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.”

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.”

Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.

‘The Pitt’ Production Assistants Unanimously Ratify First Contract: Laborers (LIUNA) Local 724 members who are production assistants (PAs) on the set of the popular medical drama “The Pitt” have secured their first collective bargaining agreement. Organized under the name Production Assistants United, these critical on-set workers announced Tuesday that they had unanimously ratified this groundbreaking deal ahead of the January 2026 premiere of the second season. The deal includes wins like wage increases, paid professional development training, and union health and pension benefits. “This historic victory marks a significant milestone for Production Assistants and the film industry nationwide. This achievement is a testament to our collective efforts, and we are confident that this will pave the way for even greater progress,” said PA Oscar Flores. “We express our gratitude to Parallax TV Productions, LiUNA, and our production for their attentiveness and proactive measures. While the path ahead may be challenging, this agreement represents a crucial step toward achieving parity.”

Los Angeles Times Journalists Approve New Agreement, Averting Strike: 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.”

Chicago Museum of Science and Industry Workers Ratify First Union Contract: Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) workers, represented by AFSCME Council 31, have successfully ratified their first union contract. Staff at the Chicago institution first formed MSI Workers United in 2023 and faced strong headwinds from an aggressive union-busting campaign. Nevertheless, members persevered and ratified their new agreement with a near unanimous vote right before Thanksgiving. The agreement includes major wins like wage floor increases, holiday pay, establishment of a joint labor-management committee, a grievance procedure and more. “No longer can management just act on a whim with no recourse for workers,” said Council 31 Public Affairs Director Anders Lindall. “Overall, I would say that it’s a really strong agreement that lays the foundation for employees to transform MSI into an even better workplace going forward.”

General Mills Workers in Cedar Rapids Secure Major Agreement Wins: Members of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union-UFCW (RWDSU-UFCW) at General Mills in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, voted to ratify a new union contract last month that contains significant improvements to core areas of concern. The bargaining committee stood strong and tackled a number of issues that members were focused on. Victories in the agreement include yearly raises, a ratification bonus, and retention of highly valued benefits like paid parental leave and short-term disability. Other wins include larger allowances for safety equipment and tools and stronger subcontracting language that will retain bargaining unit jobs. Additionally, this new contract also protects the union’s presence on the shop floor—stewards will now receive eight hours of paid release time for annual training, including four hours conducted jointly with management.

Starbucks to Pay $35 Million to NYC Workers in Massive Settlement: In what officials are calling the largest worker protection settlement in New York City’s history, Starbucks will pay out approximately $35 million to more than 15,000 workers for repeated violations of the Fair Workweek Law. The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection began looking into complaints of unstable schedules and arbitrary hour cuts at Starbucks locations in 2022. Investigators documented more than half a million alleged violations of the city law requiring retail and fast-food companies to give workers predictable work schedules and sufficient advance notice of changes. “It was pretty expected that the rules would change on you a lot, and that it would be hard to find out what exactly was the right way to do things legally, or Starbucks policy-wise,” said Kai Fritz, a member of the Starbucks Workers United who previously worked in an East Village location. “I saw many people get second jobs. I remember how exhausted my coworkers looked to work second jobs—like the physical pain that you’re in all the time when you’re on your feet all the time.  This goes to show you that workers can come, they can speak up, they can bring what they believe to be violations to our attention, and we will look at these violations.”

University of California Registered Nurses Ratify Contract: Late last month, members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) ratified a new four-year contract covering registered nurses (RNs) across 19 University of California system medical centers and facilities. The agreement governs the working conditions for 25,000 nurses and comes after five months of negotiations. In addition to an 18.5% minimum increase in wages over the life of the contract, other highlights of the deal include provisions ensuring disaster preparedness training and guaranteeing nurses play a central role in deciding how new technology is implemented. “UC nurses were unified in our demands for a contract that reversed and halted UC management’s growing practice of short-staffing facilities, cutting back on resources, and forcing RNs to do more with less support,” said Marlene Tucay, RN at UC Irvine and member of the bargaining committee. “As a result of the commitment of all CNA members, we won a contract that will improve outcomes for nurses and our patients.”

NewsGuild Wins Landmark AI Ruling and Launches ‘News Not Slop’ Campaign: Journalists at Politico and E&E News—who are members of PEN Guild, a unit of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, The NewsGuild-CWA (TNG-CWA) Local 32035—announced Monday that they have won an arbitration case against management over the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) usage. Following this major win, TNG-CWA is launching a public campaign to raise awareness about AI and how union-represented newsroom workers are fighting to ensure that journalism continues to be done by humans. The arbitrator found Politico violated workers’ collective bargaining agreement when it launched two AI products without giving Guild members any advance notice, opening bargaining or ensuring human oversight. This victory sets a major precedent for the entire industry and The NewsGuild-CWA is spearheading an AI week of action from Dec. 1–5 to highlight how union contracts can protect workers from unregulated new technology in the hands of bad bosses. “We’ve seen countless examples of media companies’ haphazard implementation of AI in our newsrooms and the damage it causes to the credibility of the news industry,” said Ariel Wittenberg, environmental reporter at Politico and unit chair of PEN Guild. “That’s why we’re taking action this week to say, in the clearest possible terms: News, not slop.” “The good news: Across our union, we’ve won strong contract language that protects jobs and erects guardrails to protect the integrity of our members’ work,” said Jon Schleuss, TNG-CWA president. “It’s through this Week of AI Action that we’ll keep that momentum going and win strong protections in every shop to ensure there’s always a human behind the journalism.”

