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.
85% of Eligible Fort Worth Report Employees Seek Union Recognition for Job Protections: “An overwhelming majority of eligible staff at the Fort Worth Report announced on January 15 that they are forming a union. This move is part of a growing wave of labor actions in newsrooms across North Texas, as media workers reportedly face growing layoffs and ownership changes. The Fort Worth Reporters Guild said in a January 15 press release that 85% of eligible employees signed union authorization cards and are seeking voluntary recognition from the nonprofit newsroom’s CEO, publisher, and board of directors. The union is affiliating with the Media Guild of the West and The NewsGuild-CWA, which represents journalists across Texas and the Southwest.”
Museum Educator Sierra Schiano on the Structural Pressures Behind LACMA’s Union Vote: “Over the holiday break, the staff at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) voted overwhelmingly in favor of starting a union. Their move is part of a larger trend of unionization efforts at museums and other art institutions across the country. It makes sense in a nation where job stability is on the wane and inflation is on the rise—with little support from Washington, D.C., and in an art world that isn’t flush with cash. We caught up with Sierra Schiano, who works in the education department at LACMA, before the vote to hear more about the museum’s unionization efforts.”
Aspirus Ironwood Nurses Approve New Contract: “Nurses have voted to ratify a new union contract at Aspirus Ironwood Hospital. A Thursday morning press release says the Aspirus Ironwood nurses voted on January 14 to approve the contract. That takes effect immediately and runs through July 19, 2028. ‘Our goal was always to get a contract that supports Ironwood nurses so we can recruit and retain the skilled nurses our community needs,’ said Sarah Trudgeon, RN, and president of the local Michigan Nurses Association union at Aspirus Ironwood. ‘A strong nurses’ contract is a big part of protecting access to health care that we currently have in our area.’”
New Jersey Labor Unions Announce New Coalition Dedicated to Climate Action, Affordability and Union Jobs: “‘New Jersey has a long history of building and innovating, but when it comes to building our own energy, we have lost our way. We import far too much of our energy from out of state, which exacerbates high prices and sends jobs in the energy industry away. With this new agenda from Climate Jobs New Jersey, we can take control of our energy future and get back to building our own energy. This will create local union jobs, bring economic growth to our communities, and give us the clean energy we need to meet rising energy demands and confront the climate crisis,’ said Charles Wowkanech, president of New Jersey AFL-CIO and President of Climate Jobs New Jersey.”
Examining the Rise in Unionization Among Local Organizations: “Employees at the Columbus Dispatch newspaper and the Columbus Metropolitan Library have recently announced plans to unionize. This follows growing unionization efforts both locally and nationally. Places like Amazon and Starbucks have made national news over their unionizing efforts. Locally, everyone from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream employees to nurses at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have started a push towards organized labor. We're talking about the factors pushing Columbus employees toward unionizing on this hour of All Sides.”
New Mexico Hospital Nurses Vote to Unionize: “Nurses at San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, New Mexico, have voted to join the Communications Workers of America in District 7, according to a January 8 union news release. The vote covers about 350 nurses at the nonprofit hospital. CWA said the group will now focus on organizing four smaller satellite clinics and negotiating a first contract. San Juan Regional is a 198-bed, level 3 trauma center. In a statement shared with Becker’s, the hospital said it respects employees’ rights to decide whether to unionize and will negotiate with the union in good faith once a request to bargain is made.”
Providence Portland Medical Techs Unionize: “Around 270 medical techs at Providence Portland Medical Center unionized with the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) in a 181-49 vote January 7. The new unit includes more than a dozen occupations, including surgical technicians, respiratory therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and technologists who operate ultrasound, MRI and mammogram equipment. Priorities for the new unit include increasing staffing levels and fair wages and benefits, ONA spokesperson Myrna Jensen said in an email to the Labor Press.”
Actors' Equity Praises Gov. Hochul’s Initiative to Invest in Theatre Spaces: “‘NY SPACE is a visionary program that recognizes the importance of the live arts all across New York State,’ said Brooke Shields, president of Actors' Equity Association. ‘For our members, it means greater job opportunities as more employers know they can keep their lights on. For the communities where these theatres operate, this is both a cultural enrichment and a financial investment; the average non-profit arts event attendee spends $38.46 in the local economy beyond tickets on their evening out. Furthermore, when employers can put down roots in a physical space, they can invest in those spaces, making for safer workplaces for our members. Thank you to Governor Hochul for this act of leadership. We look forward to seeing this initiative in full swing.’”
AFGE Urges Appellate Judges to Uphold Injunction Against Trump’s Anti-Union Executive Orders: “The nation’s largest federal employee union on Monday urged a panel of federal appeals judges to affirm a lower court ruling that found that President Trump’s executive orders purporting to strip two-thirds of the federal workforce of their collective bargaining rights amounted to retaliation for protected speech under the First Amendment. Trump’s edicts, signed in March and August, cited a seldom-used provision of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act to exclude most federal agencies from federal sector labor law under the auspices of national security. A federal judge in California in June issued a preliminary injunction blocking the orders’ implementation, but a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed that decision last summer, finding that the lower court did not adequately consider whether the president would have taken the same action against labor organizations absent their various legal challenges against the president’s personnel policies.”
U.S. HHS Reverses Deep Cuts to CDC Safety Research Agency NIOSH: “The Trump Administration is reversing its deep staffing cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, reinstating hundreds of employees. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon confirmed the reversal in an email Tuesday. NIOSH conducts or funds most research into U.S. workplace health and safety. Among other duties, the agency’s scientists are responsible for evaluating the risks of new chemicals, testing and certifying the effectiveness of N95 masks, monitoring mine cave-in hazards and administering the health-care program for Sept. 11 responders and survivors. Labor advocates and businesses had warned of devastating consequences after the government moved to eliminate most of NIOSH’s staff last year.”
