AFL-CIO Blog

  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: UFCW Announces Historic Contract Ratification for JBS Meatpacking Workers
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: UFCW Announces Historic Contract Ratification for JBS Meatpacking Workers Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. JBS workers at 14 processing facilities across the country have ratified a historic national contract that includes massive wins like the establishment of a new pension plan for the first time in decades. The new deal covers 26,000 members who work for one of the world’s largest meat companies. Highlights of the agreement also include significant wage increases—with retroactive pay and a ratification bonus—a paid sick time program, increased leave, establishment of a National Joint Labor-Management Committee and more. “We applaud UFCW members for ratifying this historic contract,” said Mark Lauritsen, director of the Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division and international vice president at UFCW, in a press release. “Through the collaboration of our Local bargaining committees and the commitment of JBS to providing industry-leading benefits and protections, after nearly 40 years, JBS workers will have a pension retirement plan, giving them a path to a secure financial future. Every employer in the meatpacking industry should follow JBS’s leadership and reintroduce pension plans for the hard-working men and women who keep America fed.” Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 05/28/2025 - 08:34 — May 28
  • Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: National Air Traffic Controllers Association
    Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: National Air Traffic Controllers Association This is the next post in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates. The series will run weekly until we've covered all 63 of our affiliates. Next up is the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). Name of Union: National Air Traffic Controllers Association Mission: To advance the status, professionalism, pay, benefits and working conditions of all air traffic controllers and other aviation safety-related employees through collective bargaining, political action and other lawful concerted activity. Current Leadership of Union: Nick Daniels was elected the eighth president of NATCA in October 2024. Prior to being elected president, Daniels served on NATCA’s National Executive Board as regional vice president for the Southwest Region. Daniels has worked as an air traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for 21 years, including the last 19 years at Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center, where he served three terms as NATCA local president and facility representative, and two years at Dallas-Addison Air Traffic Control Tower. Prior to joining the FAA, Daniels served his country from 1998 through 2003 in the United States Marine Corps, achieving the rank of E-5 Sergeant as a 7252 Tower Air Traffic Controller and a 7253 Radar Air Traffic Controller. Daniels was honorably discharged.  Mick Devine serves as NATCA’s executive vice president. Daniels, Devine and 10 regional vice presidents make up NATCA’s National Executive Board. Number of Members: Nearly 20,000 Members Work as: Air traffic controllers, aircraft certification specialists, automation support specialists, aviation technical system specialists, Department of Defense air traffic controllers, Drug Abatement Division/Compliance and Enforcement Branch inspectors, engineers and architects, federal contract tower air traffic controllers, financial management, flight procedures team, flight service specialists, Regional Counsel’s Office/Legal Division, staff support specialists, traffic management coordinators, traffic management specialists, and U.S. Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) office specialists. Industries Represented: Air traffic controllers throughout the federal and private sectors and other aviation safety professionals working for the FAA. History: In 1968, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) formed. The union represented air traffic controllers until 1981, when members went on strike, and President Ronald Reagan fired everyone on strike. In the mid-1980s, with the help of AFGE, the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) and John Thornton, who had been active in PATCO, FAA controllers began organizing a new union to bring solidarity back to the profession. The NATCA founding convention was held in late 1986. In 1987, NATCA was certified by the Federal Labor Relations Authority as the exclusive representative of air traffic controllers. Because of the organization’s history, NATCA’s organizers understood how politics can affect federal employees’ rights, pay and working conditions. Since its founding, NATCA has worked to become a legislative and political powerhouse. Throughout the 1990s, NATCA worked tirelessly to transform pay for controllers, working with Congress to exclude the FAA from the statutory pay system in 1996 and ultimately negotiating a new pay system based on air traffic volume and complexity in 1998. The same year, NATCA became a direct affiliate of the AFL-CIO and organized the FAA’s Engineers and Architects bargaining unit, its first unit of non-operational FAA employees. In 2006, after several months of bargaining, the FAA walked away from the table in order to exploit a provision of the 1996 collective bargaining law and, on Labor Day weekend, unilaterally imposed terms and conditions of employment, including a pay cut for new hires by more than 30%. This attempt at union-busting only made NATCA stronger, as members rallied and became more politically active. Shortly after President Barack Obama was sworn in, he ordered the parties back to the table, and a fair collective bargaining agreement was reached in short order. NATCA then moved forward with a half million grievances that had reached the arbitration stage during the imposed work rules.  