Workers and Unions Have a Right to Strike: 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.

U.N. Top Court Says Workers Have the Right to Strike Under Main Labour Law Treaty: “The United Nations’s highest court on Thursday said workers and unions have a right to strike under the main international labour law treaty, ‌in an advisory opinion that could influence labour laws around the world.”

Bakersfield, Statewide Planned Parenthood Clinic to Unionize Under SEIU: “More than 400 healthcare workers have unionized with the California labor group Service Employees International Union, forming Planned Parenthood Mar Montes Workers United. Esmeralda Diaz Avalos, a clinician at one of the clinics, said securing the union ensures that Planned Parenthood clinics across the state have access to resources, staffing and ‘ensuring a sustainable level of care’ for patients.”

Q&A With Bernie Burnham: Solidarity Goals of Minnesota’s AFL-CIO: “A post-legislative session news release from the AFL-CIO pointed out key wins for Minnesota’s working people. An AFL-CIO–led Workers Compensation bill passed with a 20% increase in benefits to make life more affordable for workers with a permanent partial disability while expanding the pool of professionals who can diagnose work-related post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Boulder Library Union Recognized by Trustees: “Employees in the Boulder Public Library District have a union. The BPLD Board of Trustees voted unanimously during its Tuesday meeting to recognize an employee union, an effort that first went public seven months ago. In the card check for the union—the vote to unionize—80% of 124 employees voted to unionize. This is the first public library district union in Colorado, which meant the board had to navigate complicated legal waters as it crafted rules for collective bargaining. Those rules were ratified in April. The union will be a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME. Now, union leaders and the Board of Trustees will work on negotiating a contract.”

Florida Ironworkers Give Back Through Take Kids Fishing Day: “Over 200 attendees were introduced to fishing and the outdoors at the 2026 Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) Ironworkers Local 397 Take Kids Fishing Day on April 25 at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center. All 128 kids in attendance took home a free rod and reel. In addition to fishing, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held three educational stations about fish identification and regulations, knot tying and casting. Twenty-five volunteers from Ironworkers Local 397 provided instruction, including financial secretary-treasurer and business agent Keven Barber. The day was especially meaningful for Barber, who fished with his 5-year-old grandson, Bryar, for the first time.”

Hundreds of Kentucky Kids Participate in Union-Sponsored Fishing Events Across State: “Members of SMART Local 110 hosted youth fishing events across Kentucky on May 16, drawing hundreds of children and families to lakes in Paducah, Lexington and Louisville. Organizers said 279 children participated in the three 2026 Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Take Kids Fishing Day events, with each child receiving a free fishing rod and reel. Participants caught bass, bluegill, trout, crappie and catfish throughout the day. The events are part of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Work Boots on the Ground conservation program, which organizes free community outreach events focused on outdoor recreation and conservation.”

Rapid City Firefighters to Raise Money for Muscular Dystrophy, ALS Through Fill the Boot: “The Rapid City Fire Department Local 1040 is once again asking the community to support its annual Fill the Boot fundraiser benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Firefighters will collect donations from Wednesday, May 20, through Friday, May 22, at several locations across Rapid City. Crews will be stationed at donation sites from 9 a.m. to noon and again from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day.”

Rush University Medical Center Nurses Vote to Unionize: “Registered nurses at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago voted May 14-16 to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United. Of 1,830 eligible voters, 1,540 ballots were counted, with 1,190 votes cast in favor of unionization, according to the National Labor Relations Board, which conducted the election. Eleven ballots were challenged. ‘We are proud to join a strong union for RNs in National Nurses Organizing Committee that will give us the tools and resources to be powerful advocates for our patients,’ Jennifer Pearl, RN, a nurse in the hospital’s medical-surgical float pool, said in a May 18 union news release. ‘We call on all nurses in Chicago to join us in our union and organize for safe staffing, nurse retention and improved patient care.’”

Rush University Medical Center Nurses Celebrate Successful Vote to Unionize: “When it became clear Monday that Rush University Medical Center nurses had secured enough votes for union representation, two of Olivia Bouchard’s co-workers ran up and gave her a hug. ‘You just won your union,’ one of the women said to a beaming Bouchard, who helped organize the nurses. They were in a jubilant crowd of about 50 nurses gathered Monday at the Billy Goat Tavern in the West Loop for a watch party as the National Labor Relations Board tallied the union election votes.”

N.Y.C. Hotel Housekeepers Will Earn Over $100,000 Under New Contract: “The average pay of housekeepers in New York City hotels will increase to more than $100,000 a year as part of a contract settlement between an industry trade group and a powerful union. The deal, which the group ratified on Monday, averts a threatened strike this summer that could have disrupted the influx of tourists expected for the World Cup and America 250 festivities. The owners of nearly 250 hotels in the city reached agreement with the union, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, on an eight-year contract that would increase wages by more than 50 percent for workers, union officials said. The hotel owners will continue to pay the full cost of providing health-care benefits for 27,000 union members and their families.”