A Worker’s First Agenda: 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.

JBS and Union Ratify New Agreement Following 3-week Strike: “On Sunday, the union said they ratified the tentative two-year collective bargaining agreement. According to the union, the new agreement secures wage increases, defends workers against increases in health care costs and protects workers from having to pay for personal protective equipment that should be paid for by JBS.”

Mechanics at NJ Transit Light Rail Operation Vote to Join Union: “Mechanics at NJ Transit’s Hudson-Bergen light rail operation have voted to join the Transport Workers Union, the labor organization announced. The mechanics work for North Central Transit Services, which holds the maintenance contract for the 17-mile, 24-station operation between West Bergen and Bayonne, N.J. The TWU already represents car cleaners employed by the company, as well as operators and maintenance-of-way workers employed by contract operator ACI-Herzog.”

City of Reno, IAFF Local 731 Reach Agreement on CBA: “The City of Reno and the Reno Firefighters Local 731 International Association of Firefighters have reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. The three-year agreement will last through June 30, 2028, and was approved by Local 731 members. The agreement includes annual cost of living raises of 3% in 2025 and 2026, and a 2% increase in 2027.”

South Jersey Postal Worker Honored Nationwide for Saving Family from Burning Home: “A Cherry Hill mail carrier was named a nationwide ‘Hero of the Year’ for his efforts that saved a baby, woman, and dog from a burning home. Kyle Quillen, of Camden, is among fewer than 10 of all mail carriers in the United States who were honored last month during a ceremony conducted by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). On April 23, 2025, Quillen was on his route in Cherry Hill when he smelled smoke and noticed ‘a plume’ coming from a home.”

Apprentices Learn to Be Electrians at Joint Apprenticeship Training Center: “Robert Cruz is devoted to his job as training director at the Joint Apprenticeship Training Center. ‘It’s the best job. I change lives every day. I teach people how to fish,’ Cruz said. He had a rough childhood, spending part of it in foster care, and that’s one reason he’s committing his professional life to this. ‘My whole mission is to be the person I needed to find when I was a kid,’ Cruz said. Teaching apprentices to be electricians. Their education is funded by IBEW Local 99 and the National Electrical Contractors Association.”

NYU Professors Ratify Their First Union Contract After March Walkout: “NYU professors who went on strike last month formally announced on Wednesday that, after years of negotiating, they have finally reached their first union contract with the school’s administration. The contract for the nearly 1,000 professors, all of whom are members of Contract Faculty United–UAW (CFU-UAW), includes protections for academic freedom and job security, new benefits including a $200,000-per-year fund for immigration expenses and an optional retirement buyout, and ‘best-in-the-nation’ pay, including an average raise of 20%.”

Pediatricians File to Unionize: “More than 100 pediatricians who work for Packard Children’s Health Alliance, part of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, have filed to unionize with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD). The physicians, who practice at 27 clinic locations throughout the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey Bay region, according to UAPD, filed their petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Monday. Their move to unionize follows years of concern among the group that ‘corporate pressures on healthcare are steering administrative decisions further away from the patients and families they serve,’ UAPD said in a statement.”

Women of Steel Members Feeling Empowered After USW International Women’s Conference: “A group of women from the Iron Range who work for Minntac and Keetac enjoyed the USW International Women’s Conference in Toronto last week. They joined about 1000 others at the event. Tawnya Gustafson, the chair of USW Local 2660 Women of Steel, was part of a panel discussion about wins in the workplace and how to be a better leader. She told us a big part of the celebration was hearing from Roxanne Brown, the new USW International President. She’s the first woman to lead the organization.”

Punching In: Union Leaders Gear Up to Tackle AI in Future Talks: “The AFL-CIO hosted a Workers First AI summit in recent weeks where leaders from across the labor movement called on Congress and state legislatures to pass AI guardrails. They want ‘an agenda that says, no, you can’t surveil us in the bathroom. No, you can’t steal our data without our consent. No, you are not going to discriminate against us, fire us by app just because a machine told you to,’ AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said during a keynote address. Shuler said they are demanding ‘a worker’s first agenda that protects our civil rights and demands that we all be treated equally and fairly by these technologies.’”

United Airlines and Flight Attendants Reach a Tentative Deal with $740 Million in Bonuses: “United Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA reached a tentative five-year labor agreement on March 26 that would provide the carrier’s 30,000 flight attendants their first pay increases since 2020, including a $740 million signing bonus pool and top wages of $100 per hour by the contract’s end.”

Writers Guild Reaches Tentative Four-Year Deal with Studios: “The Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative four-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers group representing studios and streamers, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. On Saturday, Puck founding partner Matt Belloni reported on the agreement, saying it adds one more year to the WGA’s usual three-year deal and that it includes ‘Health plan/pension increases, SVOD bumps [and] protection to police licensing for AI training.’ THR understands from a source close to the discussions that those details are accurate.”

Toledo Factory Workers Vote to Unionize, Joining UAW Local 14: “Workers at a Toledo manufacturing facility have officially voted to unionize, marking a significant development as federal labor complaints tied to the organizing effort remain under investigation. According to UAW Local 14, employees at ValuePoint Material Solutions in Toledo overwhelmingly voted this week to join the union, bringing the facility under the representation of the United Auto Workers.”