NATCA worked hard to change the law to ensure that no work rules would ever be imposed again, and Congress passed binding mediation and arbitration for all future negotiations.  The 2009 agreement allowed NATCA to forge a new collaborative relationship with the FAA as they worked together to develop and implement new technologies and procedures to make the National Airspace System (NAS) safer and more efficient. The parties developed the Partnership for Safety, which includes programs to address safety concerns in operations, fatigue education and awareness, management of distractions in the NAS, and professional standards, among other topics. Always pushing the envelope for federal sector bargaining, NATCA signed off on an agreement with the FAA in 2016 that formalized the collaborative process to ensure that it would not be subject to political winds. Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: Every day, NATCA members control more than 70,000 flights carrying 2 million passengers and millions of tons of cargo through the NAS. Most of NATCA’s members are federal employees, and NATCA fights to protect federal workers and their rights. NATCA has long advocated for accurate staffing targets for certified professional controllers—the journeyman level of the profession—to meet the FAA’s operational, statutory and contractual needs. The vast majority of the FAA’s 313 air traffic facilities are currently understaffed. NATCA has also raised concerns about the need to modernize both the facilities where controllers work and the equipment that they use to maintain the safest, most complex, most efficient airspace system in the world. Although NATCA is busy with its advocacy efforts 365 days a year, its advocacy culminates each year at its annual lobbying event, NATCA in Washington.  NATCA’s commitment to safety and training is on display each year with its  Communicating For Safety (CFS) event, which has become the industry’s leading aviation safety conference. At CFS, NATCA presents the Archie League Medal of Safety Awards and the Region X Commitment to Safety Award to recognize the best saves by controllers and other aviation safety professionals each year. Learn More: Website, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 05/27/2025 - 14:04 — May 27
  • No Budget Cuts: In the States Roundup
    No Budget Cuts: In the States Roundup It's time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations on X. Alaska AFL-CIO: California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO: Colorado AFL-CIO: Connecticut AFL-CIO: Florida AFL-CIO: Illinois AFL-CIO: Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO: Maine AFL-CIO: Massachusetts AFL-CIO: Michigan State AFL-CIO: Minnesota AFL-CIO: Missouri AFL-CIO: Nebraska State AFL-CIO: Nevada State AFL-CIO: New York State AFL-CIO: North Carolina State AFL-CIO: Oregon AFL-CIO: Pennsylvania AFL-CIO: Texas AFL-CIO: Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO: Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 05/27/2025 - 10:04 — May 27
  • ‘That Help Goes a Long Way’: The Working People Weekly List
    ‘That Help Goes a Long Way’: The Working People Weekly List Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List. ‘Pro-Worker Priorities’? Trump’s Budget Bill Offers the Exact Opposite: “Not surprisingly, that sign made no mention of Trump’s many anti-worker policies that will do serious harm to millions of workers and their families. Trump’s ‘big, beautiful budget bill’, which is advancing in the House, includes the biggest cuts ever to Medicaid, a nearly 30% reduction in food assistance, and a $350 billion cut in aid that helps working-class kids afford college. Trump has also pushed to end home-heating assistance and to make it harder for millions of Americans to afford Obamacare. If that isn’t painful enough, GOP deficit hawks have vowed to torpedo the budget bill unless it includes even more cuts. Under the current Trump House bill, at least 13.7 million people would lose health coverage—and the deficit hawks’ demands would increase that number.” How Medicaid Helps to Empower Americans and Build a Stronger Nation: “Along with other USW members, Clark turned out in April when the AFL-CIO organized a hearing at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport to oppose Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce as well as the potential gutting of Medicaid and other vital programs. The group urged Trump to stand with working people, not billionaires, and to ensure everyday Americans have the support they need to thrive. Clark took home one of the signs distributed to participants that day—‘Hands off Medicaid,’ it says—and stuck it in her living room window so everyone passing by can see it. ‘It’s important,’ she said of the program that helped her navigate her way from despair to well-being. ‘That help goes a long way. It goes a very long way.’” Hearst Connecticut Media Group Employees Vote to Unionize: “Hearst Connecticut Media Group editorial staff members have voted to unionize with The NewsGuild-CWA. The employees voted 68-17 in favor of unionizing, according to results of the mail-in balloting announced Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB said a total of 101 ballots were cast among the 119 eligible employees. Sixteen ballots were challenged and were not included in the vote tally.” Construction Unions Grab Hold of Clean Energy Jobs: “State and local governments have begun taking concrete steps towards a clean energy economy, and for now, even under Trump, green union jobs are increasing. Meanwhile, unions have partnered with climate activists to win legislation for more such jobs. Six states have passed ‘climate jobs’ bills to expand renewable energy and raise labor standards for that construction. Four more have union coalitions advocating for such legislation.” Kern County, SEIU Local 521 Reach Tentative 2-Year Agreement: “Kern County reached a tentative two-year agreement with SEIU Local 521. SEIU Local 521 represents over 5,200 county employees. It comes after a year of negotiations and with SEIU Local 521 agreeing to return to the bargaining table.” Americans Favor Labor Unions Over Big Business Now More Than Ever: “For decades, Americans