The Weekly Download

“In the fifth blogcast of Power At Work’s series ‘What Could Happen Under Trump?’, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by all four co-chairs of the Congressional Labor Caucus: Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan 6th District Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin 2nd District, Representative Donald Norcross of New Jersey 1st District, and Representative Steve Horsford of Nevada’s 4th District. Watch now to find out the extent to which this Republican-controlled Congress will attempt to repeal or weaken laws that protect workers’ rights alongside how the Congressional Labor Caucus is ensuring that laws that protect workers rights will not be jeopardized.”

“Since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, educators are just one of many workers now confronted with emerging technology wielded by management as a threat. Across the United States, AI has occasioned all manner of anxieties. It’s not just AI’s environmental impacts, discriminatory biases, or privacy risks: according to one study from Ernst & Young, a consulting firm, some 75 percent of workers are concerned AI will make certain jobs obsolete, with 65 percent worried about AI replacing their job. An Axios-Morning consult poll found that while regulation of the new technology is not a top priority, some half of Americans worry that AI will replace either their job or those of their loved ones.”

“House Democrats are calling on President Donald Trump to reverse his unprecedented and legally dubious firing of a member of the National Labor Relations Board. The lawmakers wrote in a letter to the White House Wednesday that Trump’s ouster of Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat member supposed to serve through August 2028, violates federal labor law and the constitutional principle of separation of powers.”

“A federal judge on Wednesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump ’s plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program. It was a significant legal victory for the Republican president after a string of courtroom setbacks. ‘This goes to show that lawfare will not ultimately prevail over the will of 77 million Americans who supported President Trump and his priorities,’ said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.”

“Gwynne Wilcox is a consummate public servant, who has served as a Member of the National Labor Relations Board since 2021.  Despite her stellar reputation and unblemished record of service, President Donald Trump fired Member Wilcox on January 27, 2025, without making a single allegation about any misconduct.  Her baseless discharge contravenes every word of the provision in the National Labor Relations Act that sets forth the circumstances under which Congress granted the President the power to fire NLRB Members:  29 U.S.C. sect153(a) provides that the President can remove a Board member only for ‘neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause“ and only “upon notice and a hearing.’”

“Dozens of probationary employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had their jobs terminated on Tuesday night, according to the union representing CFPB employees. CFPB's union has identified approximately 73 ‘bargaining-unit’ employees in their probationary period who were terminated, according to Jasmine Hardy, the executive vice president for NTEU Chapter 335, but is still working to confirm the final numbers. Hardy said she believed non-union employees were also fired.”

“Shelby Meyenburg has important advice for the leaders of the new Congress: Leave the unemployment insurance (UI) merit system alone. Meyenburg is an unemployment specialist for the state of Washington and a member of the Washington Federation of State Employees (AFSCME Council 28). He testified at a congressional hearing on Thursday focused on rooting out fraud and abuse in UI programs.”

“The largest US government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers sued the Trump administration on Thursday in an effort to reverse its aggressive dismantling of the US Agency for International Development. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC federal court by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association, seeks an order blocking what it says are ‘unconstitutional and illegal actions’ that have created a ‘global humanitarian crisis.’”

“A union representing workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, sued the Trump administration Sunday for trying to ‘dismantle’ the watchdog agency. The National Treasury Employees Union says in its lawsuit that Trump’s effective shuttering of the bureau violates the constitutional separation of powers. Congress created the CFPB in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to protect the public from predatory financial practices. Trump fired the agency’s previous director, Rohit Chopra, a week ago and installed his budget director, Russell Vought, as CFPB’s new acting director. Over the weekend, Vought closed the agency’s building and sent an email to employees ordering them to halt ‘all supervision and examination activity.’ Vought’s efforts to prevent the agency from using its funds appropriated by Congress amounts to ‘an unlawful attempt to thwart’ the legislative branch, the union argues.”

“Everett Kelly, American Federation of Government Employees president, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Trump administration's buyout offer to federal employees, news of a federal judge pausing the plan pending court hearing, and more.”

