The Weekly Download

“People are hurting right now, badly. More are being hurt every day. The cruelties perpetrated by ICE, the dismantling of the public health system, the destruction of public education, vicious attacks on Black and brown Americans, and the demonization of transgender people are only a few examples of the injustices defining our time. We need optimism wherever we can find it.”

“In this blogcast, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by David Foster and Lenore Palladino to discuss how workers can build real power at the very top of the corporations that shape our lives. In this episode, Seth, Lenore, and David dig into the arguments for and against worker representation on corporate boards and how board representation compares to and comports with traditional forms of worker power like strikes and collective bargaining. They also explore the limitations of the current mechanisms for providing workers with board seats and policy reforms that could strengthen how workers are represented in the boardroom.”

“In the wake of passing a budget bill that sacrificed the well-being of working families to support tax giveaways for corporations and billionaires, Republicans on Capitol Hill are trying to recast themselves as the party of working people. As part of this effort, last week Senate HELP (Health Education Labor and Pensions) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced a slate of proposals supposedly intended to ‘strengthen workers’ rights’ and ‘deliver on President Trump’s pro-worker agenda.’ Cassidy has also held hearings on labor law reform, touting the need to find ‘A Pro-Worker Way Forward.’ While this newfound focus on workers’ rights should be a positive development, unfortunately, a closer look reveals that the new Republican ‘pro-worker’ agenda is largely a repackaging of many of the same anti-worker and anti-union ideas that big corporations have been pushing for quite some time.”

“Policymakers and advocates in New York and California are fighting for workers’ rights by enacting union trigger laws. Massachusetts is debating a similar policy, as are several other states. These laws would regulate private sector workers’ right to organize and bargain at the state level if the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)—the primary federal law guaranteeing the union rights of private sector workers—is struck down or ceases to be enforced. Far more states should advance union trigger laws so that workers are able to exercise their rights in the future.”

“House lawmakers have collected enough signatures to force a vote on a bill that would nullify President Trump's executive order terminating collective bargaining rights for most federal workers…Back in late March, President Trump signed an executive order directing around 20 federal agencies to end collective bargaining rights for most federal workers, citing national security concerns. The move outraged the unions.”

“A federal judge has ruled to protect the collective bargaining rights of workers at Voice of America (VOA), many of them AFSCME members. VOA is an international broadcaster funded by the federal government to provide ‘trusted and objective news’ with a focus on ‘countries where free speech is banned or where civil society is under threat.’ The Trump administration tried to dismantle VOA, but AFSCME and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) fought that dismantling in court. In the wake of the unions’ successful legal efforts, the administration stripped VOA employees of their collective bargaining rights.”

“In a major victory for federal workers, today D.C. federal judge Paul Friedman granted a preliminary injunction, in an oral opinion delivered in open court, against the President, the United States Agency for Global Media (the agency that houses Voice of America), and USAGM Acting CEO Kari Lake, finding that the cancellation of collective bargaining rights at USAGM was unconstitutional retaliation against AFSCME and AFGE in violation of the First Amendment and was an unlawful exercise of authority. The ruling is a result of a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); the Voice of America Employees Union, AFSCME Local 1418; and AFGE Local 1812 against the Trump administration’s August 28 executive order stripping USAGM and VOA workers of their voice on the job.”

“Federal agencies that took a hard line against coercive work contracts have retreated under President Donald Trump’s new appointees, and Democrats in Congress want to know why. Rep. Summer Lee (Pa.) and Sen. Ed Markey (Mass.), joined by 44 other Democrats, sent letters to several agencies Wednesday demanding to know what they were doing to combat the growth of ‘stay-or-pay’ employment agreements. Such contracts require workers to put in a minimum number of hours before quitting or they’ll have to fork over thousands of dollars to cover alleged training costs.”

“Food service workers with UNITE HERE Local 17 and union allies gathered in Terminal 1 at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Airport on November 17 for a press conference to announce their intent to strike if a deal is not reached between the workers and HMSHost, the company that operates food and beverage outlets across MSP terminals. The potential strike would coincide with the busiest travel days of the year, and could begin as soon as November 24. The demands include wage increases and affordable healthcare plans for the 250 food service workers, who have not seen a wage increase since before the pandemic, according to the union. A November 14 press release from UNITE HERE Local 17 says, ‘HMSHost food prep workers earn as little as $15.98 an hour, among the lowest wages at the airport. Workers say the company took advantage of the pandemic and has yet to make them whole.’”

“Members of the Transport Workers Union Local 234 on Sunday, Nov. 16 voted to authorize a strike if union and SEPTA negotiators can’t reach an agreement on a new contract. Shortly before the current contract ran out at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 7, TWU’s new president, Will Vera, urged union members to stay on the job. In an unusual move, he delayed a strike vote at the time of contract expiration, saying he had hope that a deal could be reached without the usual brinksmanship…Local 234 leaders say they’re prioritizing a two-year deal with raises and changes to what the union views as onerous work rules, including the transit agency’s use of a third party that Vera said makes it hard for members to use their allotted sick time.”

“A lot of undocumented immigrants — and their employers — remember when the siege began. Federal immigration agents equipped with tactical gear and rifles descended on downtown Los Angeles in armored trucks on June 6, arresting dozens of workers at an apparel factory. Within hours, another group of agents raided a Home Depot a few miles away, arresting day laborers who were looking for work. Those operations quickly became a flashpoint, sparking spontaneous large-scale street protests. But President Donald Trump’s administration doubled down, and more high-profile raids followed as the White House sought to make good on the president’s promise to conduct the largest mass deportation program in the nation’s history.”

“Unionized Starbucks workers are threatening to expand a US strike against the world’s biggest coffee chain into ‘the largest and longest’ in the company’s history – and urging customers to steer clear. Starbucks has said the vast majority of its cafes remain open, and expressed disappointment that Starbucks Workers United launched the strike. Negotiations over the first union contract for Starbucks workers in the US broke down in recent months. Both sides have blamed the other. Prominent politicians including Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, have backed the striking workers.”

“Workers at some of the most renown[ed] music venues in Washington, D.C., have won their unionization efforts.IMP notified some of its staffers at the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, The Atlantis and Lincoln Theatre Wednesday that the company would voluntarily recognize the employees’ desire to form a union with Unite Here Local 25, Deadline understands. Now, they will move to negotiate their first union contract with IMP.”

“Teamsters Local 332 has filed multiple unfair labor practice charges against Henry Ford Genesys Hospital for refusing to meet and bargain, declaring an illegal and fake impasse, and threatening Teamsters nurses. The group of 750 nurses and case managers were forced onto the picket line on Sept. 1 due to the employer’s unfair labor practices and have been on strike since.”

“Machinists District 837 members at Boeing are back on the job after approving a new five-year contract, ending a strike that lasted over 100 days, the longest in the company’s local history. Members, who have been on strike since Aug. 4, voted Nov. 13 by 68 percent to approve the agreement, which includes a $6,000 singing bonus. Workers returned to the job Nov. 16.”

“Pilots for Allegiant Air, represented by the Teamsters, picketed outside 22 airports across the country Tuesday, including the Orlando-Sanford International Airport. The action is part of a coordinated pressure campaign in the pilots’ ongoing fight for a new union contract. According to the Teamsters Local 2118, Allegiant pilots are demanding an end to alleged delays by the airline in negotiating a new contract that meets union members’ needs.”

“At the fiftieth annual Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) convention, 550 Teamsters talked about building power in their workplaces, from United Parcel Service (UPS) barns to school bus yards to the San Diego Zoo. They swapped tips on running for local union office and debated TDU’s strategic priorities. A major theme at the convention, held in Chicago, November 7–9, was the union’s renewed militancy. Teamsters elected Sean O’Brien in 2021 to head the 1.3-million-member union; the TDU-backed O’Brien–Zuckerman Teamsters United slate ran under the slogan ‘New Leadership and a New Direction.’”