Initially, the bill proposed benefits lasting up to 12 weeks for striking workers. However, the bill faced fierce scrutiny in the State House from corporate-backed Republicans. The bill was eventually settled to 6 weeks after Republican opposition attempted to lower the threshold to 4 weeks.

Workers will be eligible for benefits starting between 15 to 21 days after the beginning of the strike, depending on the day the strike starts. If a contract is ratified before that time, benefits will not be issued.

April Sims, president of the Washington State Labor Council, stated “No one wants to go out on strike… Going out on strike is the absolute last resort and workers that strike do so because there is simply no other option.”

The post WA State Governor Signs Bill Extending Unemployment Benefits to Striking Workers first appeared on Labor Today.

Farmworker and union leader Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino was taken into custody by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) on Tuesday, March 25^th. An explicit politically-motivated targeting of a union activist, Zeferino’s detainment occurred in Sedro-Woolley, WA while he was driving his partner to her job. Zeferino defended himself by exercising his 5^th Amendment rights and refusing to exit his vehicle, to which ICE officers reciprocated by breaking his car window. He is confirmed to be a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Zeferino helped found Familias Unidas por la Justicia, a farmworker union in Skagit County, WA as a teen. He is also a volunteer with Community to Community Development (C2C) and a former member of the City of Bellingham’s Immigration Advisory Board.

House Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) remarked, “The Trump administration and ICE have claimed that they are going after ‘the worst of the worst’ — but there is no indication that Alfredo Juarez Zeferino and the other people detained today represent the worst of the worst … Immigrating to the United States is legal. Union organizing is legal.”

Zeferino is currently being held in ICE custody pending removal proceedings, according to an ICE spokesperson. The illegal detention of Zeferino is not just a sign of the continued attacks on immigrants, but a direct attack on the labor movement. Class-oriented trade unionists must take the lead in standing up against these fascist attacks. If we don’t, in the near future we may hear, “First they came for the immigrants …”

The post ICE Targets Organized Labor: Farmworker Union Leader Detained in Washington State first appeared on Labor Today.

The NALC has organized over 250 Fight Like Hell rallies across the country, all protesting against multiple threats to the union, including Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” DOGE planning to lay off ten thousand workers, and the Trump Administration’s ambitions to privatize the USPS.

A privatized USPS would create a myriad of problems for both the American people and Letter Carriers. Currently, the USPS is under the jurisdiction of Congress, which is held accountable by representatives elected by the American people. A privatized USPS would only be held responsible to private shareholders, who will most definitely reel back services in both rural and low-service areas, areas that need the USPS the most. In Seattle, a privatized USPS would mean higher shipping prices, an issue that would only contribute to Seattle’s high cost of living compared to other cities.

After speeches and remarks from representatives of multiple labor unions, the NALC Branch 79 rally attendees, both letter carriers and NALC supporters in the hundreds, marched around Westwood Center in West Seattle in the cold, dreary Seattle weather, with a resounding message:

THE US MAIL IS NOT FOR SALE!

The post NALC Branch 79 Rallies to “Fight Like Hell” in Seattle, WA first appeared on Labor Today.

After the strike began, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) filed an injunction to stop the strike and resume operations. The injunction was denied on the morning of Monday, the 17^th. VTA immediately refiled the complaint, which was denied again later the same day.

ATU Local 265 President Raj Singh stated, “At this point, I think the public sees what the truth is … They are exploring every other option outside coming to the table.”

VTA also reached out to California Governor Gavin Newsom, requesting that Newsom intervene and stop the strike. Governor Newsom declined, urging the two parties to negotiate. VTA also argues that the ATU violated a “no-strike” agreement in effect and filed another legal complaint against the Union. Union members and VTA have a hearing scheduled on March 26^th to determine if the Union violated the “no-strike” clause.

ATU Local 265 represents over 1,500 workers including fare inspectors, mechanics, operators, dispatchers, and customer service representatives. In negotiations, Union leaders call for an annual raise of 6% over 3 years. However, VTA proposed wage increases of 4%, 3%, and 2% over the next three years and a one-time payment of $1,500 for union members.