U.S. Teachers Union Says It Is Leaving X Over Sexualized AI Images of Children: “The American Federation of Teachers says it is leaving X, citing the social media site's creation and dissemination of ‘sickening’ images of children in various states of undress. In an interview with Reuters, AFT President Randi Weingarten said that the site had already been degraded by extremists and trolls since Elon Musk's 2022 takeover, before which the platform was known as Twitter. But the recent proliferation of nonconsensual images of women and children in bikinis or underwear generated by X's artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, had made the site unusable, she said.”
Maine Med Nurses Ratify Union Contract with 21% Pay Increase, Workplace Protections: “Nurses at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland recently ratified a new contract that includes a 21% pay increase over three years and measures to guard against workplace violence. The contract, which runs through the end of 2028, is the second contract for nurses at the state’s largest hospital since they voted in 2021 to join the Maine State Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee. Nurses at the hospital, MMC nurses, signed their first contract in September 2022 and secured the latest contract after four months of bargaining.”
Streetcar Operators Finalize First Union Contract: “After successfully unionizing in 2024, streetcar workers are close to finalizing a contract. In February 2024, more than two dozen workers who operate and maintain the city of Milwaukee’s streetcar, called The Hop, organized a union with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 (ATU), which also represents Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) workers.”
How Vets in Labor Have Joined the Fight Against Trump: “The U.S. is home to 17 million military veterans. About 1.3 million of them currently work in union jobs, with women and people of color making up the fastest-growing cohorts. Veterans are more likely to join a union than non-veterans, according to the AFL-CIO. In half a dozen states, 25% or more of all actively employed veterans belong to unions. In the heyday of industrial unionism in the decades following World War II, hundreds of thousands of former soldiers could be found on the front lines of labor struggles in auto, steel, meatpacking, electrical equipment manufacturing, mining, trucking, and the telephone industry. Many World War II vets became militant stewards, local union officers, and, in some cases, well-known union reformers in the United Mine Workers and Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers.”
Springfield's 3M Workers Vote to Unionize Under United Steelworkers: “Springfield's 3M plant has been a major employer in the city since 1967. Now, the plant's 370 employees will be represented by a union following a successful organization effort. On December 20, workers elected to be represented by the United Steelworkers union, the nation's largest industrial labor union, joining a coalition of employees at other 3M plants across the country in seeking union representation. According to the National Labor Relations Board election results, there were 370 eligible voters, though 332 ballots were counted. Out of those, 233 votes were cast for the labor union and 99 against.”
Kaldi’s Coffee Workers Vote to Form Union, Accuse St. Louis Chain of Union-Busting: “Workers at Kaldi’s Skinker Boulevard location appear headed to unionization. On Friday, workers at the St. Louis specialty coffee chain location voted 7-2 in favor of unionization with the National Labor Relations Board. The results are not yet certified, however, and the union is challenging multiple ballots that it said were from employees who shouldn’t have been eligible to vote. The NLRB and Unite Here Local 74 are accusing Kaldi's of anti-union actions, including bringing in new or transferred employees in order to sway the outcome of the vote.”
Graduate Student Workers Secure First Contract with University of Maine System: “After more than 700 days of negotiations, the University of Maine System reached a tentative agreement with the graduate student workers union for its first-ever contract. ‘It took lot of organizing power for years. Hundreds of grad workers came together for each of the issues, and we fought really hard,’ Andrea Tirrell, a bargaining committee member for the University of Maine Graduate Workers Union, said.”
Science News Media Guild Ratifies First Contract, Securing Major Gains in Pay and Leave: “85% of the 27 members in the Science News Media Guild, workers who publish Science News and Science News Explores, have voted to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement. The historic contract establishes increases in pay, including cost of living raises and equity raises, sick and parental leave and importantly, codifes just-cause protections. The union launched on November 14, 2023, after more than 80% of non-management employees voted to unionize with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild. The ratification follows 625 days of negotiating with the Society for Science, which included a successful 24-hour walkout on November 5, 2025.”
SAG-AFTRA Leaders Sean Astin and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on Their Negotiating Approach, Disney-Open AI Deal, Chance of Longer Contract Term & More: “The Hollywood labor landscape will have different contours this year as above-the-line guilds try to reach deals with the studios and streamers and avoid a repeat of the damaging strikes of 2023. For one thing, SAG-AFTRA will be the first union to negotiate, taking the spot normally occupied by the Directors Guild. SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s national executive director and chief negotiator, have confidence that their early start (talks kick off February 9) will be a difference-maker. The current contract won’t expire until June 30. ‘Part of the reason we wanted to go first is that we wanted to be able to have the time we feel is necessary,’ Astin told Deadline in an interview during CES in Las Vegas. ‘We appreciate that [AMPTP members] are willing to engage early in order to properly examine each item.’”
IAM Alstom Members Ratify First Contract: “Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union at Alstom Transportation in Plattsburgh, New York, have voted to ratify their first-ever three-year collective bargaining agreement, ‘marking a major milestone for rail manufacturing workers in upstate New York.’ This ratified agreement, the union says, ‘is the direct result of member solidarity and the successful IAM organizing effort that brought these rail production workers into the IAM Union. Together, members stood strong to secure enforceable rights, clear standards, and meaningful improvements that will raise wages and strengthen job protections for years to come.’”