were evenly divided in their relative support of labor unions and big business, but that’s no longer the case. Now, Americans are more likely to side with labor than at any time in the past 60 years. For people whose instincts about economic and political conflicts between unions and big business were honed more than a decade ago, it’s time to update your understanding.” L.A. Mayor Vows to Cut Red Tape and Make It Easier to Shoot Movies and Shows In the City: “L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is advancing efforts to streamline film and television production in Los Angeles amid cries for further policymaker intervention on the issue of runaway production. Bass calls for a reduction of city staffers on shoots and improved access for crews to iconic Los Angeles locations like the Griffith Observatory, the Central Public Library and the Port of Los Angeles in an executive order that was signed Tuesday at the L.A. headquarters of performers’ union SAG-AFTRA. The directive further enlists city departments to cut red tape and help ease basic production headaches in a bid to improve the city’s friendliness to filmmakers.” More New Jersey Cannabis Workers Vote to Unionize with UFCW Local 360: “United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 announced today that more New Jersey cannabis workers have voted to unionize as part of its long-running Cannabis Workers Rising campaign. Employees at Fresh Eatontown LLC, a licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary, are the latest to join the labor movement as it continues to expand across the state’s legal marijuana industry. The latest vote in favor of union membership with Local 360 came at the Fresh Eatontown LLC dispensary in Eatontown, New Jersey. Fresh Eatontown is one of two dispensaries in New Jersey operated by multi-state cannabis company Fresh Cannabis, which also has locations in Colorado and Delaware. Fresh Cannabis’ other New Jersey dispensary, Fresh Elizabeth LLC, voted to join UFCW Local 360 towards the end of 2024.” ‘When We Fight, We Win’: Northwestern Service Workers Get New Contract: “After a historic 12-day strike, hospitality and food service workers at Northwestern University ratified their new contract with Compass Group Friday. According to the union representing the workers, Unite Here Local 1, the employees and Compass Group began contract negotiations in fall 2024 in hopes to obtain a fair contract with sustainable wages and increased pension contributions. The new collective bargaining agreement was put in place on May 16.” Ending Migrant Parole Would Spell Workplace Chaos, AFL-CIO Warns: “The Trump administration’s bid to nix deportation protections for half a million immigrants would cause unprecedented disruption to the U.S. workforce, the nation’s largest federation of labor unions told the U.S. Supreme Court. Employers in the automotive, manufacturing, and airport contracting sectors would face sudden labor shortages if the Department of Homeland Security is allowed to summarily rescind parole grants and work permits for immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, the AFL-CIO said in a brief to the high court Friday.” Employees at DC's Kennedy Center Seek to Unionize Amid Job Security Concerns: “Employees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are moving to unionize, citing concerns about job security and the future of artistic programming under new leadership. In a statement posted Thursday to Instagram, the newly formed Kennedy Center United Arts Workers (KCUAW) announced its intent to unionize in partnership with the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), one of the largest labor unions in North America.” Sesame Workshop Employees Approve Vote for Union Representation: “Sesame Workshop employees won certification of their vote for representation under the Sesame Workers Union Thursday and will now seek their first collective bargaining agreement with management. In votes cast in April and counted in a National Labor Relations Board office in New York City, the group formally joined the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153. The bargaining unit includes early childhood education experts, fundraisers, facilities staff, producers and paralegals.” Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 05/27/2025 - 09:39 — May 27
  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: NIOSH Workers Lobby and Rally for Agency Protection in Washington, D.C.
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: NIOSH Workers Lobby and Rally for Agency Protection in Washington, D.C. Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) workers from Cincinnati; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh rallied in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to fight back against the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the essential agency. AFGE members and other union allies gathered in front of the U.S. Health and Human Services building to speak out against layoffs and budget cuts that have disrupted programs like toxicology research, chemical hazard risk assessment, and surveillance of high-risk industries. NIOSH is the only federal agency that conducts research on worker safety and health to inform policy and regulations that ensure everyone can make it home from their job. “Labor is working in solidarity to make sure that every single worker doesn’t have to choose between a paycheck and their health," said Micah Niemeier-Walsh, who holds a doctorate in environmental and industrial hygiene and is vice president of AFGE Local 3840. “Because that’s really what’s at stake here with cutting NIOSH...our job is to make sure American workers are safe.” “Today as always, Mother Jones said this: ‘Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living.’ She also said this: ‘No matter what, you must fight.’ You must fight. You must fight,” said Mine Workers (UMWA) International President Cecil Roberts. Watch a recording of the full event here. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 05/27/2025 - 07:26 — May 27

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