The Weekly Download

“In this blogcast, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by Claudia Irizarry Aponte, a senior reporter covering labor and work for THE CITY; Lucia Gomez, former political director for the New York City Central Labor Council and National Immigration & Worker Rights Coordinator for LiUNA; and Michael Podhorzer, former political director of the AFL-CIO to discuss the results of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary with a labor lens.”

“It's no longer a secret. The rich get richer. But when I dug beneath the headlines for my undergraduate honors thesis, I discovered something more jarring than anticipated: for some of America's largest companies, CEOs make more than 20 times what a full-time minimum wage worker earns…By analyzing earnings data from 30 of the largest publicly traded companies in America from 2010-2023, I found what most workers already know: we live in a society where those who put in the hours do not receive the payoff. This is less of an economic issue and more of an empowerment issue.”

“Episode #4 of the Power Half-Hour has arrived! The Power Half-Hour is a livestreamed, fast-paced, bi-weekly roundtable with a rotating group of regular guests. Our guests discuss the biggest labor story of the preceding week and the labor story everyone should be talking about over the next two weeks.”

“The Senate voted late Saturday to open debate on Republicans’ budget reconciliation package, which aims to cut federal spending in order to partially pay for extended tax cuts for the wealthy and increased immigration enforcement, though the measure’s burden on federal employees is now lighter. That’s because, according to bill text released by the Senate Budget Committee Saturday, the legislation no longer targets federal workers’ retirement benefits, civil service protections or their labor unions.”

“New York, California, Massachusetts propose bills to expand state-level oversight as NLRB remains disabled and existentially threatened. As the National Labor Relations Board passes the six-month mark since President Trump removed the three-member quorum it needs to operate, state legislatures are taking steps to absorb the board's essential functions of organized labor oversight. If enacted, "trigger bills" in New York, California, and Massachusetts would empower their state- level adjudicators for public sector unions to regulate private-sector labor relations that are currently left in limbo by the disabled NLRB.”

“Last night, Southern California residents, workers, and advocacy groups across various industries sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in federal court for abducting and disappearing community members using unlawful stop and arrest practices and confining individuals at a federal building in illegal conditions while denying them access to attorneys. The suit…alleges that DHS has unconstitutionally arrested and detained people in order to meet arbitrary arrest quotas set by the Trump administration.”

“On many fronts, Americans have been inattentive to the strength of the institutions that undergird our democracy. To the extent that we have focused on democracy-affirming activities as a society, we have fixated primarily on those related pretty narrowly to elections: the mechanics of voting, campaign finance, and political misinformation. These are all important challenges, but they occur relatively far downstream in the process of building a democratic ethos in our nation. All the while, we have allowed a critical upstream institution—the labor movement—to undergo a slow and painful downward spiral. That spiral has come at the hands of conservative judges, big corporations, and the inattention of institutions and Americans who are not directly engaged with unions. And now that our democracy is clearly under great stress as a result of the early actions of the second Trump Administration, the long-simmering threats to the labor movement take on even greater significance.”

“The Federal Trade Commission’s historic ban on noncompete agreements could die a quiet death next month if President Donald Trump’s new commission appointees choose not to defend it in court. The ban ― which would bar most firms from requiring workers to sign noncompetes as a condition of employment ― was blocked by a Trump-appointed judge last year after business groups sued. The FTC’s new Republican chair, Andrew Ferguson, has until July 10 to tell the court whether the agency will fight for the rule’s survival.”

“Trump administration officials have vowed to hold companies accountable for employing people who are in the country illegally — no matter which industry they are in or how big or small they might be. But the Department of Homeland Security’s enforcement operations have overwhelmingly focused on arresting workers rather than punishing employers. Since the start of the year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has posted news releases regarding approximately two dozen raids on the “Worksite Enforcement” section of its website. Local news outlets have documented dozens more. The Washington Post was able to identify only one employer charged after the raids ICE has publicized.”

“The future of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), the venerable agency that since 1935 has been the exclusive investigation, enforcement, and adjudicatory body under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act), is in doubt. As of this writing, it seems likely, that perhaps sometime in fall 2025 or spring 2026, the Supreme Court will overrule or substantially narrow Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935). There will be some consternation over imperiling the structure of the Federal Reserve Board, which like the NLRB is a multimember agency whose members are insulated from at-will presidential removal before the end of their terms. The Court will, we suspect, find some way to distinguish the Federal Reserve Board, whether persuasively or not.”

“Republicans are about to supercharge the gap between worker and CEO pay. The 2017 tax cuts enriched Wall Street and CEOs, who spent billions on stock buybacks. Workers got nothing. Now, corporations are posed for an even bigger windfall in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill.”

“The potential closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia highlights key gaps in California’s energy transition strategy: a lack of planning for fuel supply disruptions and inadequate support for workers during the phaseout of fossil fuels. While gas prices have received a lot of attention from state policymakers, refinery workers and communities deserve equal consideration. California urgently needs a just transition plan so they aren’t left behind…California does not have a strategy for helping refinery workers and communities when a facility closes. As a result, closures have been devastating. We documented the experiences of workers laid off from Marathon’s Martinez refinery in 2020: one year out, 26% were still unemployed, and workers who had secured new jobs took an average 24% pay cut.”

