12/12/2025 - 5:00pm
Back to Basics: 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.
Republican-Led House Votes to Overturn Trump Executive Order on Bargaining Rights: “Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, which represents nearly 15 million workers, commended ‘the Republicans and Democrats who stood with workers and voted to reverse the single largest act of union-busting in American histories.’ ‘As we turn to the Senate—where the bill already has bipartisan support—working people are calling on the politicians we elected to stand with us, even if it means standing up to the union-busting boss in the White House,’ Shuler said in a statement Thursday.”
‘We Would Like to Make a Home for Ourselves:’ Nearly 90% of Columbus Dispatch Staffers Sign Union Cards: “Amid a wave of organizing at the national level in newsrooms and beyond, The Columbus Dispatch and sister publication The Newark Advocate presented a letter to management on Wednesday requesting voluntary recognition of an employee union under the NewsGuild/Communications Workers of America Local 34001. Bailey Gallion, morning breaking news reporter at the 154-year-old Dispatch, said 36 of 40 staffers have signed union cards as of Thursday. Two of those comprise the nearly the entire full-time staff of The Advocate, which includes two sports reporters and a single news reporter. Employees have asked New York City-based parent company USA Today to recognize their union in an attempt to avoid the formal election process.”
AFL-CIO Joins Defense of Somali-Americans After Trump Hate Attack: “Minnesota public officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz, both DFLers, jumped to defend both Omar and Somali-Americans. So did state AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham. ‘In the labor movement, an injury to one is an injury to all. By vilifying our Somali-American co-workers and neighbors and threatening military-style raids in Minnesota’s communities, President Trump is attacking our state’s entire labor movement,’ Burnham declared.”
More Than 700 St. Joseph Registered Nurses Vote to Unionize: “Registered nurses at CommonSpirit Health’s St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital in Bryan have voted decisively to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United, the nation’s largest and fastest-growing union of registered nurses. ‘This is a great day for the nurses at St. Joseph Health and for the patients in our community,’ said Tara Cassell, a registered nurse in the labor and delivery unit. ‘Nurses have come together to ensure that our voices are heard as we advocate for our patients. We were compelled to organize and form a union because of our deep concerns about our patients’ safety and well-being. We are excited to build a strong contract that protects nurses and patients so we can provide the best care possible.’”
AFGE Urges Congress to Vote Against House Rule for 2026 NDAA: “The nation’s largest federal employee union is urging Congress to vote against the House rule for the 2026 Defense policy bill. The American Federation of Government Employees said negotiators removed a bipartisan House provision that would have restored collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of Defense Department civilian employees. The union said removing that language means the legislation fails to protect basic rights of workers who maintain ships and aircraft and support service members. AFGE is calling on lawmakers to reject the procedural rule and restore the worker protections before the National Defense Authorization Act moves forward.”
SEPTA and Workers Union Reach Tentative Two-Year Deal: “SEPTA and its largest workers union reached a tentative deal on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, avoiding a strike, NBC10 confirmed. Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents about 5,000 SEPTA employees, had been working without a contract since Nov. 7, 2025, when its last contract expired. The union then threatened on Friday, Dec. 5, that a strike was ‘imminent’ unless a deal was reached. On Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, SEPTA confirmed with NBC10 that both sides reached a tentative two-year deal. A day prior, they also said intervention by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was crucial in their negotiations.”
Union Urges ‘Back-to-Basics’ Approach to Pilot Skills: “The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is calling for a renewed emphasis on fundamental flying skills as automation becomes more common in air carrier operations. In a recent interview at the Skift Aviation Forum in Fort Worth, Texas, ALPA first vice president Wendy Morse, a Boeing 787 captain, said the union is advocating for pilots to ‘go back to our roots’ by maintaining strong manual-flying proficiency throughout their careers. The union represents over 80,000 airline pilots at 43 carriers.”
Indianapolis Symphony and Its Musicians Reach a New Labor Agreement: “Three months after the previous contract extension expired and hours before the first Yuletide Celebration performance of 2025, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and its musicians announced that the parties have reached a new three-year labor agreement. Chief among the contract's key components is a 9.6% salary increase for the musicians over three years that ends at a $74,000 minimum salary. The agreement covers the 78 musicians who are represented by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Players Association and Local 3 of the American Federation of Musicians, according to a Dec. 5 release from the symphony.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 12/12/2025 - 11:06
12/12/2025 - 5:00pm
Protect America’s Workforce: 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:
Four times a year, we gather online to remember those we've lost. Our Memorial Gatherings are held on Zoom and open both to Equity Members and our friends. Join us December 22 to read names, share stories and hold space for the people we miss. https://bit.ly/44QpKpM
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— Actors' Equity Association (@actorsequity.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 8:43 AM
AFGE:
AFSCME:
Alliance for Retired Americans:
Amalgamated Transit Union:
American Federation of Teachers:
American Postal Workers Union:
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA:
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers:
Boilermakers:
Bricklayers:
Coalition of Labor Union Women:
Communications Workers of America:
Department for Professional Employees:
The House is voting on the Protect America's Workforce Act today! Call your Representative now and tell them to pass this critical legislation which will restore federal employees' union rights. act.aflcio.org/call_campaig...
