Workers Deserve More Power: 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.

Unions Can Save Tech Workers and Tech Work: “Two University of California tech workers explain their unionization process—and how unions can help recapture the original promise of tech being used to better people’s lives rather than make the worst people in the world ever richer.”

Providence St. Patrick Hospital Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Unionize: “On Wednesday, workers at Providence St. Patrick Hospital voted overwhelmingly to unionize, 446-102. Now, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW is headed to the negotiating table. ‘I chose healthcare because I want to take care of people, and I want to be a part of the community, and I think this union is gonna let me do that more,’ said Mishana Truitt, a surgical assistant at Providence St. Patrick Hospital.”

CSEA Union Wins Raises, Benefits in 5-Year Contract with New York State: “Members of New York state’s largest public-sector labor union have approved a five-year labor agreement with raises and benefits, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. The contracts with four Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) bargaining units include annual raises of 4.5%, 4%, 3.5%, 3% and 3% from April 2 of this year through April 1, 2031, the governor said. The agreements, which cover more than 55,000 state employees, also include ‘boosts to location pay and several other unit-specific payments,’ 20 additional hours of paid pre-natal leave, an increase in the sick leave accumulation cap and the elimination of of certain health insurance co-pays, Hochul said.”

21st Century Solidarity: Laborers, Painters Unions Unite to Build More Power for the Working Class: “The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) have signed a memorandum of understanding outlining a historic industry-wide collaboration. ‘IUPAT and LIUNA stand as two pillars of the North American Labor Movement, each with proud histories of building nations and strengthening working class power,’ LIUNA and IUPAT said in a statement. ‘We recognize the challenges we face today, including aggressive anti-union legislation, corporate consolidation and technological disruption. Workers deserve more power and to get it requires 21st century solidarity.’”

ABC News Digital Workers Unionize with WGA East in Unanimous Vote: “Employees at ABC News‘ digital division voted unanimously to form a union with the Writers Guild of America East. WGA East—which has repped unionized employees in ABC News’ TV operations for decades—said it reached an agreement with ABC regarding the union representation process for employees of ABCNews.com and ABC News’ social media platforms. The union said ABC and WGAE ‘have engaged in productive and constructive discussions, reflecting a shared commitment to maintaining a collaborative and supportive workplace.’”

Mystic Seaport Museum Workers OK Forming a Union: “Employees at Mystic Seaport Museum will join the largest cultural workers union in the country, which represents more than 50,000 people  across museums, libraries, zoos and cultural institutions. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 4 Cultural Workers United announced Monday that the workers voted to form a union with the council, and that the National Labor Relations Board certified the result last week, more than three months after the April 16 election.”

Labor Watch: Big SUNY Contract Ratified: “United University Professions, the State University of New York system’s faculty union, cemented its contract win last week. It represents more than 42,000 faculty members, and most of them voted to ratify a new five-year contract that includes across-the-board pay raises each year, starting with a 4.5% bump in 2026, as well as provisions that expand due process and job security protections and minimize the role of student surveys in teacher effectiveness evaluations.”

Millions Say They Would Join a Labor Union if They Could: “Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, who represents some 15 million workers, said tripling union membership is not a pipe dream. More than one in three private sector workers belonged to a union in the 1950s. ‘Back in the 1950s when, frankly, our wages were actually growing along with the economy and when economic growth meant that all of us won, not just the billionaires,’ Shuler emphasized.”

Eric Carle Museum Workers Push for Union Vote: “Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? The Eric Carle Museum staff have started unionizing. Workers announced the news on Instagram on August 3, amid staff allegations of understaffing, a lack of promotions, and poor workplace conditions at the Massachusetts museum established by the beloved children’s book author and illustrator. According to their post, employees filed for a full-time and part-time staff election with the National Labor Relations Board. ‘We call upon Museum leadership not to interfere with or delay a union vote,’ the post reads. Under representation from the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110, the group demanded that as many staff as possible be allowed to vote in the election, given they fit the eligibility criteria.”

Missouri Cannabis Retail Workers Ratify State’s Second Union Contract: “Cannabis workers at a licensed retailer in Springfield, Missouri, ratified a union contract last week after years of negotiations, union officials said. The July 30 vote by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2-organized workers at Key Cannabis Dispensary is believed to be only the second instance of a unionized cannabis store in the $1.5 billion market securing a contract, according to the Springfield News-Leader.”

‘A Reminder of Why We Have Unions’: Matewan Writer and Director on the Film’s Lessons for the Labor Movement: “When John Sayles, a student at Williams College taking time off from his summer factory job, was hitchhiking during the summer of 1970 in West Virginia, it was often coalminers who picked him off the main interstate highways. At the time, miners were amid the wake of a contentious union election within the United Mine Workers of America. Fierce tensions had led to the murder of the union reform candidate Joseph Yablonski and his wife in December 1969.”

Over 100 Women’s NCAA Basketball Players Start Unionization Effort: “Women’s college basketball players are looking to unionize. On Friday, the United College Athletes Association (UCAA) announced that more than 100 women’s college basketball athletes joined its unionization campaign. The women are the largest group of college athletes to formally push for collective bargaining alongside the UCAA with the goal of adding members from other sports.”

New York Immigration Coalition Employees Win Union Recognition: “Employees had announced their intent to form a union on June 9, delivering a petition to management signed by 70% of eligible staff. Calling themselves NYIC United, the employees, who are organizing with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153, gave management a deadline of June 12 to voluntarily recognize their union before going public.”