU) today announced a formal partnership with the Georgia AFL-CIO, whose affiliated unions represent more than 60,000 workers across the state, to implement a coordinated workforce stability initiative designed to protect and retain skilled labor at a critical time for Georgia's economy.”

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 03/31/2026 - 09:58

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Tens of Thousands of Union Members Participate in Nationwide No Kings Rallies

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.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of union members participated in No Kings rallies across the nation. Americans rallied in opposition to the radical pages of Project 2025 and the fever dreams of America’s corporate billionaires, which have come to life with a relentless assault on America’s workers.

“No Kings is about standing up to the guy in the White House,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, who attended the event in Minnesota with labor leaders and thousands of union members. “But No Kings also means tearing down an economy by and for the billionaires—and instead, building it for working people. More money in our pockets—because no one in the richest country on Earth should struggle to get by. More time off—to spend with our friends and family and kids and loved ones. Equal pay for Black and Latina women—who make 58 cents on the dollar—because opportunity in this country should not depend on the color of your skin. And you know where it all starts? With a good union job for every worker in this country—because we all know, it's better in a union!”

Many labor leaders and members spoke at events across the country. AFT President Randi Weingarten and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President April Verrett joined President Shuler to speak at the Minnesota rally, which also featured Bruce Springsteen, Sen. Bernie Sanders and others. AFSCME President Lee Saunders spoke at the event in Washington, D.C., while IAM Union International President Brian Bryant addressed the rally in Savannah, Georgia.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 03/31/2026 - 09:59