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— Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (@dpeaflcio.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Electrical Workers:
12/12/2025 - 5:00pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Dancers of Dayton Ballet Unanimously Cast Ballots in Favor of Forming Union with AGMA
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.
The performers who bring the magic to the Dayton Ballet in Ohio have voted unanimously to join the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA).
Dancers of the city’s professional ballet company—which is part of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA)—cast their ballots on Dec. 10 in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election, just days before they are set to debut the company’s run of “The Nutcracker.”
“We are so proud of our unity and that we are now joining the ranks of AGMA companies across the country! We are looking forward to negotiating our first collective bargaining agreement with the DPAA,” the Dancers of Dayton Ballet said.
“Congratulations to the magnificent Dancers of Dayton Ballet!” said Jeffrey Boyd, AGMA’s national executive director. “Your unity, your resolve, and your absolute clarity of purpose are inspiring. We are honored to welcome you into the AGMAverse, and we look forward to supporting you every step of the way.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 12/12/2025 - 09:52
12/11/2025 - 10:30pm
AFL-CIO Observes International Human Rights Day 2025
On Dec. 10, the AFL-CIO observes International Human Rights Day, which underscores the labor movement’s conviction that protecting working people is essential to protecting human rights everywhere. Since its earliest days, the federation has argued that the dignity and freedom of working people are fundamental human rights, aligning our mission with the principles later enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today, those rights are under attack. From escalating union-busting to the weakening of child labor protections to devastating violations in our immigration and civil rights systems. But the legacy of this day offers a path forward.
“On International Human Rights Day, we honor a truth our movement has carried since long before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948: workers’ rights are human rights. The right to come together and organize, to bargain collectively, to earn a fair wage, to work and live with dignity and safety—these are not privileges reserved for the few, but fundamental freedoms owed to every person,” said AFL-CIO Director of Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Alex Rias.
Here's a closer look at how unions protect those rights:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages.
- The Declaration outlines 30 rights and freedoms that belong to all of us and that nobody can take away from us. The rights that were included continue to form the basis for international human rights law. Today, the Declaration remains a living document. It is the most translated document in the world.
- Article 23 of UDHR declares that everyone has the right to work, to equal pay, to protection against unemployment and the right to form and join trade unions. Article 24 says that everyone has the right to rest and leisure. Article 25 says everyone has the right to a decent standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services.
- Trade unions are critical to protecting and promoting human rights including economic, social, and cultural rights and the right to be free from discrimination. Unions not only cover issues relating to working conditions and pay, but also the right to be free from discrimination more generally as well as the right to freedom of association and expression. The power of trade unions and collective bargaining cannot be understated. We are more powerful when we work together. When individual complaints and concerns are ignored, trade unions can shine a light on abuses and make sure those responsible are held to account. When states and employers respect the right to unionize, they make it possible to realize a workplace where everyone benefits from honest and trusting negotiations between business leaders and their workers. To fulfil their human rights responsibilities, businesses should work with union members and representatives as allies in creating solutions to challenges.
- Unions aren’t just good for workers—they also benefit communities and democracy. Rebuilding worker power by strengthening unions is not just good policy—it is a democratic imperative in the face of authoritarian backsliding.
- Unions provide better benefits. Union workers have greater access to health care. More than 9 in 10 workers covered by a union contract (95%) have access to employer-sponsored health benefits, compared with just 71% of nonunion workers.
- Union workers have greater access to paid sick leave. More than 9 in 10 workers—92%—covered by a union contract have access to paid sick days, compared with 78% of nonunion workers.
- Union employers are more likely to offer retirement plans. More than 9 in 10 workers—95%—covered by a union contract have access to employer-sponsored retirement benefits, compared with 70% of nonunion workers.
- According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 23% of all workers in 2021 have no access to paid vacation time, while 21% have no access to paid sick leave. Due to their collective bargaining power, unions play a pivotal role in securing paid time off for workers. Union contracts almost universally include guaranteed paid time off in the form of sick and/or vacation days.
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 12/10/2025 - 08:59
12/11/2025 - 4:00pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Airport Lounge Workers in Texas Ratify New Contracts
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.
