Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.
IBEW and CBS Reach Historic Tentative Agreement: The Electrical Workers (IBEW) secured a landmark tentative agreement last week with CBS that includes historic wage increases for broadcast workers. The IBEW’s agreement with CBS covers all network news and sports, plus popular programming like “60 Minutes,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “The Price Is Right” and more. In addition to higher pay, the contract also contains important provisions governing artificial intelligence and other new emerging technologies that may impact the industry. “This tentative agreement reflects a new era of partnership and progress that recognizes the important contributions of IBEW-represented technicians while embracing the challenges and opportunities of the future,” said IBEW International President Kenneth Cooper in a press release. “From news and sports to streaming and operations, IBEW members are the engine behind CBS’s continued success, just like they have been since 1939. We believe this agreement not only speaks to CBS’s commitment to national and local broadcasting, it also reinforces the value of skilled union labor and reflects a shared vision for adapting to the fast-evolving media landscape.”
StarPlus Workers in Indiana Form Union with UAW: Workers at StarPlus Energy in Kokomo, Indiana, are celebrating an organizing victory after a majority of them signed authorization cards to join the UAW. The electrical vehicle battery joint venture, which is a partnership between Stellantis and Samsung SDI, stayed neutral during the union effort and has voluntarily recognized the UAW as the bargaining representative. The 420 workers at the plant who chose to organize are looking forward to bargaining for a contract with fair wages, quality health care coverage and stability in this rapidly expanding industry. “This is a big deal for StarPlus workers in Indiana,” said Frank Bush, a worker at StarPlus, in a UAW press release. “We were able to decide our future without intimidation, and now we’re on a path to the good pay and benefits, and respect on the job that other autoworkers in battery are winning.” “Joining the union is going to help us build a better life,” added Anna Deweese, another StarPlus worker. “We’re not asking for the moon—we just want decent pay, affordable healthcare, and to have protections in an uncertain economy.”
IAM Members at Pratt & Whitney Ratify New Contract, End Strike: On Tuesday afternoon, IAM Union members voted to ratify a new four-year contract with Pratt & Whitney, ending a three-week work stoppage. Through their strength and unity, workers at the jet engine manufacturer have secured a powerful contract that addresses core priorities. Highlights of the deal include job security provisions, more flexible work schedules, wage increases, pension plan improvements and more. “We fight every day for the well-being of our IAM members across North America,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “This ratified agreement is a testament to the power of collective bargaining and the importance of respecting the workforce. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Pratt & Whitney in a way that strengthens both our members and the company.”
AFA-CWA Reaches Tentative Agreement with United Airlines: The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) announced Friday that the United Airlines Master Executive Council (MEC) has reached a historic tentative agreement (TA) with the major airline. If ratified, this contract would cover 28,000 flight attendants who make United’s multibillion-dollar profits possible. Last year, in response to management slow-walking negotiations, members displayed a powerful act of unity by voting 99.99% in favor of authorizing a strike. This TA contains victories like major economic gains—which members will enjoy 40% of in the first year alone—improvements to scheduling, industry-leading retroactive pay and more.
Hospitality Workers at Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Celebrate New Tentative Agreement: UNITE HERE’s Culinary Union and Bartenders Union secured a tentative agreement over the weekend on a new three-year contract with MGM Resorts International’s Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Nearly 2,500 hospitality workers are employed by the casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip, which recently became 100% union-represented. The new deal includes the largest wage increases secured in the Culinary Union’s history, workload improvements, increased safety protections, technology safeguards, the right for staff to support nonunion restaurant workers’ organizing efforts and more. “Now that we’ve won the BEST contract EVER at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, I feel happy….My entire life is now more secure,” said Joe Spica, a bellman at the Cosmopolitan and Culinary Union member for 15 years, in a press release. “It makes me proud to be part of a union that truly cares and fights every day to improve the lives of working people….One job should be enough! No one should have to work multiple jobs just to survive.”
Faculty at New York’s School of Visual Arts Form Union: Faculty at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union with the UAW, joining a growing movement of academic workers organizing for better working conditions. The newly certified SVA Faculty United-UAW bargaining unit will represent approximately 1,200 instructors at the private art institute. As members prepare for negotiating their first contract, their core concerns include pay equity, workloads that are disproportionate to compensation and the recent loss of benefits such as retirement account contributions and sabbaticals. “This victory affirms that hundreds of educators and creatives across different disciplines are ready to unite around a just social cause and give solidarity a chance in these thunderous times,” said adjunct faculty member Merlin Ural Rivera. “We are here to build a wonderful, intimate community of professionals who are allowed the time and resources to follow their creative practices while also helping shape the next generation of artists and inspiring them to fight for self-determination.”
