BlueCollarWriter Labor News Update

Labor News

Explainer: Can unions stop Trump from firing thousands of federal employees?President Donald Trump signed an order within hours of taking office on Monday to make it easier to fire thousands of federal agency employees and replace them with political loyalists. The order, which is largely identical to one Trump issued late in his first term, is already facing a lawsuit by a major union and is likely to trigger more legal challenges.

Trump Sued by Federal Employees Union Over Schedule F OrderThe National Treasury Employees Union argues a move to “radically reshape the civil service” by making it easier to fire federal workers violates the will of Congress.

Trump Order Politicizing Federal Workers Threatens Integrity of Government Work, Union Leader Says

AFGE national president: Schedule F order will put ‘army of sycophants’ in charge of administering federal programs

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Coalition of Colorado unions hopes to tackle climate change and spur higher-paying jobs at the same timeClimate Jobs Colorado is a new organization dedicated to promoting union labor as part of the green energy movement, using union workers for climate work — like building solar panels or new p…

3rd in a week: Michigan Medicine strikes deal with another health unionThe university health system has reached agreements with three of its unions in the last week, representing nearly 7,000 health care workers.

With Union Rights Uncertain Under Trump, Higher Ed Workers Seek to Speed Up BargainingNewly unionized Caltech, Occidental workers got union rights under Biden. Trump’s inauguration has them seeking quick contracts.

UnityPoint nurses accuse health system of trying to bust up bid to form unionDes Moines nurses working to form a labor union say their employer, UnityPoint Health, has hired consultants and engaged in "union busting" efforts.

Sheet Metal Workers Union Pioneers Childcare Benefits Program, First Among Building TradesThose with eligible locals will receive email instructions on how to claim their benefit, and a dedicated concierge team is available at (866) 943-5449.

Thousands of nurses represented by National Nurses United (NNU) took part in rallies last week calling for the hospitals to prioritize safe staffing and patient protections against growing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.aflcio.org/2025/1/21/service-solidarity-spotlight-nurses-march-demand-patient-protections-against-ai

Contract Ratification Results - PSC CUNYPSC Members, I’m proud to announce that the 30,000 faculty and professional staff represented by PSC will receive long-overdue raises, along with other

Urgent Support for PSI Members Affected by Southern California Fires Public Services International (PSI) calls for solidarity with front-line workers who have been serving communities since the crisis began or who live in affected areas.

Want to defend immigrant workers in your contract? Here are some suggestions.A resource for workers looking to include pro-immigrant provisions in their collective bargaining agreements.

Union representing King Soopers workers schedules strike votes for next weekDenver-area grocery workers are going to vote next week on whether or not to strike against King Soopers again, the local union representing the workers announced.

“We Are The Union”: SF Native Touts Worker-to-Worker Organizing As Key to Labor Revival - Beyond ChronEric Blanc's Great new book

Memphis man recounts teenage days aiding worker's strike during MLK’s last visit • NC NewslineJoe Calhoun launched his activism during the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike, listening to MLK Civil Rights Movement leaders

Atlanta: Teamsters take the streets for MLK dayAtlanta, GA - On Monday, January 20, the streets of downtown Atlanta were filled with activists, community and youth groups, and a numb...

These are the US states seeing a union membership surge

A new study has revealed the states with the largest increases and decreases in union members between 2013 and 2023.

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Strike authorized against popular US retailer Costco as contract nears expirationIf a strike goes ahead, 56 of the company’s warehouse stores across five states would be affected

Form a Union!

Organizing a union in your workplace is about getting more rights and more power. Thousands of working people—all across the country and in all kinds of jobs—organize unions every year because unions are the best way to secure the things you care about.

NLRB News & Decisions

NLRB Petitions & Charges for Tuesday, January 21, 2025Total Entries filed Monday, January 20, 2024 (Federal Holiday): 4

Macy's loses appeals court challenge to NLRB's expansion of money remediesA U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected Macy's claims that the National Labor Relations Board lacked the power to order the retailer to reimburse workers who were locked out after a strike, creating a circuit split.

Government & Politics

Smash All Gilded Podiums: Trump and the Working-ClassThe hands that built America’s skylines and powered its dreams are calloused still, but now from grasping at survival, not opportunity.