“On Monday, Trump said he will impose a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum entering the U.S. The move is expected to largely impact trade partners Mexico and Canada, which export billions of dollars in aluminum and steel annually to the U.S. [...] ‘A 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum imports would be a gut punch to workers on both sides of the border,’ they said. ‘It will lead to job losses, higher consumer prices, and broken supply chains vital to industries like automotive, aerospace and defense.’”

“What can state advocates, state-level labor agencies and state legislatures do to preserve and advance labor protections for workers in the face of the anti-worker actions being handed down from the second Trump administration?”

“Donald Trump has fired a top official at the independent agency responsible for labor relations with the federal government. Susan Tsui Grundmann, one of three board members at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), has been dismissed, a White House official told the Guardian. She served as the agency’s chair…The FLRA is responsible for overseeing management and labor relations for some 2.1 million federal employees. Tsui Grundmann was nominated to its board by Joe Biden in 2021, and approved by the Senate in 2022, before her designation as chair in 2023. Her term was set to end on 1 July.”

“A federal judge has ruled that the Elon Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service can access Labor Department data on millions of Americans, marking a setback for labor unions that had sought to block the Department of Government Efficiency’s work. Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the order on Friday night, ending a temporary block on DOGE access to Labor Department data. Although he expressed concerns about letting DOGE get to that information, Bates ruled that the AFL-CIO and four other large labor unions that requested a restraining order failed to show that ‘at least one particular member is substantially likely to suffer an injury’ with DOGE access.”

“For many people, the idea of dismantling the Department of Education may seem far-fetched and unrealistic. President Donald Trump, however, has made it a priority: he promised it during the campaign, and last week, he said he wants his education secretary nominee Linda McMahon to “put herself out of a job” by dismantling the DOE. Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, is taking Trump’s threat seriously. As leader of the third largest school district in the country, preparing for the president’s assault on the DOE includes strengthening the CTU’s contract with Chicago Public Schools, lobbying schools to recruit Black teachers, and pushing for well-rounded experiences for students in and out the classroom.”

“In the fifth blogcast of Power At Work’s series ‘What Could Happen Under Trump?’, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by all four co-chairs of the Congressional Labor Caucus: Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan 6th District Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin 2nd District, Representative Donald Norcross of New Jersey 1st District, and Representative Steve Horsford of Nevada’s 4th District. Watch now to find out the extent to which this Republican-controlled Congress will attempt to repeal or weaken laws that protect workers’ rights alongside how the Congressional Labor Caucus is ensuring that laws that protect workers rights will not be jeopardized.”

“Since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, educators are just one of many workers now confronted with emerging technology wielded by management as a threat. Across the United States, AI has occasioned all manner of anxieties. It’s not just AI’s environmental impacts, discriminatory biases, or privacy risks: according to one study from Ernst & Young, a consulting firm, some 75 percent of workers are concerned AI will make certain jobs obsolete, with 65 percent worried about AI replacing their job. An Axios-Morning consult poll found that while regulation of the new technology is not a top priority, some half of Americans worry that AI will replace either their job or those of their loved ones.”

“House Democrats are calling on President Donald Trump to reverse his unprecedented and legally dubious firing of a member of the National Labor Relations Board. The lawmakers wrote in a letter to the White House Wednesday that Trump’s ouster of Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat member supposed to serve through August 2028, violates federal labor law and the constitutional principle of separation of powers.”

“A federal judge on Wednesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump ’s plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program. It was a significant legal victory for the Republican president after a string of courtroom setbacks. ‘This goes to show that lawfare will not ultimately prevail over the will of 77 million Americans who supported President Trump and his priorities,’ said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.”

“Dozens of probationary employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had their jobs terminated on Tuesday night, according to the union representing CFPB employees. CFPB's union has identified approximately 73 ‘bargaining-unit’ employees in their probationary period who were terminated, according to Jasmine Hardy, the executive vice president for NTEU Chapter 335, but is still working to confirm the final numbers. Hardy said she believed non-union employees were also fired.”

