The Dropkick Murphys joined the AFL-CIO “It’s Better In a Union” bus tour stop in Cleveland on Sunday to play for the crowd gathered to rally for union rights.

UAW President Shawn Fain, Bricklayers (BAC) President Tim Driscoll and Utility Workers (UWUA) National President James Slevin fired up the crowd of attendees and Brute Squad—a quintet punk rock band composed of American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 4 members—opened the show. In addition to speeches from the union leaders, a pair of doctors who were recently fired from their jobs for trying to organize a union in their workplace also addressed the crowd.

“We have been organizing our fellow physicians into a union in order to strengthen the voice of frontline health care workers, including doctors, so that we can stand up for our patients rights to the best quality care—and we were just fired for doing so,” said Dr. Lauren Beene. “We are honored to be here, shoulder to shoulder with all of our union brothers and sisters because we are all fighting the same fight—for safety, for our patients, safety for our co-workers working in the hospitals and for their dignity and justice—we will not be silenced.”

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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.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond delivered remarks Friday morning at the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) National Educational Conference in Chicago.

APRI was founded by trade unionists and civil rights activists A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin in 1965. As an active constituency group of the AFL-CIO, the organization advocates for social, political and economic justice for all working Americans, grounded in the belief that the fight for workers’ rights and civil rights are inseparable. Following a week of AFL-CIO nationwide tour bus stops at active picket lines in the Windy City, Secretary-Treasurer Redmond remarked about the road ahead.

“There’s a place for every working person on this bus,” said Redmond. “Everyone included. No one left behind. That is what this diverse, inclusive labor movement is all about: building worker power, by workers for workers. And together we can and will fight back against these attacks and chart a future for this country where our freedom, fairness and security is restored.”

As part of the AFL-CIO’s “It’s Better In a Union” nationwide bus tour, Tucson, Arizona-area workers and members of the Pima Area Labor Federation joined together for a postcard drop and public action on Friday to hold Rep. Juan Ciscomani accountable for his support of President Trump’s disastrous budget bill.

Workers spoke out against the budget’s cuts to essential support services that many in Arizona rely on, like Medicaid and SNAP, which also disproportionately affect immigrant communities and veterans. Ciscomani’s refusal to show up and hear from his constituents was also a major rallying point for attendees.

“Stop being present at other places and be present where we need you [to] start listening to us, where everyone speaks,” said Omar Algeciras, an Army veteran and the vice president of AFGE Local 2391. “Answer our phone calls, show up whenever we ask you to.”

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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the backbone of support for our nation’s brave heroes, providing essential health care, benefits and services that veterans have earned through their service.

But the VA is under attack.  

This week, the Trump administration announced that it is ripping up the union contracts of more than 400,000 VA workers—a brazen act of retaliation against the workers and unions who have been standing up to the administration’s illegal actions in court and in the streets. 

This union-busting decision is an ambush on the very people who care for our country’s veterans and their right to stand together in a union. It will undoubtedly harm the lifesaving services veterans desperately need. 

But we have a way to reverse this decision. 

There’s a bipartisan bill in Congress that would overturn President Trump’s executive order and restore collective bargaining rights to federal workers—including those at the VA. The bill already has a majority of members of Congress—Democrats AND Republicans—signed on as co-sponsors. 

We just need a few more members of Congress to sign a piece of paper called a “discharge petition” to bring that bill to the floor for a vote.  

Will you call your representative and urge them to sign the discharge petition and speak out in support of the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550) right now? Enter your information on this form to receive a call back or dial 844-994-4554 to get started.

More than 1 million union members and thousands more union retirees are veterans. For our federal workers at the VA who depend on our unions to fight for them, and for all the working people who depend on a strong VA for their care, we must stop the job cuts and union-busting.

But this is also bigger than the VA. If Trump thinks he can rip up federal workers’ union contracts with the stroke of a pen, he can do it to every worker in America.

Make no mistake: This is an attack on every union member, every union contract, and the freedom for every single person to have a union on the job and the freedom to speak out. 

We have the bipartisan votes we need in Congress to undo this union-busting. We just need to get the bill to the floor for a vote. 

Call your member of Congress, and urge them to sign the discharge petition and speak out for the Protect America’s Workforce Act. 

Thank you for making a call to help us restore fundamental union rights to workers providing critical veterans’ services.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond joined Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter and Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea on Thursday at a rally supporting AFSCME-represented workers at the Chicago History Museum as they continue their fight against union-busting.

After cultural workers won their election to form a union with AFSCME Council 31 in April 2025, management retaliated by terminating and disciplining multiple worker-activists. More recently, the institution also unilaterally imposed layoffs with no notice to staff.

