‘9 to 5’: 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.
Liz Shuler: The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2026: “‘We want to make sure our elected officials are answering to workers in this midterm election and beyond,’ says Shuler, who became the first woman president of the major union federation in 2021. ‘We’re mobilizing in communities to say, ‘This is going to affect all of us, so we have to build the coalitions to fight Big Tech and the billionaires.’ Because if we don’t, we’re going to have seven people running our world right without any check on what that future looks like.’”
Workers at The Literary in Champaign Vote to Unionize: “One popular bookstore/cafe in downtown Champaign voted ‘overwhelmingly’ in favor of unionizing Thursday morning. In a release, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union RWDSU announced that workers at The Literary—located at 122 North Neil Street—voted to unionize during an in-person, secret ballot vote at the business. The voting was administered by the National Labor Relations Board.”
Joelle Hall Steps Down as Head of AFL-CIO Alaska, Heidi Drygas Takes Over: “Alaska’s largest labor organization is changing hands. After five years as president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, Joelle Hall is stepping aside. Delegates at the federation’s biannual convention in Anchorage elected Heidi Drygas, the state’s former labor commissioner and recent head of the Alaska State Employees Association, to succeed her. Bronson Frye of the building trades was chosen as secretary. The Alaska AFL-CIO is the umbrella for more than 50 unions and roughly 50,000 members—grocery clerks, construction workers, state employees, and federal workers among them. It does more than bargain. It endorses candidates, spends on independent campaigns, and runs phone and door operations that can move close races. That political machinery now sits with Drygas. Hall built her career inside that machine. She arrived at the federation in 2006 after running Democratic campaigns and serving as Alaska Democratic Party director.”
NFL, NFLPA to Expand Mental Health Benefits for Players and Dependents: “The NFL and NFL Players Association plan to launch a Behavioral Health Network to expand mental health support for professional football players and their dependents. Beginning Sept. 1, active and former players and their family members will have access to a large group of providers jointly selected by the NFL and the NFLPA. The goal is to provide more accessible, affordable mental health care tailored to an individual’s specific needs.”
Dolly Parton Was a Proud Union Sister: “‘Dolly Parton knew what it was like to struggle as she fought for working families her whole career,’ recalled the AFL-CIO. ‘From providing free books to kids to giving working women our ‘9 to 5’ anthem, she was an icon and an inspiration. Rest in power to our union sister. We will always love you.’”
Employees Vote to Form Union at Moultrie County Beacon, Inc.: “Employees have voted to form a union at Moultrie County Beacon, Inc., a nonprofit that serves people with intellectual disabilities. According to local AFSCME Council 31 members, the National Labor Relations Board found that over 82% of votes were cast in favor of the union. The board will next certify Beacon workers as AFSCME members. AFSCME Council 31 represents around 5,000 disability care workers employed statewide.”
Chicago History Museum Workers Ratify First Union Contract: “Workers at the Chicago History Museum have ratified their first union contract, after what the union representing the workers called ‘some of the worst anti-union retaliation we’ve seen.’ In May, the National Labor Relations Board issued a rare formal complaint, alleging that under the museum’s previous president, Donald Lassere, management retaliated against employees who voted to unionize in 2025. Shortly after that vote, four employees were fired, while others were disciplined or threatened with termination, according to the NLRB. The board found the museum violated federal labor laws.”
Bath Iron Works Union Workers Ratify Historic Contract with 17% Pay Raise: “Thousands of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local S6 members at Bath Iron Works will see pay raises this week after union members voted to ratify a new five-year contract. The agreement, which is set to go into effect Monday, includes a 17% pay increase in the first year, followed by 4% increases in each of the remaining four years.”
BIW Machinists Union Votes to ratify 5-Year Contract: “Bath Iron Works employees voted to ratify a new 5-year union contract, according to a statement from the union Sunday. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local S6, which represents nearly 4,500 members at Bath Iron Works, said the contract includes a 17% general wage increase in the first year, and 4% raises for the following four years. ‘This agreement is about our members and the value of the work they do every single day at Bath Iron Works,’ IAM Local S6 President Tim Suitter said in a statement. ‘Our members told us what mattered to them, they stood together throughout this process and we fought to deliver those priorities at the bargaining table. I’m incredibly proud of our negotiating committee and our entire Local S6 membership.’”
Springfield Cannabis Workers Secure Missouri’s Second Union Contract After Four-Year Wait: “It’s been nearly a month since Key Cannabis Dispensary employees in Springfield ratified their first collective bargaining agreement that includes wage increases, bonuses and additional time off to workers. And employees are feeling pretty high. ‘Now that the contract has been ratified, we’re rocking and rolling already,’ said Sally Powell, a retail associate at Key Cannabis Dispensary. ‘We already got our raises. Our [personal time off] is taking effect. Bonuses have been handed out…and job security is in place.’ Powell was among the employees who in 2022 voted 6-3 to unionize, under the representation of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2.”
What Kids Need to Thrive in an AI Economy: “Earlier this summer, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), sounded the alarm on AI in schools. ‘Artificial intelligence is triggering seismic shifts in virtually every aspect of society,’ she said in a speech to the National Press Club, noting ‘our students are already feeling the impacts of this disruption.’ As parents’ concerns about AI’s impact on learning and development mount, Weingarten called on schools to ban student-facing AI tools for elementary students, while investing in active learning that develops foundational skills at all ages. But the union itself isn’t made up of luddites, she says, recognizing that AI fluency will be critical for students preparing to enter the workforce—and for the teachers equipping them with those technical skills. The trick is to ‘make sure that human beings control technology, not the other way around,” she tells Charter.”