On March 24, workers rejected a new low-ball offer from VTA management. In a statement put out by ATU Local 265 they stated:

“In a resounding declaration of solidarity and strength, the members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265-San Jose, CA, have voted decisively to reject the latest insulting contract put forth by the VTA yesterday. …

“The sticking points remain the same. The VTA refuses to put forth a proposal with living wages that allow their workers to live in the communities they serve. They continue to propose unfair grievance procedures and regressive overtime calculations along with no assurances that the agency will not discipline or sue workers who went on strike. Furthermore, the agency has failed to improve workplace conditions following the tragic mass shooting in May 2021 that took the lives of Local 265 members.”

It is clear management at VTA care neither about the well-being or safety of their workers.

The post Striking Workers Represented By ATU Local 265 in Santa Clara Reject Latest Contract Offer first appeared on Labor Today.

Senator Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane), the bill’s sponsor, stated:

“Workers deserve to be able to exercise their right to collectively bargain for fair wages and safe workplace conditions… This is a practical, low-cost step to ensure workers are not intimidated out of exercising that fundamental right because they are worried about putting food on the table or keeping a roof over their head.”

Then on March 20^th, the Oregon State Senate passed SB 916 which allow for unemployment benefits for workers still on strike after a two-week waiting period. On the Bill, Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor said:

 “The passage of Senate Bill 916 is a major win for working people because the economy and the system that we work with in it is so imbalanced.”

LUEL stands in support of the passage of unemployment benefits to striking workers. Bills like this level the playing field for workers against the repression of the bosses as workers inability to sustain themselves and their families is a leading cause of strikes failing. Unemployment benefits would also lessen the burden on strike funds making unions more financially stable.

The post In Major Power Shift, State Senates in Washington, Oregon Pass Bills Allowing for Striking Workers to Collect Unemployment Benefits first appeared on Labor Today.

Earlier this year in June, the BNSF Railway Company had been ordered to pay the Swinomish Indigenous Tribe $394M for trespassing trains carrying crude oil across the Swinomish Reservation several times from 2012 through 2021. Court documents state that up to 250,000 tanker cars carrying crude oil crossed through Swinomish tribal land throughout this time period. The dangers of these trains can be seen in the March 2023 derailment on Swinomish territory of a BNSF train which spilled 3,100 gallons of diesel fuel in Anacortes, WA.

A BNSF train also carrying crude oil derailed near Custer, WA in December 2020. Despite no casualties, cars leaked and caught fire, causing an environmental hazard with between 5,400 to 8,000 gallons left abandoned.

“We’re concerned about not only our safety and the safety of our brothers and sisters that we’re working with, but the public and the communities that we’re moving our trains through”, said Herb Krohn, a train conductor and the Washington State Legislative Director for SMART-TD. Train derailments in the state of Washington had more than doubled over a ten year period ending in 2023.

As long as the US rail system is under the mercy of for-profit, private interests, cutting costs at the expense of public and environmental health will undoubtedly continue to occur. It has become obvious that only a democratically-run, publicly-owned railroad can reduce these catastrophes. That is why groups such as Railroad Workers United are leading the charge for the nationalization of the railroads through the Public Rail Now campaign.

The post The State of the Railroads in Washington and the Need for Public Rail first appeared on Labor Today.

The Starbucks corporation refused to budge on economic issues brought forth by the union’s bargaining committee for several months, leading to the union’s strike sanction vote on December 17th, 2024. The vote passed with a landslide 98% in favor of sanctioning the strike. 

From December 20th to Christmas Eve, Starbucks Workers United held a strike in several locations across the US, including the special reserve roastery in Seattle, WA. 

Despite a long-term bargaining process, Starbucks has yet to meaningfully propose a concrete tentative agreement with the union. SBWU accuses Starbucks of deliberately delaying the negotiation process alongside committing copious amounts of unfair labor practices as well as union busting.

The post Starbucks Workers Hold Christmas Time Strike Campaign Across the US first appeared on Labor Today.