“Courage is what every one of you is showing right now. It is the same courage that has fortified Chicago’s workers throughout the history of this great union city,” Redmond told the museum workers. “It is the same courage that this museum proudly displays on its exhibition walls. It’s about steelworkers standing up to Republic Steel for the right to a better workplace and a better life. It’s about A. Philip Randolph and the Pullman Porters organizing for dignity and respect.”

Marissa Croft, an AFSCME Council 31 steward who was laid off during contract negotiations, spoke at the rally about the cruel and disrespectful treatment she and her co-workers received from management and how they have found their voice through collective action. 

“The most important thing I’ve learned from both Chicago’s history and my own experience is the power of getting together with your fellow workers and talking about your working conditions,” Croft said. “The Chicago History Museum Workers United will keep fighting and winning because we know the power of a union puts us on the right side of history!” 

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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.

Workers at Pathfinders Milwaukee petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week for a union election to join Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 39.

Organizing under the name Pathfinders Employee Collective, more than 70% of staff have signed union authorization cards. Workers at the nonprofit perform a number of essential roles supporting homeless and runaway youth in the area. On Monday, workers rallied in front of Pathfinders’ offices to demand voluntary recognition so they can begin bargaining a contract with better safety standards and protections, higher wages, organizational transparency and greater decision-making power.

“Staff working conditions and impactful, trauma-informed client services are intrinsically tied together,” Rachel Janiak, a street outreach coordinator, said in an Local 39 press release. “If staff come to work feeling unsupported, or unsafe, it can lead to burnout…that takes away from the consistency and support our youth are searching for.”

Pathfinders Development Specialist Michael Clouthier added, “Pathfinders has always prided themselves on their ‘Nothing for us without us’ philosophy toward programming. Now that the workers are unionizing, we can show the community that we advocate for our youth while holistically practicing the tenets of a trauma-informed, empowerment-focused organization!”

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.

'Blatant Attempt to Bust Our Unions': Trump Admin Moves to Gut Labor Protections at Veterans Affairs: “Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said that ‘every American who cares about the fundamental freedoms of working people should be outraged by this attack on workers' ability to speak out and stand up at the VA.’ ‘It's clear this is explicit retaliation against VA workers whose unions are standing up to the administration's illegal actions in court and in the streets,’ said Shuler. ‘The Trump administration may think they can rip up our contracts and silence anyone who pushes back against their unlawful and anti-worker actions, but we aren't going anywhere. The labor movement will continue to fight this all-out assault on workers with everything we have—and we're calling on Americans across this country to join us.’”

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.”

Veterans Affairs Terminates Federal Union Contracts: What To Know: “The announcement has drawn significant ire from some of the unions affected. AFGE President Everett Kelley said the union was being punished for ‘speaking out against the illegal, anti-worker, and anti-veteran policies of this administration.’”

U.S. Labor Day Rallies Planned to Protest 'Trump's Authoritarian Anti-Worker Agenda': “In a separate action, the AFL-CIO is organizing nationwide rallies, picnics, and parades as part of its Workers' Labor Day, following a Workers Deserve Labor Day week of action. The union has spent two months crisscrossing the country on a bus tour, highlighting workers' organizing efforts and fights to win fair contracts and working conditions. Despite Trump's deregulatory attacks on workers, the AFL-CIO noted that more than 70% of Americans and nearly 90% of people under 30 support unions. ‘The fight for freedom, fairness, and security has never been more popular,’ said the union.”

Oregon Unions Secure Pay Raises, More Remote Work Flexibility for State Workers: “Most state employees in Oregon will see bigger paychecks and expanded benefits next February under tentative labor agreements reached between the state and its two largest unions. After months of negotiations, state officials agreed to give 6.5% cost-of-living raises over the next two years to members of the Oregon chapters of SEIU and AFSCME, which represent the bulk of the state’s 45,000 full-time workers.”

Spike Lee, Adam McKay and Over 2,000 Writers Decry Trump’s ‘Un-American’ Actions in Open Letter: “More than 2,300 members of the Writers Guild of America, including Spike Lee and Adam McKay, have signed an open letter decrying the actions of Donald Trump’s administration that represent ‘an unprecedented, authoritarian assault’ on free speech.”

American Federation of Government Employees Rally Outside Veterans Hospital: “Early Monday morning, around 20 demonstrators stood on the sidewalk outside the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital to show support for federal workers and veterans. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) planned this rally because they feel there is an attack on the federal workforce, which could impact veterans’ access to health care and benefits. Carol White is the Local 547 Legislative Political Coordinator and she said they want to support federal workers and those who work with veterans.”

