A Fundamental Human Right Grounded In International Law: 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.

Over 3500 Nevada State Admin Workers Join Union After Vote: “More than 3,500 administrative and clerical workers with the state of Nevada will join a union after a recent vote. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) announced that the staffers will now be part of Local 4041. ‘I am proud of my coworkers for coming together to organize our union,’ Maria Behic, an administrative assistant at the Florence McClure Women's Correctional Center, said in a statement. ‘As admin assistants, we are the backbone of our offices—nothing happens without us. And we deserve the dignity and respect that comes with having a unified voice on the job.’”

Minuteman Press Employees Join Union: “Athens’ local printing shop employees are once again union members: Minuteman Press announced May 22 that its workers have joined the Communication Workers of America Union. Minuteman Press owner Eva Bloom told the Independent the two-decades-old business had previous union representation under its first owner, too. Minuteman is a franchise with just over 1,000 locations worldwide. ‘It was previously owned by William Bowers, and then I purchased the business in October [2025],’ Bloom said. Previously, the shop’s workers were members of the Graphic Communications Conference. ‘When Bill sold the business, we were then not unionized, and then we kind of looked at our options to rejoin a union, and settled with Communication Workers of America,’ Bloom said. ‘The reason we ended up with Communication Workers of America specifically is because they had some really great additional benefits for the team.’”

Steelworkers Ratify 3-Year Contract with Arconic: “United Steelworkers (USW) at four Arconic plants, including Davenport Works in Riverdale, have a new labor contract with the aluminum maker after union members ratified the tentative agreement on Wednesday, May 27. The three-year master contract covers roughly 3,400 workers across the four operations. In addition to Davenport Works, the contract covers union members at Lafayette Operations in Lafayette, Indiana; Tennessee Operations in Alcoa, Tennessee; and Massena Operations, USW Local 420, Massena, New York. ‘The unity of our membership across all of the Arconic locations gave us power to negotiate more secure jobs with improved wages and excellent benefits,’ USW International Vice President Ramirez said in a news release issued Wednesday night after the votes were counted. ‘When union workers stand together in the name of fairness and justice, there are no limits to what we can accomplish.’ The USW members cast their votes throughout Wednesday with USW Local 105 voting at the Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center. The union did not release specific vote totals.”

Teachers’ Union Urges Schools to Curb A.I. Chatbots and Screen Time: “Warning that young people ‘are drowning in tech,’ Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, called on schools on Wednesday to stop giving digital devices like iPads to children in prekindergarten through second grade. In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, Ms. Weingarten also urged elementary schools to avoid using artificial intelligence tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Khan Academy’s Khanmigo with children. And she called for new national privacy and safety standards for A.I. tools in all schools.”

Dark Horse Employees Form Union: “A supermajority of staff at comics publisher Dark Horse Media, including its retailer Things From Another World, announced today their intent to unionize with Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 7901. Dark Horse Workers United said its members have sent a letter, signed by 59 eligible employees, to interim CEO Jay Komas requesting voluntary recognition of the union by June 3. In the absence of that recognition, Dark Horse Workers United will petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election.”

ALA Workers Vote Yes on Union: “American Library Association (ALA) employees voted overwhelmingly to approve the formation of ALA Workers United (ALAWU), a new union representing staff at the 150-year-old association. The final vote count, tallied on May 27, was 77–4, with 81 out of 87 votes counted. (Six votes were challenged.) The National Labor Relations Board will now certify the union, a process that may take approximately 10 days, allowing workers to begin collective bargaining.”

Lobbyists Are Silencing the Voice of Working Kentuckians: “Twenty years ago, when I started my apprenticeship as a bricklayer, I never imagined my career would lead me to Frankfort as a part-time lobbyist for working people. Throughout my career in construction, I witnessed things that changed how I see the world. I’ve seen everything from minor injuries to a fatal fall from 65 feet. I’ve seen workers forced to work 16-hour days and then sleep in cargo vans on the job site because they were undocumented and had no other choice. I’ve seen workers develop debilitating illnesses after years of exposure to hazardous chemicals.”

AFL-CIO Community Services to Help Kids Feel Ready Ahead of the School Year by Distributing Tennis Shoes: “With the FIFA World Cup just around the corner, AFL-CIO Community Services is making sure local kids and future soccer players have a good pair of shoes for the school year. Through its Soles for Christ shoe distribution program, the organization will once again provide brand-new tennis shoes to students across northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas. Nicki Seckinger, executive director, said this is the 24th year they have been doing the program.”

Labor Unions Celebrate World Court’s Ruling That Enshrines the Right to Strike: “‘At a moment when workers’ organizations face sustained attacks around the world, this opinion reaffirms that the freedom to withhold one’s labor is not a privilege granted by the powerful, but a fundamental human right grounded in international law,’ AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement.”

Weingarten and Wolfson: Higher Education Must Be Rebuilt to Restore Public Trust. Here’s How: “Last month, Yale University released a striking report acknowledging that public trust in higher education is eroding—and that universities themselves bear responsibility. The report’s authors offer a candid recognition of the depth of this crisis, citing a recent Pew Research Center poll indicating that 70% of Americans believe higher education is heading in the wrong direction. Reports like Yale’s point to real issues: cost, transparency and questions about academic culture. But recognition is not the same as a reckoning.”

Please Stop Touching the Flight Attendants: “Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said there may be several factors at play. Passengers and crew are in close quarters on a plane. Travelers may feel like flight attendants are ‘a part of the furniture.’ People are out of their ordinary routines. ‘All of those things sort of come together to also create this dynamic where you might do something that you would never think to do in another situation,’ Nelson said. Flight attendants would prefer that passengers interact with them like they would with employees at any other place of business, said Sam Wilkins, a flight attendant for 28 years and first vice president of TWU Local 556, the union that represents Southwest flight attendants.”

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 06/01/2026 - 12:09

Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: Women’s National Basketball Players Association

This is the next post in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates. The series will run weekly until we’ve covered all 65 of our affiliates. Next up is the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA).

Name of Union: Women’s National Basketball Players Association

Mission: To leverage the collective wisdom and vision of WNBA players and fully commit to affirming, defending, and advancing player interests on and off the court.

Current Leadership of Union: Nneka Ogwumike serves as president. Kelsey Plum serves as first vice president, Elizabeth Williams serves as secretary, Brianna Turner serves as treasurer, and the WNBPA has three vice presidents: Alysha Clark, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart. Each team's players select a primary player representative and an alternate. There is a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. Terri Carmichael Jackson serves as the union's executive director.

Current Number of Members: 180

Members Work As: Professional basketball players.

Industries Represented: Women's professional basketball.

History: The WNBPA was created in 1998 to protect the rights of players and assist them in achieving their full potential on and off the court. It is the first labor union for professional women athletes. 

Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: The WNBPA secured a transformational new CBA on March 19, 2026. The WNBPA monitors and enforces the CBA, files grievances on behalf of its members’ interests, and counsels players on benefits and post-WNBA career opportunities. The WNBPA also serves as a resource for current players competing internationally during the offseason. The WNBPA screens the backgrounds of agents, certifies them to work with WNBA players and monitors all player contracts. The Union offers resources for continued education, workers’ compensation, retirement, travel, and other opportunities. In addition, the WNBPA supports the off-the-court passions of its members by working with social justice and civil rights organizations, uplifting foundations that various players have formed, and promoting products sold by players in the Players' Market. The WNBPA forms partnerships with corporate sponsors to promote players through its group licensing business. 

Learn More: Website, Instagram

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 06/01/2026 - 14:20