Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Pittsburgh City Workers Secure a New Minimum Wage, Stronger Grievance Language and Other Gains

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.

Members of AFSCME Local 2719—part of AFSCME Council 13—who work for the city of Pittsburgh have overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract.

Highlights of the agreement include a new minimum wage, stronger grievance language, a sick bank for members in times of need, longevity payments, preferential bidding opportunities for all city jobs for AFSCME members and more. Members stood together and ensured there were no significant givebacks in the three-year deal. And if that weren’t enough to celebrate, AFSCME also succeeded in expanding the contract’s coverage to new bargaining unit positions.

“Our local members showed up, not only at the bargaining table through our bargaining team, but also at the ballot box to have their voices heard,” said Craig Sippel, president of Local 2719. “We as a team put in the work, and it paid off big for our members.”

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 01/13/2026 - 10:30

‘Let Us Work’: 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.

Union Leaders Celebrate Palomino Solar Groundbreaking: “Leadership from three local labor unions, The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 575, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 83, and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 18, are celebrating the official start of construction on the Palomino Solar Energy Project in Highland County. The 200 MWAC facility marks a major win for skilled labor and local community investment, bringing hundreds of good-paying jobs, world-class apprenticeship and training opportunities, and approximately $1.8 million in annual property tax revenue to the county.”

Northern Maine Medical Center Nurses Vote to Keep Union: “Registered nurses at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent voted Wednesday night to re-certify their union, rejecting an effort backed by hospital management to dissolve the group, according to the Maine State Nurses Association. The nurses, who formed the union in 2024, are represented by the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United. The re-certification vote marks the second time nurses have voted in favor of union representation.”

Rady Children’s Hospital Healthcare Staff Votes to Unionize: “Healthcare workers at Rady Children’s Hospital voted on Tuesday to join the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) union. Employees with Rady Children’s Hospital voted from Dec. 11 to Jan. 6 to join the union. SEIU-UHW represents 120,000 healthcare workers in California, including 6,000 at Sharp HealthCare, 550 Planned Parenthood staff and 400 dialysis workers in the San Diego region.”

DreamWorks Remote Team, Netflix and ‘Ted’ Show Production Workers Vote to Unionize with the Animation Guild: “DreamWorks Animation (DWA) remote workers across the United States, feature production workers at Netflix Animation Studios and production workers on the show ‘Ted’ have officially voted to unionize with the Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) and the Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700), in an effort to ensure fair pay and treatment for all animation workers. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ballot count for DWA remote workers resulted in a majority ‘yes’ vote in favor of union representation with the Animation Guild. DreamWorks Animation studio will formally recognize the remote bargaining unit under TAG and begin the process of negotiating a contract.”

AHL and Players’ Union Reach Tentative Deal on Collective Bargaining Agreement: “The American Hockey League (AHL) and Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) announced a tentative collective bargaining agreement Wednesday afternoon. The CBA must still be ratified by the PHPA’s membership and approved by the AHL’s board of governors. The AHL has been playing without a new CBA this season.”

Nurses and Veterans to Rally Against Trump’s Job Cuts at VA Facilities: “Nurses and Veterans from across the city plan to rally in the Bronx on Thursday to denounce the Trump administration’s plans to cut tens of thousands of jobs from Department of Veterans Affairs facilities, including hundreds in New York City, according to the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United. NNU said 383 positions will be cut from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens VA facilities. According to NPR, 25,000 currently-unfilled health care positions will be eliminated countrywide. This follows the loss of roughly 30,000 positions last year due to early retirements, resignations and a hiring freeze as part of Department of Government Efficiency cuts.”

Sun Sentinel Journalists Ratify Historic First Contract: “The journalists of the SunSentinel Guild voted unanimously to ratify their historic contract with the South Florida Sun Sentinel and parent company, Alden Global Capital, offering improved pay and job protections. The two-year contract is the first for Sun Sentinel journalists in the newspaper’s 115-year history. It will provide two years of raises, a $1,500 bonus and job protections from artificial intelligence, among other benefits.”

‘I Am What I Am’: American Postal Workers Union’s New President Talks Leadership During Inflection Point for U.S. Postal Service: “Jonathan Smith took the helm of the American Postal Workers Union in November after prevailing in the 200,000-member organization’s election the previous month. Formerly president of the New York Metro Area Postal Union, APWU’s largest local, since 2012, and a member of the union since 1988, Smith assumes leadership at a time when the Postal Service both celebrates its 250th anniversary and faces a contentious debate over its future and how it will modernize. In this interview with Government Executive, Smith discusses his personal connection to postal work, how he plans to fight any effort to privatize the Postal Service and his views on Delivering for America, the 10-year overhaul plan started by former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and being continued by current PG David Steiner.”

Students Spearhead Booming Labor Organizing and Advocacy at UCSD: “UC San Diego students have been involved in the labor movement since the school’s inception, from organizing in labor unions to showing out for solidarity protests. With the establishment of the UCSD Labor Center, the student organization SPARk, and the return of the summer Student Labor Organizing Conference these past two years, labor organizing efforts at UCSD are at an unprecedented height. Student workers, union interns, and Labor Center organizers are screaming to make their voices heard. Last week, The UCSD Guardian interviewed students working for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and the Labor Center to better understand how the UCSD community is supporting the movement.”

Building Trades Unions Rally Against Trump’s Attacks on Wind: “A statement from North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) said this move ‘kills thousands of good-paying jobs on projects that were legally permitted, fully vetted, fully funded, and already underway. These aren’t hypothetical jobs. They are real paychecks and billions in investment.’ The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) also spoke out and called the order ‘a direct attack on American workers. . . . Offshore wind projects represent thousands of good, union jobs for IBEW members who have spent years training to build and maintain this infrastructure.’ The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) highlighted the disruptive nature of these stop-work orders, saying, ‘LIUNA members plan their life around this work. Pulling the plug now—during the holidays and after years of negotiations and extensive reviews—is reckless and unfair to the men and women who build this country.’ They demanded that the administration ‘let us work—and stop playing politics with our jobs.’”

More Denver City Workers Will Begin Unionizing as Voter-Passed Collective Bargaining, New Rules Take Effect: “Thousands of Denver city employees can begin exercising their new rights to negotiate salaries and working conditions in groups at the start of 2026, more than a year after the vast majority of voters granted them union rights. While some city workers are already unionized, including in the police and sheriff departments, Referred Question 2U allows an additional 8,500 Denver employees to begin the process of collective bargaining. That measure was approved in the November 2024 election.”

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/09/2026 - 12:04