“Workers at the nonprofit journalism lab City Bureau are forming a union and seeking to become a part of the Chicago News Guild, TNG-CWA Local 34071, joining the nationwide labor movement for a stronger media system. It is as urgent as ever that journalists and practitioners working to address information gaps have a voice to advocate for fairness, accountability and equity. As of July 1, 2025, eligible City Bureau staff—across every department that plays a role in editorial work, programming and the organization’s operations—unanimously signed cards and a mission statement showing their support in forming a union with The NewsGuild-CWA.”

“Attorneys at the Legal Aid Society have voted to authorize a strike — meaning lawyers at New York City's biggest public defender group could stop working if management does not meet their demands for better work conditions…91% of members [cast] their ballot in favor of a strike…99% of members participated in the vote.”

“In June 2020, at the height of the pandemic, hundreds of Philadelphia sanitation workers and other DC 33 members rallied to demand hazard pay and personal protective equipment. It was a sign that these workers from one of Philadelphia’s largest unions, who are underpaid and do exceptionally dangerous work, understood their real worth to society. Five years later, AFSCME DC 33 is on strike for a contract that reflects the sacrifices they’ve made for the public. The strike could cause a major disruption to the city’s Fourth of July festivities planned for this weekend.”

“Hundreds of union sanitation workers went on strike Tuesday as contract negotiations with their company stalled, halting trash pickup in towns and cities across Greater Boston…The Teamsters Local 25, the union representing the workers, said in a statement that the company's agreement with employees lapsed on Monday. The union said and that they have made "several attempts" to negotiate with Republic. They are asking for better wages, benefits and labor protections.”

“Negotiations between United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 and Safeway’s parent company, Albertsons, stalled over the weekend, deepening a strike that has stretched beyond two weeks. At the same time, the union prepares for talks with King Soopers and City Market starting Tuesday. ‘Despite the union’s good faith attempt to reach an agreement, the company chose to walk away from negotiations – choosing to continue the strike rather than negotiating a new contract,’ read a June 28 social media post by UFCW Local 7.”

“The Federal Railroad Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is warning Brightline Florida that in order to continue to receive federal transit dollars, the high-speed rail company will need to ensure it is in compliance with federal grant requirements. This includes acknowledging that they are, in fact, a rail carrier eligible for rail-specific federal grants — an acknowledgement that is relevant to a recent unionization effort among some of their employees. The private, for-profit company Brightline — which operates several rail routes from as far south as Miami up to Orlando — had been accused by the Transport Workers Union of union-busting, in part by trying to pretend it doesn't actually qualify as a rail carrier. Yet, according to the TWU, Brightline “previously received or benefited from” more than $36 million in federal transit grants specifically for rail carriers, and it’s their understanding that Brightline has asked for more.”

“Washington and his fellow members ratified a new three-year contract earlier this month. It gives the workers a minimum 6% cost of living adjustment as well as annual pay raises of at least 4%. Also, the pay for the lowest and highest steps in each grade will rise by 20% to make up for a history of low wages.”

“After GE’s break up into three separate companies, this 4 year labor contract with GE Aerospace brings back stability to IUE-CWA families, with cost of living (COLA) language which will protect our members from a repeat of runaway inflation like we saw during the pandemic. Wage rates will increase a compounded 16.9% over the life of the contract and are now protected with added Cost of Living Adjustment language on top of that. We made sure our earnings outpace increased healthcare costs.”

“The Teamsters union is putting the heat on United Parcel Service over landmark protections secured in its 2023 contract with the company. The union has given UPS until Tuesday to explain when the company will rollout the 28,000 air conditioned vans and cars and the placement of 22,500 full-time jobs, both negotiated in the union contract agreement that covers nearly 340,000 UPS workers.”

“SEIU Local 1000, the state's largest worker union, said it's reached a bargaining agreement that delays the governor's return-to-office order to July 1, 2026. The California Department of Human Resources confirmed the agreement with SEIU Local 1000 representing employees in bargaining units, 1, 3, 4, 11, 14, 15, 17, 20 and 21, which representing a range of employees from analysts, IT workers, educators, nurses, support staff and custodians. ”

“The UAW is calling on the National Labor Relations Board to investigate Ford and BlueOval SK (BOSK) for violating federal labor law before it sets the date for an election to ensure a fair and democratic vote — one free from illegal employer intimidation, retaliation, and coercion.”

“Gen Z and younger Millennials are approaching labor issues with a level of urgency and clarity that feels new, but they’re forced to work within a faltering 90-year-old legal framework. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was built for the industrial era. It wasn’t designed to handle decentralized workplaces, social media campaigns, or fluid job structures. As a result, both employers and unions are stuck playing chess on a checkers board.”