“Shelby Meyenburg has important advice for the leaders of the new Congress: Leave the unemployment insurance (UI) merit system alone. Meyenburg is an unemployment specialist for the state of Washington and a member of the Washington Federation of State Employees (AFSCME Council 28). He testified at a congressional hearing on Thursday focused on rooting out fraud and abuse in UI programs.”

“The largest US government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers sued the Trump administration on Thursday in an effort to reverse its aggressive dismantling of the US Agency for International Development. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC federal court by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association, seeks an order blocking what it says are ‘unconstitutional and illegal actions’ that have created a ‘global humanitarian crisis.’”

“A union representing workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, sued the Trump administration Sunday for trying to ‘dismantle’ the watchdog agency. The National Treasury Employees Union says in its lawsuit that Trump’s effective shuttering of the bureau violates the constitutional separation of powers. Congress created the CFPB in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to protect the public from predatory financial practices. Trump fired the agency’s previous director, Rohit Chopra, a week ago and installed his budget director, Russell Vought, as CFPB’s new acting director. Over the weekend, Vought closed the agency’s building and sent an email to employees ordering them to halt ‘all supervision and examination activity.’ Vought’s efforts to prevent the agency from using its funds appropriated by Congress amounts to ‘an unlawful attempt to thwart’ the legislative branch, the union argues.”

“Everett Kelly, American Federation of Government Employees president, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Trump administration's buyout offer to federal employees, news of a federal judge pausing the plan pending court hearing, and more.”

“On Monday, Trump said he will impose a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum entering the U.S. The move is expected to largely impact trade partners Mexico and Canada, which export billions of dollars in aluminum and steel annually to the U.S. [...] ‘A 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum imports would be a gut punch to workers on both sides of the border,’ they said. ‘It will lead to job losses, higher consumer prices, and broken supply chains vital to industries like automotive, aerospace and defense.’”

“What can state advocates, state-level labor agencies and state legislatures do to preserve and advance labor protections for workers in the face of the anti-worker actions being handed down from the second Trump administration?”

“Donald Trump has fired a top official at the independent agency responsible for labor relations with the federal government. Susan Tsui Grundmann, one of three board members at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), has been dismissed, a White House official told the Guardian. She served as the agency’s chair…The FLRA is responsible for overseeing management and labor relations for some 2.1 million federal employees. Tsui Grundmann was nominated to its board by Joe Biden in 2021, and approved by the Senate in 2022, before her designation as chair in 2023. Her term was set to end on 1 July.”

“A federal judge has ruled that the Elon Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service can access Labor Department data on millions of Americans, marking a setback for labor unions that had sought to block the Department of Government Efficiency’s work. Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the order on Friday night, ending a temporary block on DOGE access to Labor Department data. Although he expressed concerns about letting DOGE get to that information, Bates ruled that the AFL-CIO and four other large labor unions that requested a restraining order failed to show that ‘at least one particular member is substantially likely to suffer an injury’ with DOGE access.”

“For many people, the idea of dismantling the Department of Education may seem far-fetched and unrealistic. President Donald Trump, however, has made it a priority: he promised it during the campaign, and last week, he said he wants his education secretary nominee Linda McMahon to “put herself out of a job” by dismantling the DOE. Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, is taking Trump’s threat seriously. As leader of the third largest school district in the country, preparing for the president’s assault on the DOE includes strengthening the CTU’s contract with Chicago Public Schools, lobbying schools to recruit Black teachers, and pushing for well-rounded experiences for students in and out the classroom.”

“The time has arrived for you to vote for your favorite (or least favorite, see below) labor films… again! The 2025 Labor Oscars voting period begins on February 10. And we are ready to announce the nominated films in all five categories in this post. #2025LaborOscars is Power At Work’s annual effort to shine a bright light on films that feature worker power, unions, labor leaders, front-line union members, and workers’ collective action. For this year’s list, we added 13 more labor films. Some are brand new. Some simply escaped our notice last year. The Power At Work Labor Oscars list is a living, growing thing.”