Trump's second war on organized labor is underwayBy BERRY CRAIGAFT Kentucky Local 1360

There’s No Such Thing as a Good BillionaireDemocrats want us to believe that there is some cohort of “good billionaires” who can be relied upon to fight for political progress. But as the right-wing turn of tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk suggests, this is nonsense.

‘You can’t be pro-billionaire and pro-working class’: Biden’s labor chief on return of TrumpJulie Su, acting labor secretary, fears many of Biden’s pro-worker policies will be undone by the new administration

Will Trump’s Return Be a Devil’s Bargain for Workers Seeking to Organize?From Uber and Lyft drivers to home care workers, the fate of far-reaching labor organizing efforts hangs in the balance.

Trump 2.0 to Set Off Fresh Round of Labor Board Flip-FloppingThe start of the second Trump administration will trigger a partisan shift at the National Labor Relations Board, where the accomplishments of the past four years will become the targets of the next board majority and top agency lawyer.

The Trump executive orders that threaten democracyAmid the flurry of executive orders on Day 1, these could prove the most damaging to the republic’s health.

Trump reclassifies thousands of federal employees, making them easier to fireExecutive order effectively reinstates ‘Schedule F’, which sought to categorize workers as political hires

Trump signs sweeping actions on immigration and border security on Day 1Trump campaigned on border security promises, and he and his allies argue that his electoral win is an endorsement of his upcoming actions on the issue.

AFT President Randi Weingarten discusses resistance to Trump's education policiesWhat will resistance to Trump's education policy look like this time around? NPR hears from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

Trump seeks to end telework for federal workersPresident Trump has signed an executive action ordering federal agencies to bring their workers back to the office full time. Roughly 1.1 million federal employees are telework-eligible.

'Will I have a job?' Federal workers full of uncertainty, fear over Trump plansFederal workers say President-elect Trump is causing panic with threats to cut government costs through layoffs and return-to-office mandates.

Dark Money Groups Want the Government to Bet Big on CryptoRight-wing dark money groups are lobbying for the US and state governments to invest billions of dollars in Bitcoin reserves, jeopardizing public funds and the environment alike.

Democrats Assigned Themselves One Job — and FailedFor nine years, Democrats abandoned all else to focus on one thing: keeping Donald Trump out of office. In the process, they sidelined working-class concerns, lost crucial voters, and still failed — not once, but twice — to accomplish their singular goal.

Opinion: Justice demands that Colorado legislators modernize the state’s labor law this sessionWith Senate Bill 5, getting rid of a second election to form a union would go a long way to fix the state’s 81-year-old laws built on oppression

Unions, concern over next Trump presidency fuel turnout for Newark’s MLK marchHundreds honored Martin Luther King Jr on Saturday, two days ahead of MLK Day and Inauguration Day Monday

Dems running to kiss the ringSometimes, it’s better not to bend the knee before the bidding even gets underway.

On the emptiness of Kelly CraftNo, Ms. Craft. Just no. No matter how you spin it, this is not what it means to have an empty chair at your table, and you know it.

Special Report: Project 2025 and Unions

Trump’s Project 2025 is the 920-page document, written by at least 140 Trump advisers and former (and likely future) leaders in the Trump administration, that spells out what they plan to do during a Trump second term.

Jobs, Business & Economy

Trump’s sweeping agenda injects uncertainty into a healthy economy | CNN BusinessWhen President Barack Obama took the oath of office in January 2009, unemployment was surging, markets were plunging and families were losing their homes. He inherited an economic calamity.

What Trump’s Tariffs Would Mean for the US EconomyWe see a low chance that he will implement uniform tax hikes but a higher chance of tariff hikes on China.

