LaborPress – Daily Labor Union News

Met Opera Workers Denounce Lockout, Pay-Cut and Outsourcing

NEW YORK, N.Y.— “To be a good man? Sure, who wouldn’t want to be one?… But circumstances just aren’t so,” Herr Peachum sings in Kurt

Sweatshop Boss Buys More Time and Sympathy Amid Public Outcries Against 24-hour Workdays

New York, NY – Confronted by vehement call-outs from home care workers and their supporters, the self-avowed progressive organization Chinese-American Planning Council’s (CPC) president Wayne Ho

We Still Need a Good Plan for Reopening Post-COVID

New York, NY – Although COVID-19 infection rates are down, the pandemic’s impact goes far beyond statistics and hospitalizations. Nevertheless, the city is looking to

NYSNA Executive Director: ‘We Finally Have the Pathway’ to lifesaving Staffing Ratios

NEW YORK, N.Y.—Pat Kane, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association [NYSNA], laughs when she’s asked if the bill intended to lessen understaffing

Veteran Brooklyn Nurse to NYC: ‘Get Vaccinated!’

NEW YORK, N.Y.—Veteran nurse Sybilla Daniel Douglas has one wish for New Yorkers. “I just want everybody to get vaccinated,” she told LaborPress. “Vaccination saves

‘Deadly Shame’ Shorts Highlight Nurses and Their Life & Death Struggle for Systemic Change

New York, NY – National Nurses United [NNU], the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S. with more than 170,000 members

It’s Time to End the 24-Hour Rule for Home Care Workers: We All Have a Role to Play

New York, NY – With President Biden taking the issue of home care to the national stage last week, there has never been a more

NYC Construction Workers Increase Push for New Law Holding Contractors Liable for Wage Theft

New York, NY – In the summer of 2016, a 30-year-old Bronx construction worker with the temerity to inquire about two weeks of unpaid wages

Under Pressure From Worker Advocates, Cuomo Signs NY HERO Act Into Law

New York, NY – Governor Andrew Cuomo finally signed the NY HERO Act into law on May 5, just weeks before the state is set

Landmark Win for Safe Staffing Act Advocates

ALBANY, N.Y.—After more than 20 years of pressure from health-care workers, the state Legislature on May 4 overwhelmingly passed a pair of bills intended to

NYC Building Trades Tell Schumer: Get the PRO Act Passed!

NEW YORK, N.Y.—Well over 100 people rallied in front of Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer’s Manhattan offices on Saturday, May 1, part of a week

APWU Hopes Biden Nominees Will Help Restore the Postal Service; Calls for DeJoy’s Ouster

New York, NY – From COVID-19 to Postmaster Louis DeJoy purposely slowing down mail delivery — postal workers were hit hard on several fronts this past

NYS Legislature to Vote on Safe Staffing Act

ALBANY, N.Y.—Two bills intended to reduce understaffing in hospitals and nursing homes are nearing a vote in the state Legislature. One of the two measures

How Will the Show Go On in the Age of COVID?

New York, NY – COVID forced the shutdown of Broadway theaters on March 12, 2020. They’ve been shuttered ever since. Now, however, the Broadway League,

Stagehands Challenge Metropolitan Opera’s Anti-Union Outsourcing; Rally Set for May 13

New York, NY –There hasn’t been a live performance at the Metropolitan Opera House since March 12, of 2020 when the Met ordered all backstage

Workers’ Memorial Week Slips Away While Gov. Cuomo Continues to Sit on HERO Act

New York, NY – Governor Andrew Cuomo, once celebrated by corporate-owned media outlets for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, is letting Workers Memorial Week

Some Gave All: Essential Workers Need More Than ‘Applause’ and ‘Hashtags’

New York, NY – Labor leaders, workers, and elected officials gathered on Wednesday, April 28, across the street from Elmhurst Hospital in Queens — once the

Ohio College-Student Workers Go on Historic Strike for Union Recognition

GAMBIER, Ohio—At least 140 student workers at Kenyon College in Ohio joined a walkout on Apr. 27, the second day of what the Kenyon Student

Teamsters Strike to Win Contract at City’s Biggest Fuel Company; Three Are Fired

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a statement we received from UMEC owner John Catsimatidis after the original article was published April

Call for Immediate Action As 4 Million New Yorkers Face Loss of Healthcare

New York, NY – Union leaders, law makers and health experts are rallying this week against predatory hospital pricing and the looming threat of four

