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.
Federal Judge Puts Freeze on DOL Termination of Job Corps: “‘We are relieved that these students are secure for the time being, and we strongly urge the Department of Labor to reverse its decision to end the Job Corps program,’ Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, president and secretary-treasurer respectively of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department said in a statement. ‘Simply put, Job Corps is a lifeline for students who are transforming their own lives by seeking a way out of the hand they’ve been dealt.’”
The Number of Americans Filing for Jobless Benefits Last Week Rises to Highest Level in Eight Months: “Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in eight months last week but remain historically low despite growing uncertainty about how tariffs could impact the broader economy. New applications for jobless benefits rose by 8,000 to 247,000 for the week ending May 31, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the most since early October. Analysts had forecast 237,000 new applications.”
Everett Kelley: The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Would Secretly Dismantle the Civil Service: “The House-passed budget reconciliation bill contains a troubling provision so dangerous and corrosive to the integrity of the federal government that it demands immediate scrutiny and swift rejection by the Senate. Buried in more than 1,000 pages of legislative text is Section 90002, a provision that strikes at the heart of the professional, nonpartisan civil service. It proposes a 9.4% salary surcharge on newly hired federal employees who wish to retain their civil service protections, ostensibly to pay for their retirement benefits.”
AFL-CIO Officials Warn Trump Is Seizing Control of All Federal Agencies: “Republican President Donald Trump’s firing of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox presages something far worse, two top AFL-CIO officials say: A total—and unconstitutional—takeover of the entire federal government down to the lowest level. And that’s very bad for workers, Jody Calemine, the federation’s Legislative and Advocacy Director, and Matt Ginsburg, its General Counsel, add. In an interview with several reporters, the two said if Trump’s illegal firing of Wilcox stands, Trump could use it as an open signal to reach down to the lowest level of decision-making in any agency, and nobody could stop him.”
Center for Fiction Staff Win Union Recognition: “Employees at the Center for Fiction have won voluntary union recognition from the Brooklyn-based nonprofit bookstore and literary hub and will begin contract negotiations in the coming weeks, according to an announcement. The approximately 25 employees, who are represented by Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), first filed to unionize on May 15, when they presented their request for recognition to Center for Fiction executive director Lydah Pyles DeBin. The Center voluntarily recognized their union on May 28, according to the press release, and on June 2 RWDSU was confirmed as the employees’ official bargaining representative.”
Alabama Arise, CWA Reach Friendly Collective Bargaining Agreement: “Statewide anti-poverty group Alabama Arise recently announced that it has reached a successful collective bargaining agreement with the Communications Workers of America and the organization’s staff union Alabama Arise Workers United. Arise’s leadership has supported staff unionization and labor negotiations since 2023, when Arise staff unanimously signed union authorization cards to join CWA Local 3908. The organization voluntarily recognized the union, reflecting the pro-worker values which it emphasizes in its own advocacy work.”
Oregon’s Clean Energy Policies Must Support Workers, Not Undermine Them: “As business manager of IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 48, I’ve seen firsthand how policy decisions in Salem ripple through our economy and workforce. During campaign season, candidates often make ambitious, well-intentioned promises, but the real challenge and responsibility comes when lawmakers must translate those promises into policies that actually work. When it comes to meeting our energy and economic development needs, Oregon needs to re-evaluate its approach and priorities.”
Building the Construction Workforce: A Growing Suite of Training Opportunities Address Critical Shortage of Workers: “Kloey Arsenault was 18 and had just graduated from high school when she enrolled in the AFL-CIO’s Union Construction Academy of Maine to train as an ironworker. Her dad is an ironworker and at first she was looking to make him proud. The motive evolved. Now age 19, she’s a member of Ironworkers Local 7, making a good wage with raises and benefits and most recently working for Ipswich Bay Glass on construction of the University of Southern Maine’s Crewe Center for the Arts.”
Profiles in Courage: Gwynne Wilcox Was the First Black Woman on the NLRB—and the First to Be Fired by a President: “In 2023, labor lawyer Gwynne Wilcox—whose union-side advocacy career has spanned decades—shattered two barriers: becoming the first Black woman seated on the National Labor Relations Board and, soon after, its chair. Confirmed by the Senate for a five-year term, Wilcox joined the 90-year-old agency with a mandate to defend collective bargaining rights and safeguard the board’s institutional independence.”
Microsoft Reaches an Agreement for First U.S. Union Contract: “Microsoft Corp. and the Communications Workers of America reached a tentative labor agreement covering around 300 quality-assurance staff at the company’s ZeniMax video-game subsidiary, the union said Friday. The agreement follows almost two years of negotiations and would represent Microsoft’s first U.S. union contract. ZeniMax is the studio behind popular games including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.”