UNITE HERE Local 23 members who work in lounges at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport have successfully ratified new three-year contracts.
More than 200 baristas, cooks and other food service staff employed by Flik Hospitality Group at the United Club lounge and Eurest at the American Airlines Admiral Club are covered by the agreements. Local 23 members will receive an immediate $4 hourly pay increase and will make $22 an hour by the end of the contract.
"This increase represents real relief for many of our families, allowing us to cover essential needs and improve our quality of life. It also confirms that organizing and working together truly leads to positive and lasting results," said Carmen Barralaga, a lounge cook.
"I feel incredibly happy and proud of the fair contract and wage increase we were able to win. Thanks to our union and the strength we showed together, this raise will allow us to spend more time with our families and afford our rent, bills, groceries, mortgage, car payments, medical insurance, and more," said Klaudi Barrientos, a lounge floor attendant.
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 12/11/2025 - 08:52
12/09/2025 - 8:00pm
A Joyful, Safe, and Restful Holiday Season: 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.
Arizona AFL-CIO:
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO:
Colorado AFL-CIO:
Florida AFL-CIO:
Illinois AFL-CIO:
Maine AFL-CIO:
Michigan State AFL-CIO:
Minnesota AFL-CIO:
Missouri AFL-CIO:
Nevada State AFL-CIO:
Ohio AFL-CIO:
Oregon AFL-CIO:
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO:
12/09/2025 - 8:00pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: More Than 750,000 Philadelphia Domestic Workers Have New Labor Protections
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 years of organizing led by domestic workers, Philadelphia passed the POWER (Protect Our Worker-Enforce Rights) Act.
The groundbreaking law expands protections against retaliation for workers that speak out against abuse; strengthens labor enforcement of existing labor laws; holds violating employers accountable; ensures that the city government has the tools and resources to protect workers; and protects over 750,000 workers across the city.
"This victory was made possible by a powerful, cross-sector coalition of workers, led by domestic workers, restaurant staff, warehouse workers, and more, who have long been excluded from basic labor protections and have organized to demand change," said the National Domestic Workers Alliance on their website.
"The POWER Act is a groundbreaking law that sets a precedent for how cities can step in where federal labor protections have fallen short. At a time when workers across the country—particularly immigrant workers, domestic workers, restaurant and service workers, and other low-wage laborers—face rollbacks in rights and limited paths to justice, Philadelphia is leading the way."
Kenneth Quinnell
Mon, 12/08/2025 - 10:00
12/09/2025 - 8:00pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: TWU Local 234 Reaches Tentative Contract with SEPTA
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.
TWU Local 234 and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) reached a tentative two-year contract agreement, avoiding a strike that could have begun this week.
The contract includes an across-the-board 3.5% wage increase in each year of the agreement; a two-year contract rather than the one-year agreements reached in the recent past; an increase in pension benefits; an increase in night differential pay which has not increased since 1995; an increase in the tool and clothing allowance; and improvements to benefits for new employees, including vision and dental benefits, kicking in after 90 days rather than after 15 months of employment.
"I am very pleased that we were able to settle without a strike. Our members had worked without a contract for the past month. Patience was growing thin and management seemed unhurried. Usually, we would have been locked into a hotel until we got this done," said TWU Local 234 President Will Vera. "The Governor and his people got key people from both sides in the same room last night, stopped the run-around, got promises from both sides and we reached a deal. Without the Governor’s intervention we would have been on strike this morning."
"I would term this a retention contract. The improvements made will not only keep TWU members here for the long term, it also will make a SEPTA job attractive again. We want people to want to work here."
SEPTA service will operate normally while union members review the tentative agreement and schedule a vote for ratification.
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 12/09/2025 - 10:15
12/08/2025 - 2:00pm
Safeguards Against Unsafe Working Conditions: 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.
AFGE National President Kelley Applauds National Council of Prison Locals’ Legal Challenge to Illegal Contract Termination: “AFGE National President Everett Kelley issued the following statement in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Council of Prison Locals 33 challenging Federal Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall’s termination of the collective bargaining agreement covering 30,000 BOP federal correctional workers across the country represented by the union: ‘Those who work in the Bureau of Prisons face some of the most dangerous environments and understaffed workplaces in the federal government. Their union contract has provided employees a voice at work to ensure critical protections, including safeguards against unsafe working conditions, unfair discipline, and staffing shortages that put both workers and the public at risk.’”
