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.
Kamala Harris and Labor Unions Need Each Other: “Union members should not allow themselves to be deceived by Trump again. But their leaders acknowledge that even with his track record, Trump’s allure for some is strong. ‘He’s been very effective at messaging working-class people,’ AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told Politico recently, particularly on unfair trade policies and offshored jobs.”
How Tim Walz Showed He Has Workers’ Backs: “Many of Cliff Tobey’s friends and neighbors struggled over the years to get their children to doctor’s appointments or pick them up when schools closed early during Minnesota’s brutal winters. Lacking paid sick and family time, the United Steelworkers (USW) activist recalled, they used vacation days to cover family emergencies even if that meant working themselves to the bone the rest of the year without a real break. That all changed in 2024 because of Governor Tim Walz. He signed a paid family leave act and other legislation that’s not only making Minnesota the ‘best state for workers’—as his administration declares—but showing working people across the country the kind of ally he’d be if elected vice president in November.”
Infrastructure Law Creates Union Jobs : “As a union member for 37 years, I know the difference a good-paying, pro-worker job can make. I am proud to be a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and, for the last 12 years, business manager of Local Union 388 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. This year has been extraordinary for our union. We are just over halfway through the year and we have seen a great number of union job commitments across the state. Gov. Tony Evers coined this year ‘the year of the worker.’ I would add it is also the year of the union worker.”
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Encourages Boeing and Workers to Reach 'Fair Contract': “Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su on Wednesday encouraged Boeing and more than 30,000 of the planemaker’s factory workers to bridge a divide in negotiations and reach a fair contract, as a vote on a new deal looms on Sept. 12. Boeing’s Seattle-area workers, who produce the planemaker’s strongest-selling 737 commercial jet, are voting next week on their first new contract in 16 years, with the two sides still tackling demands such as job security.”
UAW Members at Cornell Approve New Contract, Ending Strike: “UAW members at Cornell University have voted to approve a new contract with the university, officially ending the strike that disrupted campus operations at the start of the fall semester. The vote, conducted on September 1 and 2, saw 77% of union members favor ratifying the deal, which was reached on August 28 after weeks of negotiations. ‘The tentative agreement has been ratified, and the strike is officially over,’ said Lonnie Everett, UAW International Servicing Representative for Region 9, in the statement announcing the voting results. ‘Your unwavering solidarity and unity have led us to this historic moment.’”
Lawmakers Unveil Federal Warehouse Workers Protection Bill: “Alarmed at the safety threats warehouse workers face nationally, especially if they work for Amazon and Walmart, a bipartisan group of four representatives unveiled federal legislation to mandate bosses disclose production quotas and banning production methods that endanger warehouse worker health and safety. ‘Businesses can keep workers safe and earn a profit, but that’s only possible with more transparency and more accountability to bring warehouse safety standards up to date,’ explained Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), a union electrical worker and co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus. ‘The increasingly dangerous working conditions at warehouses across the country that result from these quota systems are wholly unacceptable,’ added Norcross, former president of the South Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council and the measure’s lead sponsor.”
Unions Are Taking More Prominent Roles in U.S. Politics as Support for Labor Rises: “Democrats need labor to turn out. Liz Shuler is the president of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization. She says, in key battleground states, union members make up 20% of the vote. Plus, it's also significant that public support for unions is the highest it's been since the 1960s. LIZ SHULER: We've had historic highs. The last several years, young people under the age of 30 are the most pro-union, so what does that speak to? It speaks to the fact that the economy has been broken for young people for way too long.”
AFL-CIO President: Union Members Are Powerful. We Will Decide This Election: “The AFL-CIO represents nearly 13 million workers in our federation across 60 unions. This time every year, we come together to put the labor back in Labor Day. As much as we love the barbecues, the mattress sales—this is our week. This is about recognizing and appreciating the workers who make this country run. Last year, we started a conversation about how workers are doing in this country. Some of these numbers may surprise you: 70% of Americans support unions, among young people under the age of 30, it’s nine in 10. Union workers are continuing to find their power in two very distinct ways.”