Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, Donald Trump plans to meet with the Teamsters, UPS announces layoffs, and the United Auto Workers (UAW) continues its campaign to organize non-union autoworkers.
Trump will meet with Teamsters this afternoon in an effort to decrease Biden’s union backing. Teamsters workers and the former president will participate in a roundtable discussion of issues critical to workers in Midwestern swing states. President Biden’s support from union leadership, however, remains strong, with endorsements from the AFL-CIO and UAW President Shawn Fain.
UPS announced yesterday that it would cut 12,000 jobs, in part citing higher union labor costs. These cuts represent less than 3% of the company’s workforce and include only non-union workers. In July, the UPS signed a contract with the Teamsters to push pay for full-time drivers up to $49 per hour. Despite these pay increases, the company reported $24.92 billion in fourth quarter revenue in 2023.
The UAW announced on Monday that 10,000 non-union autoworkers have signed UAW cards since the union ratified its contract with Big Three automakers. The UAW estimates that it will need to reach around 150,000 people in its organizing campaign to bring in non-union workers. “These workers are standing up for themselves, for their families, and for their communities,” said UAW president Shawn Fain of these newly organized workers.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
February 21
In today’s News & Commentary, Trump spending cuts continue to threaten federal workers, and Google AI workers allege violations of labor rights. Trump’s massive federal spending cuts have put millions of workers, both inside and outside the federal government, in jeopardy. Yesterday, thousands of workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs research office were […]
February 20
President Trump's labor secretary pick retreats from some of her pro-labor stances during Senate confirmation hearing and Lynn Rhinehart discusses implications of NLRB and other agency removals.
February 19
In today’s news and commentary, Lori Chavez-Deremer’s confirmation hearing, striking King Soopers workers return to the bargaining table, and UAW members at Rolls-Royce authorize a strike. Lori Chavez-Deremer, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, faces a Senate confirmation hearing today. Chavez-Deremer may face more No votes from Republicans than other Trump cabinet members. Rand […]
February 18
In today’s news and commentary, an air traffic union examines the impact of federal aviation worker firings, Southwest Airlines lays off 15% of its corporate workforce, and the NLRB’s General Counsel withdraws Biden-era memos Following the Trump Administration’s dismissal of hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), a […]
February 17
President Trump breaks campaign promise to support workers and Utah’s governor signs a law banning public sector collective bargaining
February 16
Unions fight unlawful federal workforce purges; Amazon union push suffers setback in North Carolina.