Laborers’ General President Warns Senate Committee of Threats to Worker Apprenticeship Programs: “Construction industry registered apprenticeship programs, a success story for workers and employers, are threatened by the chaotic and unpredictable actions of the Trump Administration, the leader of the largest union of construction Laborers told a U.S. Senate committee. ‘In the wake of public and private investment, the demand for apprentices has grown substantially,’ Brent Booker, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. ‘But that future is looking more uncertain.’ Booker cited several Trump administration actions that have halted major projects and led to chaos and unpredictability, a deterrent to both investment and the willingness of workers to meet the rigorous training requirements of becoming an apprentice and advancing to be a journey-worker.”
Museum of Science and Industry Workers Ratify First Union Contract: “Workers at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry have voted to approve their first union contract. The contract with the Hyde Park museum covers roughly 120 employees, and includes an average 8% pay raise and 3% annual increase over the next two years, according to a Wednesday statement from the Museum of Science and Industry Workers United. The contract also adds holiday pay for part-time employees, policy changes on remote work, just cause for discipline, a grievance procedure and a joint committee on paid parental leave.”
Despite Trump’s Threats, Labor Leaders Say They’re Not Going Anywhere: “Unions in the United States are facing an extinction level event in the second Trump administration. That is not hyperbole, that is a fact. So the real question is, what the hell are workers, unions and the labor movement doing to fight back? And if they’re not doing anything, or they’re not doing nearly enough, then what the hell are they waiting for? These are the essential questions at the center of both of the interviews that you’re about to hear. In the first interview, I speak with Everett Kelley, the national president of the AFGE, which is the largest union representing federal and D.C. government employees. Kelley and I recorded this interview just days after the Ninth Circuit ruling cleared the way for the Trump administration to obliterate union contracts at federal agencies. And in the second interview, I speak with SEIU-West President David Huerta himself, and we talk about the status of his case and about the roles unions must play in the fight against fascism.”
Trump Undermining American Workers While Attacking Unions: “Against this backdrop, Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, concluded: ‘This has been the most hostile administration to workers in our lifetimes.’ Trump’s anti-union campaign dovetailed with his efforts to terminate the employment of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, many of them union members. Federal workers, Trump claimed, are ‘destroying this country,’ and are ‘crooked’ and ‘dishonest.’ ‘Many of them,’ he said, ‘don’t work at all.’ To supervise his massive purge of public employees, Trump chose Elon Musk―the world’s wealthiest individual and largest donor to his presidential campaign―to direct a mysterious Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Delighted with the job, Musk declared, without any evidence, that there were ‘people on the government payroll who are dead’ and others ‘who are not real people.’ Addressing a conference of conservatives, the flamboyant multibillionaire charged that ‘waste is pretty much everywhere’ and brandished a chain saw against what he called ‘bureaucracy.’”
Lee Saunders: This Thanksgiving, Affordability Isn’t Just About the Turkey. It’s Everyday, Every Bill, Every Choice: “As families gather around Thanksgiving tables, they're living a hard truth that no economist needs to explain: Everything costs more, and paychecks cover less. Last year, President Donald Trump and his allies swept into office promising to lower prices on ‘day one.’ One year later, that promise rings hollow for families stretching every dollar just to get by.”
JetBlue Ground Workers Seek Union Vote, IAM Says: “The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said on Tuesday it will file for union representation election covering about 3,000 JetBlue ground workers. JetBlue workers voted against unionizing in 2023, after what the IAM described as an anti-union campaign by the airline's management.”
The Salt Lake Tribune and Its Employees’ Union Sign Their First Labor Contract: “The Salt Lake Tribune’s management and the union that represents its employees have negotiated the first labor contract in the newspaper’s 155-year history. Members of the Salt Lake News Guild—which includes employees of The Tribune, and the Tribune-owned Times-Independent of Moab and the Southern Utah Tribune—ratified the two-year agreement, and The Tribune’s Board of Directors voted to approve the contract. Both votes were unanimous. Guild members and Lauren Gustus, The Tribune’s executive editor and CEO, officially signed the contract Monday.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 12/05/2025 - 10:40
12/05/2025 - 6:00pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Los Angeles Times Journalists Approve New Agreement
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 Tuesday, members of the Los Angeles Times Guild voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract after more than three years of negotiations with the newspaper.
The bargaining unit is part of the Media Guild of the West, which is a local union of The NewsGuild-CWA. Union members voted with 85% approval for a strike authorization in October after a difficult bargaining process marked by several rounds of layoffs. Newsroom staff stood strong against repeated attacks on rights and benefits established in their first agreement and have emerged with a new contract that shows their strength. The deal contains yearly raises, codification of Juneteenth as an observed holiday, gender identity protections and more.
“It should not have taken this long to get here,” said Unit Chair Matt Hamilton, a reporter in the Times’ Metro section. “But despite management’s repeated attempts to stonewall talks and sow division, our members endured and came out stronger on the other side. This contract is proof of our tenacity.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 12/05/2025 - 10:21
