Category Archives: US unions

What does Elon Musk believe?

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The man given free rein by Trump to crusade against the federal government supported Democrats until 2022. But some of Musk’s longstanding positions lead a straight line to his far-right sympathies

Elon Musk is not a people person, as millions around the world will be able to attest after the planet’s richest man cut off food supplies, healthcare and probably even life itself to some of the most vulnerable without so much as a fore- or afterthought.

Musk sees himself as a data man, wielding numbers like a machete to slash and burn his way through government waste and corruption as he leads the rightwing charge to capture the US state.

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Ten thousand Kroger-owned grocery store workers strike in Colorado

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Two-week strike begins as union for King Soopers alleges surveillance of workers and pushes to gut health benefits

Ten thousand workers at Kroger-owned King Soopers grocery stores in Colorado begin a two-week unfair labor practice strike on Thursday.

The union, United Food and Commercial Workers local 7, whose contract expired last month, voted 96% in favor of authorizing the strike.

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‘It’s been madness’: US federal workers reeling over Trump-Musk takeover

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Office of personnel management workers say anxiety is palpable amid intimidation and threat of dismissal

US government workers are describing an atmosphere of “fear” and “madness” as they grapple with a barrage of executive orders issued by Donald Trump and threats to their jobs from the office of personnel management, the agency tasked with managing the federal civil service, which has been taken over by the billionaire Elon Musk.

Weeks before the administration transition, federal worker unions reported low morale among workers in anticipation of pushes for intimidation, mass firings and harassment.

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‘This will delay medical breakthroughs’: US scientists demand to bargain over Trump orders

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NIH fellows say policy changes including funding freeze would ‘severely limit’ researchers’ ability to do their work

A union representing about 5,000 researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a legally binding demand to bargain over Donald Trump’s sweeping policy changes, including a funding freeze, a communications blackout and a staff travel ban.

The NIH is the largest biomedical institution in the world, providing more than $40bn annually to fund health research, providing grants to more than 300,000 researchers at more thab 2,500 universities, medical schools and other research institutions globally, with nearly 6,000 scientists performing research in its own labs.

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Trump offers US federal workers buyouts to resign

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Government employees’ union says offer pressures career workers to quit and will cause chaos in federal programs

The Trump administration has offered federal workers buyouts worth more than seven months’ salary if they would leave their jobs by 6 February as the White House attempts to slash the civil service in an unprecedented overhaul of US government.

The office of personnel management, the government’s human resources agency, sent a memo to the federal workforce on Tuesday evening with four directives that it says Trump is mandating, including a full-time return to the office for most employees. It also said that the federal workforce would be subjected to “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” and warned that most agencies would be downsized.

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‘You can’t be pro-billionaire and pro-working class’: Biden’s labor chief on return of Trump

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Julie Su, acting labor secretary, fears many of Biden’s pro-worker policies will be undone by the new administration

Even as Donald Trump says he will battle for America’s workers, the acting secretary of labor, Julie Su, is voicing fears that Trump will undo many of Joe Biden’s pro-worker policies, which include protecting workers from extreme heat and extending overtime pay to millions more workers.

In an interview with the Guardian, Su said that Trump might fall far short on delivering for workers considering the first Trump administration’s many anti-worker policies and in light of his having Elon Musk and other billionaires advising him. “It’s one thing to say you’re pro-worker, and it’s quite another thing to do it,” Su said. “You can’t be pro-billionaire and pro-working class. You can’t be pro-Elon Musk and pro-worker.”

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Trump says he will block Nippon Steel’s $14.9bn bid to acquire US Steel

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Acquisition of Pittsburgh-based steel producer by Japanese company has faced opposition from steelworkers and Biden

Donald Trump said on Monday that he intends to block Japan’s Nippon Steel’s $14.9bn bid to acquire US Steel in a move that will fuel further fears about a global trade war when the Republican returns to the White House next month.

“I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan” the US president-elect said in a statement on Monday, adding: “Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST! As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”

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Amazon workers in 20 countries to protest or strike on Black Friday

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Workers and their representatives to press US retailer to respect their rights and take action on the climate crisis

Thousands of Amazon workers are expected to protest or strike in more than 20 countries during Black Friday to press for better workers’ rights and climate action from the US retailer..

Workers and representatives from unions and workers’ groups intend to join protests against the Seattle-based company’s practices between Black Friday and Cyber Monday (29 November and 2 December), one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year.

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Striking Boeing workers to vote on deal offering 38% pay rise and bigger bonus

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More than 30,000 workers have been on strike since September and rejected two earlier offers from company

Striking Boeing workers will vote on an improved contract offer on Monday, which includes a 38% pay rise over four years and a bigger signing bonus, their union said on Thursday.

More than 30,000 factory workers who produce Boeing’s strongest-selling 737 Max commercial jet and other planes have been on strike since 13 September and have rejected two earlier offers from Boeing.

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UAW leader Shawn Fain makes final appeal to divided membership

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Fain asks members to vote for Harris in billionaire v working class framing in which Republicans ‘embraced’ theirs

The leader of the United Auto Workers (UAW) made a last plea to union members to vote for presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Tuesday night casting the election as a fight between the interests of the working-class and billionaires.

