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.
New AFL-CIO Report Shows Medicaid Cuts Will Spike Health Care Costs for Everyone: “The AFL-CIO’s research shows that if it becomes law, the bill would result in higher premiums, less access to emergency rooms and fewer providers available to provide care—not only for people who use Medicaid, but for millions more working people across the country. ‘This budget reconciliation bill makes it seem like cutting Medicaid is going to save taxpayers money when it’s really going to cost all of us more—all to give tax breaks to the rich,’ said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. ‘We’re not going to let the Republican-controlled Congress make our health care more expensive and less accessible for working people.’”
Senate Must Reject Job-Killing Cuts. Union Jobs Are on the Line: “As the general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), I represent 140,000 proud workers across the finishing trades. Our vital work includes our country’s industrial, commercial and decorative painters. Because we spend our careers ensuring that our vital infrastructure works well and looks good, we know a thing or two about making things beautiful. Right now, Republican senators are working overtime to pass Trump’s budget bill by July 4. As it stands, this bill is an outright attack on every family in this country. It would slash critical funding for programs like Medicaid and SNAP, ripping health care away from millions of people, and denying food assistance to millions of children and families in need—all to hand massive tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.”
Scarlett Johansson, Matt Damon, Kristin Chenoweth Sign Open Letter Opposing SNAP, Medicaid Cuts: “This Is Unacceptable and Wrong”: “Scarlett Johansson, Matt Damon, Kristin Chenoweth, Danai Gurira and Zayn Malik are among a group of stars who signed an open letter, calling for Congress to reject proposed cuts to the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and Medicaid outlined in the Trump administration’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ In the missive published Wednesday by nonprofit organization Feeding America, the entertainment industry figures are urging Congress ‘to reject cuts to these vital programs that help millions put food on their tables and provide access to health care.’”
WNBA Players Push for Better Pay as League Soars to New Heights: “As the WNBA celebrates record attendance, rising TV ratings, and the addition of the Golden State Valkyries, its players are demanding a larger share of the league's growing revenue, citing disparities in pay and broadcast income compared to their NBA counterparts. The league's recent $2.2 billion media rights deal, spanning 11 years, pales in comparison to the NBA's $76 billion package, which prompted the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) to opt out of its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) two years ahead of schedule.”
This Is How Over 40% of NYC Bookstores Became Unionized: “The books world is has been full of labor action in the last few years, most recently with Quirk Books voting to form a union with the NewsGuild and Abrams Books winning their vote to form a union with the UAW. Bookstores have especially been at the forefront of this push to organize. On May Day I went to an event at Verso’s offices featuring unionized booksellers talking about their work and their organizing. One fact jumped out at me: over 40% of all bookstores in New York City are unionized, which is four times the nation average. That 40% is likely about to be even higher with the news that The Center for Fiction just won voluntary union recognition.”
Tax Credits That Bring Good Union Jobs Home to Ohio and America Should Be Preserved: “In 2019, GM closed the Lordstown Complex, where I worked for 30 years. Donald Trump, president at the time, promised revival but delivered nothing. With the rise of EVs, Lordstown got a glimmer of hope. Lordstown Assembly stayed closed, but GM formed a new company, Ultium, which opened a massive EV battery facility right around the corner, buoyed by federal subsidies for the emerging industry. As the U.S. Senate debates Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ the people of Lordstown, Ohio, have a simple message: don’t shut us down again. I am the proud leader for the United Auto Workers in Region 2B, which covers Ohio and Indiana, and I hope the U.S. Senators representing our states will hear that message.”
IAFF Launches Online Energy Hazard Guide for Fire Fighters: “The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has launched a new digital Energy Hazard Guide to support safe response to incidents involving modern energy systems. The IAFF stated that the guide is designed to help members identify risks and make informed decisions when facing energy-related hazards at emergency scenes. It covers utility vaults, electric vehicles, battery storage, solar panels, and high-voltage equipment increasingly present in both residential and industrial contexts. The IAFF noted that the tool is hosted on its Online Learning Center and contains reference material, personal protective equipment (PPE) advice, video demonstrations, and hazard identification markers.”
North Carolina AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan on the State of the Labor Movement and Her Tenure: “For the past two decades, no single individual has played a more prominent or important role in championing the rights and wellbeing of average working people in North Carolina than MaryBe McMillan. McMillan, who grew up in Hickory, served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the North Carolina AFL-CIO from 2005 to 2017, at which point she was elected as the first woman president of the federation in the state’s history—a role that she has served in ever since and will retire from later this summer. And recently, as she prepared for her final months in office, McMillan was kind enough to join NC Newsline to share some reflections on the state of the labor movement and on her years of service—the victories, the frustrations, and some of the key challenges that lie ahead for her movement and the working people it strives to represent.”
Harvard Book Store Union Secures ‘Record’ New Contract: “The Harvard Book Store Union, which has been affiliated with United Auto Workers, Local 1596 since 1993, announced on social media Monday that, after more than three months of negotiations, it has successfully secured a ‘record contract’ between the bookstore’s owners and approximately 30 workers represented by the union. The new contract includes an immediate increase in starting wages for new employees; a ‘record raise’ for current employees; severance pay for laid off workers; official union recognition at all future locations of the Harvard Book Store; and a 100% increase in dental insurance coverage.”