• HB 49 allows minors aged sixteen and seventeen to work more than eight hours on Sundays and holidays, even when there is school the next day.
• HB 49 allows parents and school superintendents to waive the limitation that minors aged sixteen and seventeen may only work thirty hours per week when school is in session. The law will also lower the age restriction on minors working more than six consecutive days from seventeen years of age to fifteen years of age.
• HB 49 removes the work hour restrictions for minors aged sixteen and seventeen who are in a “home education program” or who are “enrolled in an approved virtual instruction program in which the minor is separated from the teacher by time only.”
• Under HB 49, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is allowed to waive restrictions for minors when it is in the minor’s “best interest”, based on “extenuating circumstances” determined on a case-by-case basis.

HB 49 was initially written by the Foundation for Government Accountability, a right-wing think tank, and sponsored by Florida State Rep. Linda Chaney who explicitly referred to teenagers 16 and older as “youth workers” and “not children.”

The bill took effect in the midst of a major shift in the demographics of its workforce due to the State’s recent crackdown on the employment of migrant workers. The Florida Policy Institute estimates that the first-year cost of DeSantis’ new aggressive policies on migrant workers will exceed $12 billion, not even taking into account the loss of labor suffered by Florida’s agricultural and construction industries.

Chaney is echoing the discourse of industry groups like the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association —a state affiliate of the anti-union National Restaurant Association which represents major employers in Florida such as McDonald’s (a repeat violator of child labor law), Olive Garden, the Walt Disney Co., Universal Orlando, and other restaurant and hotel owners that employ a large percentage of the youth workforce. Research has found that working more than 20 hours per week can hurt children’s academic performance and can increase the risk of skipping school and other behavioral problems, like drug use. Young workers are also more likely to be injured on the job and are less likely to speak up if their employer steals their wages or violates their rights under the NLRA. Given these facts, it seems Florida is trying to replace one group of super-exploited workers with another.

The post Florida Joins Growing List of States Rolling Back Child Labor Laws first appeared on Labor Today.

The union mentions understaffing, faulty equipment, and underwhelming pay increases as inspiration for hundreds of PetSmart associates, groomers, trainers, and more to work to organize their workplaces. Workers at PetSmart in Midland, TX and Fairfield, CA have also filed for a union vote.

According to the PetSmart Union, “Ever since PetSmart was bought out by BC Partners in 2015, we’ve seen how the desire for profit has gotten in the way of our needs and the needs of the pets we care for. With a union, we’ll be able to forge a better PetSmart for workers and pets alike. We won’t let BC Partners’ focus on profits impact our standards and our love for what we do.”

\Image credit: PetSmart Union.

The post Indiana PetSmart Workers Unionize in Historic First first appeared on Labor Today.

The IAM rank-and-file voted 94% in favor of rejecting the contract, and 96% in favor of a strike. The vote participation was also astonishingly high, with over 32,000 votes being cast.

The vote occurred under an already tense atmosphere amongst Boeings employees as tens of thousands of IAM-represented machinists voted almost unanimously to sanction a strike earlier this year in T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

The rejected TA sparked widespread controversy among IAM machinists, with many complaining about Boeing lowballing the IAM membership with a wage increase counteroffer of 25% instead of the 40% that was initially discussed. Another major issue for IAM membership is the reinstatement of a pension plan eliminated in 2014, which is not mentioned in the TA. Layoffs, a delegation of work to Boeing’s only non-union factory, and mass distrust of Boeing’s capabilities to compensate its workers have also left a foul taste in the mouths of IAM rank-and-file members.

The Boeing corporation seemed desperate to avoid the strike leading up to the TA, with Boeing’s computer screensavers being changed to an image that attempted to persuade IAM members to vote yes.

Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s new CEO, in a panic-fueled public statement, stated “I know the reaction to our tentative agreement with the IAM has been passionate… I understand and respect that passion, but I ask you not to sacrifice the opportunity to secure our future together, because of the frustrations of the past.”

Jon Holden, President of IAM Local 751, stated, “We will be back at the table whenever we can get there to drive forward on the issues our members say are important.”

The post IAM Machinists Strike After Underwhelming Tentative Agreement Proposal first appeared on Labor Today.