Toxic Culture at Work? Here are a Few Tips

New York, NY – Certain workplace problems go unsaid because of who they affect. But there is no denying the corrosive influence of things like

Michigan Moms Try to Revive ‘Gutted’ Sick-Leave Law

DETROIT, Mich.—A coalition of working mothers and restaurant workers are mounting a campaign to get Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to reverse the Republican legislators’

Senseless Attacks on Asian-Americans are Attacks on Us All

New York, NY – Clerical Administrative Local 1549 DC 37 recently issued a statement condemning violence directed at Asian Americans. The statement was written by

Teamsters Rally in Queens After UPS Cans 10 – Including Pregnant Women

New York, NY – Teamsters Local 804, the union that represents UPS workers in the Big Apple, rallied on Thursday morning, April 22, outside the

Raphaelson & Levine: Fighting for Injured Construction Workers

New York, NY: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the landscape of the New York City construction industry. In January 2021, the Real Estate Board

Despite Healthy Terminals Act, Contractors Deny Health Care to Airport Workers

NEW YORK, N.Y.—More than 200 airport workers rallied at John F. Kennedy airport April 21, protesting their employers’ refusal to include mandated health-care coverage in

Worker Advocates Press Cuomo to Sign the NY HERO Act Now; Call it a Model for the Nation

New York, NY – Now that the NYS Legislature has finally approved the HERO Act, worker advocates are pushing Governor Andrew Cuomo to waste no

Labor Leaders Hail Chauvin Guilty Verdict; Call for Transformational Change

New York, NY – Many watched as Derek Chauvin was escorted out of a Minnesota courtroom on Tuesday, April 20, after a jury found him

Supportive Mental Health Services Offer an Unbeatable Return on Investment

New York, NY – The problem we often have approaching mental health is we tend to treat the “heart attack” after it happens. This is

Journalists’ Union Bid About So Much More Than Their Jobs

New York, NY – As destiny would have it, just days after Amazon used illegal tactics to derail a drive by warehouse workers in Bessemer,

Reporter’s Notebook: Texas Senate Votes to Pre-Empt Water Breaks for Construction Workers

AUSTIN, Texas—Last month, Georgia enacted a law making it illegal to give people waiting on line to vote anything to drink. Last week, the Texas

NY HERO Act Pending in the Assembly Needs Return Trip to Senate

New York, NY – The HERO Act is heading back to the New York State Senate. The measure — aimed at establishing enforceable workplace

46 Honored at COVID-Delayed FDNY Medal Day

New York, NY – Mayor Bill de Blasio joined Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro on Wednesday in saluting the valor of 46 firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, fire

NYSNA Nurse Reflects on Coronavirus: Past, Present, and Future Impact

New York, NY — The New York State Nurses Association [NYSNA] is a 42,000-strong union of frontline workers and the largest union and professional association

Unions on Systemic Racism and Police Shootings: ‘Now is Not the Time for Silence’

New York, NY – Police reform remains at the forefront on many union agendas following the recent police killing of Daunte Wright and the ongoing

Collective Bargaining And Romance Mix in the Pages of ‘Union Made’

New York, NY – Tim Sheard’s Hard Ball Press publishes numerous novels involving union activity, and Union Made, by Eric Lotke, is one of the

Local 2507 President: ‘It’s a Shame in a Country Like Ours We Can’t Take Care of Our Own’

New York, NY – Local 2507, Uniformed EMT’s, Paramedics, and Fire Inspectors FDNY, is a union with a little over 4,000 members. Their frontline work

The Art Of Remaining ‘Union Strong’

New York, NY – As a journalist, I have been taking note of the grumblings about of our unionized future. In fact, there is a

NY Legislature Eyes Three Wage Theft Bills As Workers Continue to be Vulnerable

ALBANY, N.Y.—Three bills to strengthen New York’s wage-theft laws are now pending in the state Legislature. The first, which the Assembly passed by a 123-27

COVID-19 Pandemic Has Left Orphans, ATU President Says

NEW YORK, N.Y.—Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, almost 5,000 of the Amalgamated Transit Union 200,000 members have been infected, more than 15,000 laid off, and

Local 813 Covid Survivor : ‘I Didn’t See My Fiancé and Son for a Few Months’

New York, NY – Doug Washington, 42, is a private sanitation worker with Teamsters Local 813 who has been on the job for 18 years.

Covid Leaves Lasting Impact on Assisted Living Worker

New York, NY – Evelyn Brown, 43, is a veteran health aide at an assisted living facility in the Bronx and a UFCW Local 2013

RWDSU Loses Amazon Vote; