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.
Rail Union Asks FAA to Ban Drone Flights Over Rail Infrastructure: “A rail union has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to ban the use of unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, above rail yards and main lines. The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division, or SMART-TD, submitted comments earlier this week on a proposed FAA rule that would allow expanded drone use of beyond visual line of sight. Such a proposal was a condition of the FAA Authorization Act of 2024.”
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, St. Louis Labor Movement Rally Around Striking Machinists Members at Boeing: “AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler urged striking Machinists District 837 members at Boeing to continue standing in solidarity and hold the line last week during a rally here at the union’s hall. Hundreds attended the Oct. 1 event, which featured several speakers from the international Machinists union as well as state and local Labor leaders, including Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel and St. Louis Labor Council President Patrick Kellett.”
Federal Workers’ Unions Call for Compromise on a Shutdown Deal: “‘Do your damn job, and pass a budget that’s going to require a little compromise,' Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees-IAM, said. His union represents more than 110,000 federal employees across the country who work at agencies including the National Park Service, the Defense Department and Health and Human Services.”
‘Dangerous Game’: Unions Warn Shutdown Risks Aviation Safety: “‘This is a dangerous game,’ Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), said during a news briefing Wednesday outside the headquarters of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) in Washington, D.C. Nelson joined representatives from AFGE, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and other public and private unions to urge Congress to reopen the federal government, warning that a prolonged shutdown could endanger aviation safety. Nelson said air traffic controllers (ATCs)—nearly 11,000 of whom are directing traffic without pay, per the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)—are working under ‘increasingly unsafe’ conditions.”
AFL-CIO Opposes Major Crypto Legislation: “The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation, addressed a letter to members of the Senate Banking Committee Monday night opposing the Senate's draft legislation to create a regulatory framework for the trading of digital assets. The big picture: Citing the ‘volatility of the assets class,’ the labor giant says it worries about the retirement funds of its millions of members if cryptocurrency were to become more common in portfolios. What they're saying: The group argues that the bill, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, ‘provides the facade of regulation’ that could cause cryptocurrency to become more mainstream in investment funds. ‘Passing this legislation will allow the proliferation of assets that investors will wrongly perceive as safe,’ Jody Calemine, AFL-CIO's director of government affairs, writes in the organization's legislative alert.”
AAUP, Other Unions Sue Trump Admin Over H-1B Fee: “A slew of unions, including three that represent university faculty and staff, are suing the Trump administration over its proposed $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas, The New York Times reported. The plaintiffs, which include the American Association of University Professors, UAW International and UAW Local 481, allege in the lawsuit that numerous researchers and academics will lose their jobs as a result of their institutions not being able to afford the new fee. (An H-1B visa previously cost $2,000 to $5,000.) Universities, along with national labs and nonprofit research institutions, were also exempt from the annual cap on the number of new visas, and it’s unclear whether the new fee will apply to higher ed.”
Rhode Island AFL-CIO Sues Trump’s EPA Over Termination of $7 Billion Solar for All Program: “The Rhode Island AFL-CIO and the Rhode Island Center for Justice on Monday sued the US Environmental Protection Agency, challenging the Trump administration’s decision to kill the $7 billion Solar for All program. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Rhode Island, aims to reverse the termination of a program launched during President Joe Biden’s administration to help pay for residential solar projects for more than 900,000 lower-income US households. Massachusetts had been one of the biggest intended recipients of the program: More than $156 million had been obligated to the state, and Rhode Island expected to receive $49 million. ‘Solar energy is key to Rhode Island’s march towards a carbon-free economy,’ Rhode Island AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley said in a statement. ‘The Solar for All program is critical to meeting the mandates of the Act on Climate and could lead to hundreds of good paying union jobs, that is why the Rhode Island AFL-CIO is happy to join this court action.’”
Federal Unions Sue White House, Demand Immediate End to Shutdown: “Federal unions say the current government shutdown is like no other. The National Treasury Employees Union said poor communication around agencies’ shutdown contingency plans caused ‘upheaval’ for federal employees. And after the new threat of reductions in force, the American Federation of Government Employees is now suing the Trump administration, calling the White House’s directive illegal, and raising concerns that it will ‘inflict further pain’ on government workers. Both federal unions are demanding an immediate end to the shutdown.”