The Weekly Download

“In the third blogcast of the new Power At Work series "What Could Happen Under Trump?", Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by three of his former colleagues in the U.S. Department of Labor: Patricia Shiu, the current Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the Department of Labor, David Michaels, a professor at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and former Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, and David Weil, a Professor at Heller and the Department of Economics at Brandeis University and former Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. Watch now to learn more about how the Department of Labor will react to the leadership of Secretary-designate Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Also hear Shiu, Michaels, and Weil’s insights on how this next administration will impact their respective branches of the Department of Labor."

“Younger workers have led a wave of renewed support for unions in recent years. Approval of unions stood at 77% among members of the Gen Z and Millennial generations in 2024—up from just 47% among Baby Boomers at the same age in 1976. Covid-19 pandemic safety concerns, historically tight labor markets, and several high-profile labor wins, including organizing drives at Starbucks and the UAW strike wave, likely contributed to this increased support for unions. Many young workers in the early 2020s were also attracted to the potential financial benefits of unions.”

“The power is in your hands, but time is slipping through your fingers. At midnight on Friday, January 17, all voting for the Labor Grammys’ “Guthrie Awards” will close. Do not miss this opportunity to cast your ballot.”

“In recent years the labor movement has witnessed a resurgence in organizing, and 2024 was no different. Tens of thousands of workers fought for pay raises, increased job protections and union representation. Workers across the United States also linked their domestic struggles with Israel’s assault on Palestine, demanding an arms embargo and an end to the genocide in Gaza. While the labor movement undeniably gained ground in 2024, union organizers now face the looming return of Donald Trump’s pro-business agenda. However, unions are preparing to fight back."

“President Biden promised to be the most pro-union, pro-worker President in history.  One way he sought to achieve this goal was through his appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.  For a little over three years, from September 2021 until December 16, 2024, Biden’s appointees formed a majority on the NLRB.  Despite the talk about the Republicans becoming the workers’ party, labor relations have been so polarized in this country that it feels like each Administration’s appointees are just running on a treadmill, undoing the actions of the previous Administration.  That was certainly the case for Biden’s appointees, as they spent much time and energy simply undoing the anti-worker actions of the first Trump NLRB.”

“John Deere has announced more than 1500 layoffs in the last year. Deere and Case New Holland used to employ generations of union workers across the midwest. Now they're slashing American jobs and moving to Mexico. We investigated what's behind it — and how to bring those jobs back.”

“Last year, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule outlining how the federal agency differentiates between employees and independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. labor law that establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards…Wading through the anti-worker/pro-business noise can be difficult, especially when countless articles, court filings, and congressional committee meetings have been devoted to this topic over the last five years. So, before the Trump administration takes office and potentially shakes things up again, let’s look at what has happened and what’s at stake.”

“After Nevada gave home care workers a huge raise, from about $11 to $16 an hour, turnover in the industry fell sharply. Now, caregivers are preparing to lobby for another wage hike. More and more Americans need home health care. Finding a caregiver is hard. The pay is low, and turnover is high, which is why Nevada has been raising caregiver wages.”

“The International Longshoremen’s Association has settled its East and Gulf Coast contract shortly before a January 15 strike deadline. The deal locks in a 62 percent wage increase over six years and expands existing automation protections. Workers will also see larger “container royalty” payouts. The agreement will go first to a body of ILA delegates, and then members will vote. The full agreement is not yet public. ILA members won the big wage promise after striking for three days in October, shutting down container shipping on the East and Gulf Coasts in their first coastwide strike since 1977. But the 20,000 workers went back to work with the major question of automation still on the table.”

“Negotiations between Starbucks and its union have broken down, with workers calling the company’s proposals ‘almost laughable’ and highlighting the multimillion pay package of the coffee chain’s recently appointed CEO. Since late 2021, over 530 Starbucks stores have won union elections, representing more than 12,000 workers at the company. But talks aimed at negotiating a first union contract have stalled and the company has called the union’s proposals ‘not sustainable’”.

“More than 2,000 UFCW Local 152 members who work in retail positions at 15 ShopRite stores in southern New Jersey ratified a new contract on Dec. 10. These members work in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Ocean County and play pivotal roles in serving the people in their communities. This contract was ratified after months of hard bargaining between the 24-person negotiating committee and the three ShopRite owner groups (Bottino’s Supermarkets, Saker ShopRites, and Village Super Market).”

“The Council 93 members who work at the Howard Center, a mental health and substance recovery provider in Chittenden County, Vermont, knew what they were up against. For decades, their employer had been vehemently anti-union, maintaining a right-to-work-type contract since they were organized in 1980. Dan Peyser, a psychotherapist at the Howard Center Methadone Clinic, put it this way: “Howard Center is not a normal employer. It’s not that they don’t play ball. For them, it’s more. There is no ball game.”

