News

Introducing Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network Federal workers all across the country are under attack.Tens of thousands of hardworking people who run the programs and services that working families rely on have been mistreated or abruptly fired by Elon Musk and the DOGE. People are rising up—but the federal workers who are being targeted need help. That’s why we’re proud to announce Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network. Learn More.We’ve organized this new network with federal worker unions and groups like We the Action and Democracy Forward, among others, to connect federal workers to a network of thousands of lawyers helping to get workers the free legal support they need.Here’s how you can help:Are you a current or former federal worker who needs legal help? Fill out our confidential form to get connected with our network of lawyers.Are you a lawyer who can help our federal workers? Get trained and join the Federal Workers Legal Defense Network to provide free legal support to federal workers and help them understand their rights. (Our first webinar explaining how you can help is tonight—RSVP here.)Can you tell your friends, family and networks about this new resource? Share this email so as many people as possible can find out about our work.Can you chip in $25—or anything you can afford—to support the network’s work? Your donation will help federal workers across the country get connected to the free legal help they need.  Federal workers power critical programs like Medicare and Social Security, run our national parks, inspect our food and medicine, and keep us safe from accidents and disasters. As taxpayers and Americans, we must demand justice for these workers. Thank you for helping us rise up.  Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 04/16/2025 - 15:54Continue reading→

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: IAM Local Lodge 2003 Members Ratify Strong Tentative Agreement at Fort Novosel 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. Approximately 3,400 members of IAM Local Lodge 2003 ratified a robust new agreement with M1 Support Services and its subcontractors at Fort Novosel, Alabama.The five-year agreement covers workers performing aircraft maintenance and flight support. Highlights include annual general wage increases of 4%, 3.5%, 3.5% and 3%; improvements to overtime polling/scheduling; recognition of Juneteenth as an additional holiday; enhanced vacation scheduling; maintenance of leading medical coverage while managing costs; preservation of the current IAM pension along with increased contributions to 401(k) plans; and successful efforts to fend off several job descriptions that threatened to undermine seniority rights.“We are the heart of what keeps Fort Novosel running smoothly,” said Local Lodge 2003 Negotiating Committee Chairman Chris Kelley. “Through hard work, unity, and a commitment to the process, we’ve negotiated a deal that reflects the value our members bring to the table, ensuring our voices were heard and concerns addressed.” Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 04/16/2025 - 10:22Continue reading→

Service & Solidarity SpotlightEquator Coffees Workers in California Join UFCW 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. Workers at Equator Coffees in Los Angeles voted to join United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770. The workers are employed as baristas, shift leads and prep cooks.Workers organized because they were concerned about insufficient pay and scheduling and wanted a voice in the workplace. They look forward to negotiating their first union contract.“Upon the win of our union election, I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my co-workers as we come together to address our needs for steady hours, work meals, and a livable wage,” said UFCW member Nicole Territo. “This victory is a step toward a stronger, more supportive workplace, and I’m looking forward to working together to make meaningful changes for all of us. Let’s elevate the specialty coffee narrative from social justice buzzwords to bold actions that honor both coffee quality and the fight for justice.” Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 04/15/2025 - 10:15Continue reading→

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Equator Coffees Workers in California Join UFCW 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. Workers at Equator Coffees in Los Angeles voted to join United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770. The workers are employed as baristas, shift leads and prep cooks.Workers organized because they were concerned about insufficient pay and scheduling and wanted a voice in the workplace. They look forward to negotiating their first union contract.“Upon the win of our union election, I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my co-workers as we come together to address our needs for steady hours, work meals, and a livable wage,” said UFCW member Nicole Territo. “This victory is a step toward a stronger, more supportive workplace, and I’m looking forward to working together to make meaningful changes for all of us. Let’s elevate the specialty coffee narrative from social justice buzzwords to bold actions that honor both coffee quality and the fight for justice.” Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 04/15/2025 - 10:15Continue reading→