UFCW Announces Historic Contract Ratification for JBS Meatpacking Workers: JBS workers at 14 processing facilities across the country have ratified a historic national contract that includes massive wins like the establishment of a new pension plan for the first time in decades. The new deal covers 26,000 members who work for one of the world’s largest meat companies. Highlights of the agreement also include significant wage increases—with retroactive pay and a ratification bonus—a paid sick time program, increased leave, establishment of a National Joint Labor-Management Committee and more. “We applaud UFCW members for ratifying this historic contract,” said Mark Lauritsen, director of the Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division and international vice president at UFCW, in a press release. “Through the collaboration of our Local bargaining committees and the commitment of JBS to providing industry-leading benefits and protections, after nearly 40 years, JBS workers will have a pension retirement plan, giving them a path to a secure financial future. Every employer in the meatpacking industry should follow JBS’s leadership and reintroduce pension plans for the hard-working men and women who keep America fed.”
San Carlos School Bus Operators Ratify New Contract: Members of International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 1741’s Local Committee of Adjustment for San Carlos Schools (LCA SCS) in California have overwhelmingly ratified their new two-year collective bargaining agreement. Local 1741 LCA SCS leadership and SMART-TD’s national Bus Department worked for months to make this agreement a reality. The union secured victories like a 6.8% increase in top pay over the lifetime of the contract, doubling the employer match for retirement contributions, the right for union officers to be released from their shifts for official union duties, improved grievance procedures and more. “Talking with our members, they wanted to see a raise in wages, they wanted to see an increase in their 401(k) plans,” said Timothy Haran, general chairperson of Local 1741 LCA SCS. “All in all, what we wanted was security, and we got it in this contract.” “This agreement not only improves conditions now, but it also lays the groundwork for even stronger contracts in the future,” added James Sandoval, vice president of the SMART-TD Bus Department. “Something I don’t want to see get lost in this agreement is the win that [Timothy Haran] got, allowing the leadership of 1741 LCA SCS to take the time off work needed to represent our brothers and sisters. This is one of those easily overlooked wins that will pay dividends in the short term and long term. Our Bus Operators work hard, and they deserve to be represented by officers who aren’t constrained by how much time and effort can go into working for them!”
Hearst Connecticut Media Group Workers Vote to Form Union: Journalists at Hearst Connecticut Media Group won their union election to form the Connecticut News Guild, an affiliate of The NewsGuild-CWA, in a powerful landslide vote. Reporters, photographers, editors and digital producers at Connecticut’s largest print and digital news organization first launched their organizing drive in August 2024. Since then, the news outlet has been running an aggressive union-busting campaign, even going so far as to terminate multiple members of the union’s organizing committee. But staff never gave up and continued to fight for their ability to negotiate over their wages, benefits and working conditions. “Good unions make for good journalism, and good journalism is a foundation of a free and open society,” said Ethan Fry, a breaking news reporter. “I’m so thrilled that my colleagues and I affirmed our commitment to forming a union — the first one I am fortunate enough to be a member of after more than 20 years in the profession. I look forward to meeting management to bargain for a fair contract that ensures good local journalism in Connecticut for years to come.”
Pierce County Labor Secures State Funding to Create Child Care and Workforce Hub: The Pierce County Central Labor Council (PCCLC) and its nonprofit arm, the Pierce County Labor Community Services Agency (PCLCSA), are celebrating a major milestone in their project to provide local workers and their families with affordable, reliable child care. The PCCLC has been working toward acquiring an old Tacoma, Washington, elementary school in order to transform it into a facility that can provide 24-hour child care services to fit the irregular schedules of workers in industries like service industry, health care and building trades. Earlier this month, the labor council officially signed a purchase agreement with Tacoma Public Schools after securing a $5 million allocation from the Washington state capital budget. In addition to child care, the facility eventually will offer workforce development resources as well, including classroom spaces for apprenticeships. “Childcare costs and availability are huge barriers for working families across Pierce County,” said Nathe Lawver, secretary-treasurer of PCCLC. “This project reflects our commitment to solving challenges for today’s workforce and offers hope for a new model for tomorrow’s. With this budget allocation and subsequent purchase, we’re not just buying a building—we’re laying the foundation for a childcare and training center that works as hard as our families do.”