“The American Civil Liberties Union and other legal groups are pressing a major arbitration provider to stop enforcing workers’ employment debts, saying the cases amount to ‘indentured servitude.’ The ACLU sent a letter Monday to the American Arbitration Association, or AAA, urging the group not to hear disputes involving “stay-or-pay” agreements. Such contracts require workers to put in a minimum amount of hours before quitting or else they’ll have to pay the employer thousands of dollars to cover travel, training and other alleged costs.”

“Destructive wildfires in Southern California have destroyed the homes of at least three of our members. At least 30 Guild members have been directly impacted in evacuation zones along with 220 other CWA members. Members and leaders at the Media Guild of the West and CWA District 9 are working to launch efforts to help our members. Members impacted by natural disasters can get support through the CWA Members’ Relief Fund, our strike fund. Please contact your stewards or local officers if you need assistance.”

“The IAFF remains on the ground in Los Angeles as members work to contain the wildfires which have now burned an area bigger than San Francisco and killed at least 24 people. To date, the IAFF has received and is processing twelve disaster relief applications from members who have lost their homes to the fires. More are anticipated. Meanwhile, peer support counseling and other services are being made available to members in need.”

“Two prominent labor groups are joining forces in an attempt to expand union membership and protect members’ interests as they face the likelihood of a less union-friendly federal government under Donald J. Trump. The Service Employees International Union, which represents nearly two million workers in industries like home health care and janitorial services, said on Wednesday that it would become part of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., an umbrella group of more than 50 unions that represent more than 12.5 million workers. The boards of the two groups formally approved the affiliation arrangement earlier in the day.”

"The union, Monterey Bay Aquarium Workers United (MBAWU), would cover more than 300 aquarium workers from all sectors, ranging from guest services to marketing and education. In a public letter, MBAWU leadership cited workers’ desire for fair pay, comprehensive benefits and career transparency. They noted that they continue to stand behind the nonprofit aquarium’s mission of ocean conservation and that they hope a union will allow them to foster a healthy environment for workers.”

“Last year, medical residents at several major Philadelphia-area hospitals announced they wanted to form unions, and now some of the results are in. Residents at Temple University Hospital, and Einstein Healthcare Network, which is now part of Jefferson Health, voted overwhelmingly to form a union with the Committee of Interns and Residents; whereas residents at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia voted narrowly against it late last year. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said in part that they “firmly believe the best employee experience is achieved by direct, two-way communication and collaboration and will continue to partner with our residents and fellows to find ways to improve or strengthen that experience.”

“The labor union representing stagehands went on strike Sunday against Atlantic Theater Company in Manhattan, prompting the prestigious nonprofit to postpone two productions that had already begun performances and to warn that union demands could force the closing of the Atlantic and other Off Broadway nonprofits.”

“Declaring that understaffing had them “running on empty,” 5,000 nurses, doctors, midwives, and nurse practitioners walked off the job January 10 in an open-ended strike at Providence Health and Services, the dominant hospital chain in the Pacific Northwest. The strikers work at eight hospitals plus women’s health clinics across Oregon. They’re demanding proper staffing, affordable health insurance, and competitive pay that can attract and retain seasoned workers.”

“This season finale brings the full picture into perspective as Carlos Jimenez, head of the special projects division of the AFL-CIO, joins host Jamala Rogers to analyze the history of labor fights that got us to this moment, and how organized Black workers have shown up throughout that history.”

“Wages for too many working Americans have stagnated over the past several decades, even as corporate profits have approached record highs and CEO pay skyrockets.1 A key reason for this is that workers still do not have sufficient power to negotiate for higher compensation.2 Decades of attacks against collective bargaining, along with changing economic and employment structures, have weakened worker power.3 While federal reforms are necessary to rebalance power across the economy and fix many structural issues facing workers, state lawmakers can empower workers to bargain for decent working conditions and support good-quality jobs in local communities, even without federal action. This issue brief details eight ways that states can continue growing worker power and improving the lives of working people in the U.S. economy.”

“Utilizing data from the Health and Retirement Survey and the Current Population Survey (CPS), our study aims to identify the institutions that play a pivotal role in facilitating wealth accumulation and debt avoidance among households. We specifically examine the impact of the collective bargaining system as an institution that assists households in planning their financial futures. We argue that the interaction between union households and the financial sector differs fundamentally from that of non-union workers. Therefore, it is essential to disentangle the independent effect of unions on both wealth accumulation and debt management. We also identify the interaction of the union - wealth effect by race and gender.”