MAKE A CALL: Tell Congress to Stop the Cuts to NIOSH in Washington and beyond! You’ve probably never heard of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH—but this federal agency plays a critical role in keeping America’s workers safe.And last week, Elon Musk and the DOGE gutted it. More than one thousand workers in six states and Washington, D.C.—including Washington—have lost their jobs at the federal job safety research agency. Every single NIOSH research center is being closed, and the few staff remaining no longer have the resources to do their jobs. Please call your members of Congress by dialing 844-292-9097 or filling out this form and demand they stand up for this critical worker health and safety agency and its workers against DOGE and the Trump administration. Congress created NIOSH on a broad, bipartisan basis during the Nixon administration, and workers and employers throughout the world rely on NIOSH’s research and recommendations.NIOSH conducted key research for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) so that we could have regulations on asbestos, cotton dust, lead, bloodborne pathogens, silica and black lung, which have saved hundreds of thousands of workers’ lives. The agency researches worker exposures to heat and wildfire smoke, workplace violence, back injuries and other chronic diseases, and state-of-the-art technologies that keep workers safe in mines. It also approves all respirators and combats fraud from imported counterfeit products. This agency even oversees the World Trade Center Health Program to provide 9/11 responders and survivors with medical monitoring and treatment, and a program to compensate energy workers exposed to deadly hazards from manufacturing, testing and cleaning up nuclear weapons.The DOGE cuts to NIOSH are making workplaces more dangerous. MSHA announced this week it is pausing the implementation of a new rule to protect mineworkers from deadly silica dust exposure because of “the unforeseen NIOSH restructuring.” Make no mistake: the DOGE’s actions will jeopardize the safety of all American workers.  Our message to Congress is simple: Stop the cuts to NIOSH and reinstate the workers. Right now each year, more than 5,000 workers die from job injuries and 135,000 workers die from chronic occupational diseases. Millions more workers are injured. America’s working families need NIOSH to make jobs safer and keep workers healthier. Thank you for speaking out for worker safety.  Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 04/14/2025 - 13:04Continue reading→

Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: AFT 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 American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Name of Union: American Federation of Teachers.Mission: “The AFT is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, health care and public services for our students, their families and our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work our members do.”Current Leadership of Union: President Randi Weingarten has led the AFT through some of the most critical fights in its history—from the COVID-19 pandemic response to resisting political attacks on educators and championing real solutions for kids and communities. She is joined by Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram and Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus, both of whom bring powerful experience in the classroom, advocacy and organizing. Together, they lead a union of 1.8 million members united in purpose. Current Number of Members: 1.8 millionMembers Work as: Teachers from prekindergarten through 12th grade; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; faculty and professional staff in higher education; nurses, doctors and other health care professionals; early childhood educators; and federal, state and local government employees. Industries Represented: Public schools, higher education, health care, and federal, state and local government.History: Founded in Chicago in 1916 with eight local unions, the AFT rapidly expanded, chartering 174 locals within its first four years. Despite facing membership declines during the post-World War I era due to external pressures, the AFT remained steadfast in advocating for academic freedom and tenure protections. In the 1930s, the union played a pivotal role in supporting civil rights initiatives, including early efforts toward school desegregation.The 1960s marked a period of significant activism for the AFT, with numerous teacher strikes aimed at securing improved compensation and working conditions, leading to a substantial increase in membership. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the union emerged as a leader in education reform and the professionalization of teaching. By the 2000s, AFT membership surpassed 1 million, reflecting its growing influence. Under the leadership of President Weingarten, the AFT launched initiatives such as the AFT Innovation Fund and Share My Lesson, underscoring its commitment to innovation and collaboration in education. AFT members have been at the forefront of collective actions across the United States, achieving significant victories for educators, students and communities nationwide. In recent years, the AFT has led the charge on resisting political extremism in schools, standing up to book bans, defending teaching truth and fighting against the defunding of public services. The union helped win major education funding increases at the federal and state levels, and has grown its member engagement through campaigns like Reading Opens the World, Real Solutions for Kids and Communities, and Protect Our Kids. Current Campaigns: Protect Our Kids, a national organizing and advocacy campaign, aims to stop right-wing efforts to defund and dismantle public education, health care and support for kids. The campaign includes town halls, storytelling, paid and earned media, and grassroots mobilization leading up to the 2026 elections. Real Solutions for Kids and Communities is a proactive agenda focused on what students and families really need: safe, welcoming public schools, qualified teachers, mental health supports and strong community partnerships. Code Red mobilizes nurses and health professionals to fight for safe staffing, patient protections and funding for care—not cuts. Reading Opens the World is a literacy and equity campaign distributing free books to kids and families—10 million free books and counting—alongside book events, parent engagement and support for educators. AFTvotes is the AFT’s voter engagement, member mobilization and civic participation initiative for 2024–26, focused on defending democracy, expanding rights and electing leaders who support public education and workers.Community Efforts: AFT’s Health Hub provides a wealth of information on health and safety topics for members. The AFT publishes American Educator, a journal of educational equity, research and ideas for early childhood through higher education; AFT Health Care, a journal on the health care system and the social, economic and environmental factors that affect individuals’ and communities’ health and well-being; and AFT Voices, a blog on Medium. President Weingarten speaks directly to AFT members with her blog, Randi’s Corner. The AFT discusses current issues in education on the Union Talk podcast.Learn More: Website, Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, X, YouTube Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 04/14/2025 - 12:19Continue reading→