“I want you to know where your union stands. I want you to listen to how your UAW leadership thinks about this election and I want you to keep an open mind,” said Shawn Fain, president of the 391,00-strong union.

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US unions step up efforts to make case that Trump is no friend of workers

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Unions have mobilized thousands of members to convince them that Harris is a far better ally than Trump

Even though the vast majority of US labor unions have endorsed Kamala Harris, many union members support Donald Trump, and with the race so close, unions have stepped up efforts to convince those workers that Trump is no friend of unions or workers.

In Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – states that Harris badly needs to win – union households are an important voting bloc, and unions have mobilized thousands of members to engage in worksite conversations, door-knocking and phone-banking to make the case that Harris is far better for workers than Trump.

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US dock workers agree on deal with port operators to end strike

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International Longshoremen’s Association announces agreement for wage hike and immediate work resumption

The US ports strike that shut down shipping on the east and Gulf coasts for three days came to an end on Thursday after dock workers struck a tentative deal with port operators.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) announced that the union had reached an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) on wages, suspending their walkout until January. Work would resume immediately, the union said.

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Biden urges port operators to increase wages after 45,000 workers go on strike

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Strike – the first by port workers on US east coast since 1977 – threatens to shut down ports from Maine to Texas

Joe Biden has urged port operators to give workers a “meaningful increase” in pay after tens of thousands went on strike, prompting some of the busiest ports in the US to brace for crippling disruption.

About 45,000 port workers represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) began walking off the job after their contracts expired at midnight, with 36 ports along the east and Gulf coasts affected. They typically handle about half of the nation’s ocean shipping.

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‘Can’t afford health insurance’: California CVS workers take strike vote

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More than 7,000 workers to hold strike vote this week amid accusations of staff shortages and expensive healthcare

More than 7,000 workers at CVS stores across California are holding a strike vote this week after accusing the US’s largest pharmacy chain of shortchanging staff and failing to provide affordable healthcare.

CVS and its union remain far apart in negotiations on a new contract. Their current union contract expired on 30 June 2024.

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US cannabis company Eaze pays supervisors less than those they oversee, workers say

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Shift supervisors unable to unionize are left in limbo, despite workers claiming low pay and lack of authority

The largest cannabis delivery service in the US faces a growing backlash in southern California from shift supervisors who said they are paid less than the workers they supervise, struggle to make ends meet on low and stagnant wages, and are at odds with the company over their right to form a union.

Nearly 600 delivery drivers at Eaze in California voted to unionize in 2023 with the United Food and Commercial Workers, and secured a first contract earlier this year after threatening to strike in April.

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Boeing accused of being ‘unprepared’ for federal mediation as strike continues

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Union members ‘frustrated’ that company was allegedly unwilling to discuss wages and pensions in negotiations

Union officials have accused Boeing of being “unprepared” after talks resumed to end the US’s largest strike.

Boeing workers will be joined on picket lines by the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Brian Bryant on Thursday a day after the company announced plans to furlough “large numbers” of employees.

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Boeing workers walk off the job after vote to strike and rejecting pay deal

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US Pacific north-west region workers voted 96% in favor of the strike and walked off the job early on Friday

Tens of thousands of Boeing workers walked off the job early on Friday after voting overwhelmingly to strike for higher pay, halting production of the planemaker’s strongest-selling jet as it wrestles with chronic output delays and mounting debt.

The company said on Friday it was ready to talk and “get back to the table to reach a new agreement” as striking workers picketed.

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‘Democrats are losing’: a battle on EVs could cost Kamala Harris votes in Michigan

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Trump promises to end electric vehicle mandate. Harris has been silent, risking swing state autoworkers’ critical votes

As the critical swing state of Michigan hangs in the balance, experts warn that Democrats’ poor messaging over the shift to electric vehicles could lose them the state in November’s election.

“I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one, thereby saving the US auto industry from complete obliteration, which is happening right now,” Donald Trump told the Republican national convention in a speech this summer that would reach tens of millions of people.

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Biden to join Harris on campaign trail for first time since dropping out of race

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Pair due to appear together in Pittsburgh in vital swing state of Pennsylvania, aimed at cementing support from unions

Joe Biden will join Kamala Harris on the campaign trail for the first time on Monday since standing aside six weeks ago to let the vice-president claim the presidential nomination following a poor debate performance.

The pair were due to appear together in Pittsburgh in the vital swing state of Pennsylvania at a Labour Day event aimed at cementing support from trade unions, a key Democrat constituency and a bedrock of Biden’s support as he has styled himself as “the most pro-union president in US history”.

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More than 10,000 US hotel workers strike on Labor Day weekend

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Staff demand wage increases and reversal of pandemic-era cutbacks that impose ‘painful’ working conditions

Thousands of US hotel workers went on strike on Sunday for improved pay and conditions in a dispute likely to disrupt many Labor Day weekend holiday travelers, amid union warnings that industrial action could escalate.

More than 10,000 workers walked off the job at hotels in Boston, Seattle, Honolulu, Kauai and Greenwich, Connecticut, as well as the Californian cities of San Francisco, Sand Diego and San Jose after contract talks with the establishments’ owners collapsed.

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