AFL-CIO Blog

  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Nurses March to Demand Patient Protections Against AI
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Nurses March to Demand Patient Protections Against AI Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Thousands of nurses represented by National Nurses United (NNU) took part in rallies last week calling for the hospitals to prioritize safe staffing and patient protections against growing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. These nationwide demonstrations were aimed at uplifting the broad shared concern among nurses over the current implementation of AI by hospital employers and policy regulators. In a survey released last year, NNU found that 50% of responders have seen their employer implement algorithmic systems to assess things like how ill the patient is and predict the number of hours of nursing care they will need. Of those nurses, 69% said the computer-generated measurements did not match their informed assessments and lacked consideration of important, complex social factors that were at play. “[N]urses across the country are taking to the streets to let our communities know that in 2025, as in all years past, we are committed to providing the highest quality of care for every patient,” said Nancy Hagans, RN and a president of NNU, in a press release. “We will fight fearlessly against the profit-driven hospital industry, which seeks to undermine nursing care through unconscionable understaffing and reckless automation.” Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 01/21/2025 - 10:28 — Jan 21
  • Ready to Push Back: The Working People Weekly List
    Ready to Push Back: The Working People Weekly List 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. AFL-CIO & SEIU Are Reuniting in the United States—13 Million Trade Union Members Ready to Push Back: “The AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) announced on Thursday that they are reuniting to launch ‘a new, long-term effort to make it easier for workers to win a voice on our jobs with their unions’. Two million SEIU service and care workers will join the nearly 13 million-member AFL-CIO, and together, these powerful organisations will push back on union-busting and win for working-class families. The unions formally announced the affiliation at a roundtable discussion with workers who are fighting to win their unions on Thursday in advance of the AFL-CIO’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference, which started yesterday. The workers will share their stories of why they need new rules to make it easier to join together in unions. The joint statement said: ‘At a critical moment when everything is on the line for the nation’s working people, the labour movement is uniting to challenge the status quo and build a movement of workers who will fight—on the job, in the streets, at the ballot box, in our communities—for higher pay, expanded benefits and new rules that empower them to join together in unions and organise across industries.” Joe Biden: The Best President Labor Ever Had : “As Joe Biden gets ready to leave the White House Jan. 20, one verdict is clear: He kept his often-repeated pledge to be the most pro-union president in U.S. history. For four years, at every level of his administration, he and his appointees went out of their way to support unions and union labor.” Stagehands and Technicians at Portland’s State Theatre Have Unionized: “Nearly three dozen technicians and stagehands at Portland’s State Theatre have unionized. The 35 employees who help the theatre’s shows come to life will join Local 114 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees after winning their National Labor Relations Board election to unionize on Tuesday.” Trump’s Plan to Slash Federal Jobs Puts Black Workers at Risk: “President–elect Donald Trump’s plans to shrink the federal workforce would have disparate impacts on Black employment, while potentially eroding a key conduit to economic mobility that many Black families have relied on for generations. Some researchers say a substantial cutback could push the Black unemployment rate higher, particularly in areas like Washington, D.C., where Black joblessness is among the highest in the country. Such an outcome would stand at odds with Trump’s campaign promises to protect Black workers’ jobs and provide them with more employment opportunities.” Brightline Onboard Workers Sign On with TWU: “The approximately 100 onboard and lead attendants at Brightline, Florida’s private-sector passenger railroad, have voted to join Transport Workers Union of America (TWU). The National Mediation Board announced the election results on Jan. 14 in Washington, D.C., after weeks of balloting, which began Nov. 27, according to TWU. The Brightline workers, who sell food and beverages and provide other services on trains between Miami and Orlando, Fla., voted to join TWU on a roughly two-to-one margin, the union said.” The Labor Movement Won Big Victories in 2024. Now It Must Fend Off Trump: “Organized labor is currently preparing to fight back. Just a week into 2025 the SEIU announced that it was rejoining the AFL-CIO to help fight Trump’s anti-worker agenda. The two unions have been unaligned for almost 20 years. In remarks made at a roundtable discussion shortly after the decision, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler stressed the need for solidarity among workers. ‘We just finished an election cycle where one party spent the entire time telling working class people across this country, ‘Look how different you are from each other,’’ said Shuler. ‘He’s an immigrant. She’s transgender or they worship differently than you do’ and it worked to some degree, right? We watched it. The scariest thing in the world to the CEOs, to the billionaires in this country and the folks like Donald Trump who do their bidding, is the idea that we might one day see through that.” Nurses Across U.S. to Rally Over AI Safeguards: “On Jan. 16, thousands of registered nurses will hold marches, protests and rallies to demand the hospital industry ensure safe staffing levels and artificial intelligence safeguards, a Jan. 14 National Nurses United news release said. ’Patient advocacy is at the core of what we do as nurses,‘ Nancy Hagans, RN, president of NNU, said in the release. ’That’s why we’re demanding safe staffing and protections against untested technologies such as AI. We see the harm that these cost-cutting schemes cause our patients on a daily basis.‘” 2.5 Million Americans Were Once Denied Social Security Benefits. A New Law Changes That: “‘For years, members were bringing this up and and asking for it to be changed, because it had such an impact, especially on our lower paid employees, like our paraprofessionals, who often are living paycheck to paycheck and working multiple jobs,’ said Cropper, who also serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO.” From Mental Health to Class Solidarity: Workforce Trends to Watch In 2025: “Still, workers at Google’s Pittsburgh contractor HCL unionized in 2021, the Bethesda Game Studios workers voted to join the Communications Workers of America union, and Code for America reached a collective bargaining agreement with its union, CFA Workers United in 2023. The numbers in these early examples may be small, but as labor unions continue to expand their reach into previously unorganized sectors, expect to see a greater emphasis on fair pay, better working conditions, and broader social benefits for workers.” CES 2025: Hollywood Unions Battle to Contain AI Disruptions in Creative Industries: “The increasing capabilities of generative AI systems were all the rage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year, but for all the enthusiasm from the tech world, there is still plenty of concern about the impact these tools will have on the workforce, from industrial and service work to creative industries, including entertainment, film and TV. So while the crowds were jamming the aisles of the Las Vegas Convention Center, representatives of America’s biggest unions were meeting down the street at the AFL-CIO’s Labor Innovation and Technology Summit to coordinate strategy around AI and try to ensure that workers have a seat at the table when it comes to setting policy around AI. Co-founded by SAG-AFTRA, the AFL-CIO, and the AFL-CIO Tech Institute, the LIT Summit brings together top labor leaders, worker advocates, policy experts, and allied organizations to discuss workers’ role in emerging technologies, as Big Tech’s role in the market and the halls of government evolves, according to the organization. Some of the unions in attendance such as the machinists have been engaged around issues of automation for decades, while others like those representing teachers and nurses are looking to ensure that new AI-driven innovations in education and medicine are deployed in collaboration and consultation with frontline workers rather than imposed from above.” Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/17/2025 - 12:07 — Jan 17
  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: VA Memorial Products Service Employees Vote to Join AFGE
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: VA Memorial Products Service Employees Vote to Join AFGE Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. The Federal Labor Relations Authority last week officially certified the election where Veterans Affairs (VA) National Cemetery Administration’s (NCA’s) Memorial Products Service (MPS) workers successfully voted to join AFGE Local 17. These newly minted members work at three remote processing locations in Illinois, Kansas and Tennessee—before the COVID-19 pandemic, they had worked out of offices located at the cemeteries. Local 17 previously represented the workers in Tennessee and Kansas, but once they became remote, the NCA designated them as unrepresented. Now that MPS staff won their election, they’re looking forward to addressing things like overtime concerns and issues with performance evaluations. “I was really excited,” said Local 17 3rd Vice President Megan-Brady Viccellio. “Local 17 already represents several of these employees, and we’re really heartened that they wanted to come back to the fold. I think that they had experience with the protection of the really robust master agreement at VA. It was a 14 to zero vote. That speaks volumes about the value that they see.” Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:57 — Jan 17
  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Nevada Cannabis Workers at Ayr Wellness Ratify First Union Contract
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Nevada Cannabis Workers at Ayr Wellness Ratify First Union Contract Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Last week, 120 Ayr Wellness workers across three dispensaries and one delivery depot located in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada, overwhelmingly voted to ratify their first union contract. The dispensary and delivery workers are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 711. The contract includes armed security at dispensaries, improved access to affordable health care and better scheduling opportunities. “Today, we stand victorious—not because it was easy, but because we refused to give up,” said Chase Payne, an Ayr Wellness budtender from the Las Vegas Eastern Avenue location. “This contract represents more than just words on paper; it’s a testament to our resilience, unity and unwavering commitment to the cannabis industry. We fought for fair wages, safe conditions and respect—not just for ourselves, but for everyone who will come after us. This victory proves that when we stand together, we are unstoppable. The UFCW was there for us in a time of need and we wouldn’t be in this position without their support and guidance. But our work doesn’t stop here. We will continue to show the Las Vegas area and beyond what the UFCW is all about. Because together, we are not just workers—we are union employees!” Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 01/16/2025 - 10:02 — Jan 16
  • In Demand Like Never Before: What Working People Are Doing This Week
    In Demand Like Never Before: What Working People Are Doing This Week Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing across the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week. Actors' Equity: AFGE: AFSCME: Alliance for Retired Americans: Amalgamated Transit Union: American Federation of Musicians: American Federation of Teachers: American Postal Workers Union: Association of Flight Attendants-CWA: Boilermakers: Bricklayers: Communications Workers of America: Department for Professional Employees: Electrical Workers: Heat and Frost Insulators: Labor Council for Latin American Advancement: Labor Heritage Foundation: Laborers: Machinists: Metal Trades Department: National Association of Letter Carriers: National Day Laborer Organizing Network: National Domestic Workers Alliance: National Nurses United: NFL Players Association: North America's Building Trades Unions: Office and Professional Employees: Painters and Allied Trades: Plasterers and Cement Masons: Professional Aviation Safety Specialists: Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union: Roofers and Waterproofers: SAG-AFTRA: Service Employees International Union: Solidarity Center: The NewsGuild-CWA: Theatrical Stage Employees: Transport Workers Union: Transportation Trades Department: UAW: UNITE HERE: United Food and Commercial Workers: United Steelworkers: Utility Workers: Writers Guild of America East: Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 01/15/2025 - 10:01 — Jan 15