AFL-CIO Rolls Out Nationwide Plans for Labor Day: “The AFL-CIO is stepping up its campaign against Donald Trump’s attacks on workers and depredations against their unions both in the streets and in courts—again—as July turned into August and headed for Labor Day. The ‘streets’ part will stretch from New York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles to Dallas, Decatur, Corpus Christi, the Twin Cities, St. Louis, Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Seattle and D.C., with more sites for rallies, speeches, leafleting, picnics and worker leaders campaigning, all on Labor Day.”

All Major Las Vegas Strip Casinos Are Now Unionized in Historic Labor Victory: “For 25 years, her employer, the Venetian, had resisted organizing efforts as one of the last holdouts on the Strip, locked in a prolonged standoff with the Culinary Workers Union. But a recent change in ownership opened the Venetian’s doors to union representation just as the Strip’s newest casino, the Fontainebleau, was also inking its first labor contract. The historic deals finalized late last year mark a major turning point: For the first time in the Culinary Union’s 90-year history, all major casinos on the Strip are unionized.”

The AFL-CIO "It's Better In a Union" bus tour arrived in Chicago this week, joining multiple union strike line actions to support workers in the Windy City fighting for respect and dignity at work.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond and Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter rode the bus to an Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 150 rally to support the ongoing unfair labor practice (ULP) strike against QSL America. Workers delivered powerful testimony at the rally about the horrendous safety hazards and management’s infringement on their rights that led to the work stoppage. Meanwhile, participants from the AFL-CIO Street Heat peaceful protest training—happening concurrently in Chicago—boarded a bus of their own to join the event in solidarity.

"Local 150 is leading the way,” Redmond said to a crowd of energized workers. “You’re showing the world that through solidarity, working people can shape our own future and raise standards for all workers. You’re showing the world that the best way to fair pay, to retirement security, to health care and a quality education for you and your family, to a decent life, to a better tomorrow is through a union contract.”

The bus continued its journey through Chicago to support UNITE HERE Local 1 at the Emily Hotel, where workers staged a one-day ULP strike in June over illegal unilateral changes to their working conditions. It also appeared at a Teamsters Local 705 strike action, standing in solidarity with members demanding higher wages, improved benefits and safer working conditions from Mauser Packaging Solutions.

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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 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union-UFCW (RWDSU-UFCW), and outdoor recreation retailer REI announced last week that they have reached an agreement to establish a bargaining structure for union storefronts across the country.

Members of REI Union have been fighting for a first contract for three years that addresses low wages, understaffing and unpredictable shift hours. However, workers say management has been slow-walking negotiations and bargaining in bad faith. The agreement came out of joint meetings in late July in Chicago where workers also secured progress on several key issues. As a result, REI will now retroactively provide wage increases and bonuses to workers at union-represented stores—benefits they had previously been denied—while the union will drop active ULP charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

“We want what’s best for all REI workers, our customers, and the co-op,” said the REI Union bargaining committee. “This agreement is a tremendous step forward in negotiating a first contract, and we look forward to continuing to bargain with REI.”

The “It’s Better In a Union” tour bus made a stop in Phoenix on Wednesday for a press conference where labor leaders, AFSCME members, retirees and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called for Reps. David Schweikert and Abe Hamadeh to be held accountable for their votes in favor of President Trump’s disastrous budget bill.

The public sector workers who keep Arizona running spoke out about the local impact of funding cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, schools and other services. Approximately 360,000 people in Arizona could potentially lose their health care coverage because Reps. Schweikert and Hamadeh voted to cut Medicaid. Additionally, some 450,000 Arizonans are at risk of losing the vital food assistance they depend on to keep their families fed.

“As an equipment operator for the City of Peoria’s Sanitation Department [Solid Waste Division], I know trash when I see it,” AFSCME Local 3282 President Joshua Capilla said. “And this so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is straight garbage. And the cuts to public services will put Arizonans in danger. Reps. Schweikert and Hamadeh voted to pass this dangerous legislation knowing full well that these cuts will have deep ripple effects on our local budgets and will put our communities in a fiscal hole that could take years to crawl out of.”
 
Arizona AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and Executive Director Fred Yamashita added: “David Schweikert and Abe Hamadeh, who claim to represent us in Congress, voted for a bill that defunds our communities to fund tax breaks for billionaires. It's a disastrous piece of legislation that will leave 360,000 Arizonans at-risk of losing health coverage, force our hospitals and nursing homes to cut services or close entirely, and push working families into deeper financial strain with higher grocery bills, energy costs, and more expensive care. Schweikert and Hamadeh's priorities are clear, and they are not the priorities of the working families in their districts. If they won't fight for us, we'll fight back.”

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