The Fundamental Right to Come Home Safe: 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.
Ahead of Workers Memorial Day, AFL-CIO Releases Death on the Job Report: “‘Every worker has the fundamental right to come home safe at the end of their workday,’ AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in an April 23 press release. ‘But for too many workers, that basic right is under attack. Workers fought and died for generations for the health and safety laws and protections we have today, and this year’s report shows we need to do even more.’”
AFL-CIO, Unions Sue Trump Administration Over Cuts to Key Labor Relations Agency: “The AFL-CIO and unions representing workers across private and public sector industries filed suit against the Trump administration April 14 over its dismantling of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), including firing mediators and staff, and closing field offices across the country. FMCS is a small but important independent federal agency that is integral to the government’s Labor relations infrastructure. Among the critical services FMCS provides, it helps resolve contract negotiations between workers and employers to protect both the economy and workers’ rights, generating over $500 million in national economic savings each year, even by conservative estimates. But DOGE cuts have decimated the agency: 93% of FMCS staff have been placed on leave, the mediation workforce has been taken down from the 80-100 needed for the agency’s work to just five, and all of the field offices have been closed.”
AFL-CIO Organizes New Free Federal Workers Legal Defense Network: “With federal workers across the country under attack, the AFL-CIO has organized a new legal defense network to help those workers who have been targeted. The free program is called Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network. 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 Department of Government Efficiency.”
Chicago: Union Leaders Say Capitalism Doesn’t Like Worker Safety: “AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond opened the session by stressing the importance of putting ‘a human face’ to job cuts with these public discussions. ‘It’s workers who wake this country up every morning and tuck this country to sleep at night. And we run programs and services with dedication and pride,’ Redmond said.”
The AFGE Union and Allies Rally in Support of Federal Environmental Workers: “The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) held a rally in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, calling for community support for federal environmental workers. Tuesday marked the 55th anniversary of Earth Day. Following its founding, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established. Tricia Paff is the AFGE Union President at Local 3907 for the EPA laboratory in Ann Arbor. She says if 20 million people successfully rallied for environmental reforms 55 years ago, then today’s citizens can organize local rallies, building on the momentum of AFGE’s recent rally to raise awareness about climate change.”
Federal Workers Speak Out at North Carolina Labor Forum: “The signs made it easy for attendees to find a forum April 17 in support of federal workers and funding. ‘Nobody elected billionaires,’ read a navy blue poster taped to the door of Ferguson Auditorium at A-B Tech. ‘Stop the billionaire takeover’ was another, along with ‘Workers over billionaires’ and ‘Billionaires out, workers in.’ The event was part of a series of nationwide forums held by the labor union AFL-CIO as part of its Department of People Who Work for a Living campaign to fight threats to federal workers.”
Field Hearing Held in Davenport Discusses Trump Administration’s Cuts to Federal Agencies: “‘What we’re doing is really getting interviews from people being affected,’ Fred Redmond, secretary treasurer with the national AFL-CIO, said. ‘People who’s being affected by the cuts and government service, the people that’s being affected by being released from their jobs for no apparent reason and we’re really trying to capture in the impact.’”
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Returns May 10: “The largest single day food collection event in the country is returning for its 33rd year. The National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association are again hosting the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. It’s easy to participate. Postal customers are asked to leave a bag of nonperishable food items near their mailbox on May 10th. Letter carriers will pick up the bags during regular mail delivery times. Every item collected stays local.”
Punching In: A 1,000-Lawyer Battalion to Help Federal Workers: “With mass reductions in force across the federal government on the horizon, the AFL-CIO, federal workers’ unions, and advocacy groups have mobilized a network of more than 1,000 volunteer attorneys to provide legal services to laid off federal employees. Leaders behind the new Federal Workers Legal Defense Network launched last week say they saw a need for more federal-sector labor law resources based on the sheer number of federal workers being let go and the Trump administration’s response to lawsuits seeking to restore these jobs. More than 100,000 federal workers have left or been fired from the federal government so far. Craig Becker, general counsel at the AFL-CIO, said advocates recognized the need for more individual legal representation because ‘the administration is arguing that cases have to be brought before the agencies and therefore can’t proceed on a class action basis in federal court.’”
Inside a Union’s Fight Against Trump’s Federal Job Cuts: “‘I can’t compare this to any other time in my career,’ the union’s national president, Everett Kelley, said in an interview. ‘We’ve seen some tough fights, but never have we seen any president’ try to ‘put the federal government into mission failure.’ Mr. Kelley said he saw the administration’s effort as a prelude to privatizing vast swaths of the federal work force. ‘At the same time, I think not only are federal workers realizing the urgency of our mission, I think the American people are realizing it,’ he said.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Mon, 04/28/2025 – 12:41