Salt Lake Tribune Workers Sign Their First Union Contract, Secure Raises: Members of the Salt Lake News Guild—which includes workers at The Salt Lake Tribune and the Tribune-owned Times-Independent of Moab and Southern Utah Tribune—ratified a new two-year contract. The two sides officially signed the contract Monday. “This contract adds significantly to the long-term strength and stability of The Tribune and for the workers who make independent news in Utah possible,” said Andy Larsen, a Tribune sports and data reporter, and a member of the Salt Lake News Guild’s bargaining committee. The Salt Lake News Guild is an affiliate of TheNewsGuild-CWA. The agreement provides a $60,000 minimum salary for members of the bargaining unit except for staff at the Times-Independent in Moab, where the minimum is $54,000. Other benefits include guaranteed cost-of-living raises; a merit pay component; employee protections in the use of quantitative metrics; limits on the use of artificial intelligence in creating news content; and a seat for a Guild representative to attend Tribune board of directors meetings.

Workers at Iconic Salt Lake City LGBTQ+ Bar SunTrapp Organize with CWA, Secure Voluntary Recognition: The workers at iconic Salt Lake City LGBTQ+ bar The SunTrapp have formally unionized with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7765 and have been voluntarily recognized by their employer. “We organized out of love for The SunTrapp and the community it represents. This victory is a testament to the power of collective action and the enduring importance of this sanctuary,” said Natalie Jankowski, lead bartender and organizing worker. “We are incredibly grateful to the ownership for taking this courageous step to recognize our union voluntarily. This decision honors the legacy of Joe Redburn [an iconic LGBTQ+ activist in Salt Lake City and former owner of The SunTrapp and ensures that The SunTrapp’s future is built on a foundation.” The SunTrapp was closed during the government shutdown and has not set a reopening date yet. But owner Mary Peterson has since formally recognized the union. “We thank Mary Peterson for doing the right thing and recognizing our union,” said Derek Petersen, an administrative assistant, bartender and organizing worker. “This agreement opens the door for us to work together to create the fair and safe workplace that this staff and this historic bar deserve. We can now focus on our shared goal: getting the doors open and the lights back on for our community.”

Maine’s State Theatre Workers Approve Their First Labor Agreement: Workers at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine, approved their first contract with Crobo, the venue’s operator, after nearly a year of negotiations. The workers, members of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 114, were persistent over years to move from nonunion to a unionized contract. They have been seeking safer working conditions, better treatment from management and improved compensation. “I look forward to strengthening the bond between employer and union with the shared goal of creating a sustainable, safe, and productive working environment, so that we can all continue to do what we love doing for many years to come; bring live music to life in the heart of Portland,” said Local 114 Business Agent Devon Medeiros.

Minneapolis Airport Food Service Workers Reach Tentative Deal, Secure Highest Wages in Airport’s History: Food service workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 17, at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport have reached a tentative contract agreement that averts a potential strike during the busy Thanksgiving travel week. “We have a tentative agreement that averts the HMS Host Thanksgiving Week strike. It is an historic agreement that includes the HIGHEST wage increases ever won at the airport,” the union said in a statement. HMSHost operates dining venues at dozens of airports across the country. The deal comes after more than a year of bargaining, according to the union, and covers approximately 250 workers. The deal includes a tip line for fast food and barista workers for the first time; a higher tipped benefit rate; historic wage increases for cooks, utility workers and engineers; and access to affordable dependent health insurance. “This agreement is a long time coming,” said Victor Arreole, a cook who works for HMSHost. “We fought for more than a year to win back what we lost during the pandemic, and we’re finally getting the wages and benefits our families deserve. This contract is going to change lives.” 

Maine’s State Theatre Workers Approve Their First Labor Agreement: Workers at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine, approved their first contract with Crobo, the venue’s operator, after nearly a year of negotiations. The workers, members of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 114, were persistent over years to move from nonunion to a unionized contract. They have been seeking safer working conditions, better treatment from management and improved compensation. “I look forward to strengthening the bond between employer and union with the shared goal of creating a sustainable, safe, and productive working environment, so that we can all continue to do what we love doing for many years to come; bring live music to life in the heart of Portland,” said Local 114 Business Agent Devon Medeiros.

Tags: Organizing

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.

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) workers, represented by AFSCME Council 31, have successfully ratified their first union contract.

Staff at the Chicago institution first formed MSI Workers United in 2023 and faced strong headwinds from an aggressive union-busting campaign. Nevertheless, members persevered and ratified their new agreement with a near unanimous vote right before Thanksgiving. The agreement includes major wins like wage floor increases, holiday pay, establishment of a joint labor-management committee, a grievance procedure and more.

“No longer can management just act on a whim with no recourse for workers,” said Council 31 Public Affairs Director Anders Lindall. “Overall, I would say that it’s a really strong agreement that lays the foundation for employees to transform MSI into an even better workplace going forward.”