“Aircraft accidents, software outages, and a global pandemic are just some of the events that airline workers have been on the front lines for in recent years. Daily working conditions are also impacting them and their families. They say the movement to fully unionize the industry with a push to organize at Delta Air Lines is closer than ever.”

“The largest union for federal employees says it’s seeing unusual growth amid President Donald Trump’s attacks on the government workforce. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE, said the union has added more than 8,200 members through the first third of February, after adding nearly 8,000 in January. In normal times, a typical month might see a net gain of a few hundred, he explained. The recent surge in signups means the union grew by about 5% in a matter of weeks, pushing its rolls to 321,000 ― its highest ever, the AFGE says. The union had set a goal of reaching a membership size of 325,000 by the end of 2025, but Kelley said they might end up hitting that goal before the end of this week.”

“A group of aircraft fuelers at Orlando International Airport employed by contractor PrimeFlight Aviation unanimously voted to unionize Monday with the Transport Workers Union, a labor union that represents roughly 155,000 working people nationwide. Out of 60 eligible voters, 42 of the aircraft fuelers at MCO voted in favor of the union, according to a union spokesperson, with zero votes in opposition. This is the first group of PrimeFlight employees anywhere to unionize with the TWU. The union represents aviation laborers across the country including flight attendants and other aircraft workers at MCO for airlines such as Southwest, JetBlue and American Airlines.”

“Last week, workers at the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) won recognition for their union with CWA. The Harris Center, a government agency in Houston, Texas, employs approximately 2,600 workers with a mission to assist those with behavioral health and developmental needs so that they can live productive, connected lives.”

“On January 7, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that workers at RDU1 had signed enough union authorization cards to trigger an election. ‘Three days later, Amazon mobilized an army,’ said Marcela Duron, a stower. (Duron requested a pseudonym for fear of retaliation.) ‘Holding meetings, handing out pamphlets, all against [Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity & Empowerment].’’”

“Ten thousand members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 are on strike all across Colorado. They work for King Soopers grocery stores, owned by Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the U.S. When their contracts expired January 16, they voted by 96 percent to authorize a two-week-long unfair labor practice strike, including high-traffic Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day weekends.”

“After years of grinding for wage gains that were quickly wiped out by California’s soaring cost of living, unionized educators are about to make a power move. In the midst of President Donald Trump’s attack on the federal Department of Education and the state’s own struggle with the myriad issues facing its public school system, the teachers’ unions say they’ll coordinate strategies across multiple California districts that together serve more than 1 million students. Whether they will win better contracts in their individual districts, many of which are fighting ongoing budget issues, is an open question. But some of those who’ve been on the front lines of the education battle in the state feel they have little to lose.”

“When the Writers Guild of America approved a contract with major studios in 2023, ending a 148-day strike, the union became the first bargaining group to gain significant guardrails around artificial intelligence in Hollywood. But as AI innovation continues to advance, writers say they need more protection from studios. Now, they’re urging entertainment companies to take legal action against AI firms that they allege are using writers’ work to train AI models without their permission.”

“Lawmakers across the country are increasingly recognizing that making striking workers eligible for unemployment insurance (UI) is good for workers and good economics.”

“Nannie Helen Burroughs is rarely mentioned in the same breath as Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, and other luminaries of the civil rights movement, but her achievements still resonate more than a century later. [...] She founded a labor organization to improve pay and working conditions for Black women. She also fought for women’s voting rights, directed a presidential commission on housing, and even found time to write several plays before her death in 1961.”

“Hundreds of low-wage workers from across the South gathered in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Feb. 1 for a “worker power” summit. The event was held on the first day of Black History Month and the 65th anniversary of the historic sit-in that occurred just a few miles away on Elm Street, where four Black North Carolina A&T students sat at a Woolworth’s counter and changed the course of history. Time and time again, the South has shown the world that it is nothing to play with, and in North Carolina, history is still being made. The state has become a stronghold for the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW), a first-of-its-kind cross-sector union offering membership to fast food, retail, warehouse, care, and other service industry workers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.”