Labor History in 2:00

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January 21 - On Strike for Health & Dignity | Labor History in 2:00On this day in labor history, the year was 1973. That was the day Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers struck Shell Oil over health and safety issues. OCAW had been involved in lobbying for the passage of OSHA and other environmentally related Acts. Their members worked in some of the most dangerous, most toxic industries in the country. By 1972, they demanded contract language for health and safety committees on the job. The oil companies countered with accusations that improved safety proved too expensive and that OCAW used the issue to assert union control over the production process. The other oil companies eventually settled in OCAW’s favor. But Shell would not budge. And so, the OCAW called a strike at eight facilities and a boycott of all Shell products. They also successfully enlisted the support of environmental organizations by stressing toxic chemical exposure and hazards faced by workers and the public alike. Picket lines were solid and thousands honored the boycott. Sales for Shell fell by 25%. After four months, the strike fund was nearly drained. Shell exploited internal divisions among members at a Texas plant and negotiated a separate settlement. What health and safety language Shell agreed to, was non-binding. The union was broke and the strike ended in compromise in early June. Despite this, as historian Robert Gordon notes, OCAW was able to “gain strong health and safety language at all other oil companies for the first time, heightened public awareness of health hazards confronting millions of workers…and pressured OSHA into adopting stricter standards. Perhaps more importantly, the strike solidified the tentative labor-environmental alliance.” Having merged with the United Steelworkers, the union continues to secure safe working conditions through contracts and alliances today.

January 22 - Tragedy in the Mines and the Union Hall | Labor History in 2:00On this day in labor history, the year was 1959. That was the day the Susquehanna River flooded several mines throughout the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania. It marked the virtual end to coal mining in the Northern Anthracite Region, whose coalmines provided some 11,000 jobs. Knox Coal Company, owned by reputed mobster, John Sciandra, ordered workers to illegally excavate underneath the river to get at new coal seams, near Port Griffith. The company hit the jackpot, and mined rich new veins. Even though state regulations mandated a rock cover of 35 feet when tunneling underneath a waterway, theirs was only about six feet thick. The roof of Knox Coal’s River Slope Mine soon collapsed and a reported 10 billion gallons of water, ice and debris from the river came smashing through. The collapse created a whirlpool and dams were built to divert the river. 81 miners were trapped and many desperately searched for hours for an escape. Some were able to get out through an abandoned airshaft. The bodies of another 12 miners were never recovered. Audrey Baloga Calvey recalled in an interview that her father, a miner who died in the flooding, predicted trouble at the mine before his death. Saying "When the water would get high, he'd say, 'God, if that river ever breaks in, we'll be drowned like rats,. Ten were indicted, including the mine’s president, Louis Fabrizio, Knox’s superintendent, and incredibly, UMWA District 1 president AND secret partner in the mine, August Lippi. Several would serve prison time. Four owners were convicted of tax evasion and four local union 8005 officials were convicted of taking bribes in sweetheart deal contracts, including Lippi.

January 23 - If Poison Doesn’t Work, Try Briggs! | Labor History in 2:00On this day in labor history, the year was 1933. That was the day 6,000 workers at Briggs Manufacturing in Detroit walked off the job and sparked a strike wave of 15,000 auto body workers. Briggs made auto bodies for Ford, Chrysler and Hudson in four Detroit-area plants. Their pay and working conditions were considered among the worst in the nation, inspiring the adage, “if poison doesn’t work, try Briggs.” Earlier in the month, workers at the Waterloo plant, under the leadership of the short-lived Automobile Workers Union, struck against company-wide wage cuts and won. Their victory encouraged workers at the Highland Park and Mack Avenue Briggs plants to walk out over additional demands, which they joined in solidarity. Workers demanded the recognition of shop committees and pushed back against starvation wages. They also protested the hated “dead-time” policy, which required workers to stay on the job, unpaid, waiting for material or production lines. They wanted an end to pay deductions for tools and a worthless health insurance policy that left some with bi-weekly pay as low as 49 cents! Briggs quickly conceded to a wage increase and the end of “dead-time.” But they would not budge on recognizing the union. As the strike dragged on, strikebreaking under police escort increased, as did the redbaiting of union organizers. Workers gained nothing more and ended their walkout in early May. According to historian Joyce Shaw Peterson, the walkout had been the most significant auto strike up to that point. Worker militancy and public support were impressive. As one worker recalled, after the Ford Hunger March the year before, workers took to the picket lines, facing down fears of physical injury or even death to fight for a better life.

January 24 - The Boycott | Labor History in 2:00On this day in Labor History the year was 1984. That was the day that Nestle agreed to terms in order to end a seven year international boycott against the company. The boycott was over the unsafe and dangerous ways that Nestle marketed and sold its baby formula in third world countries.

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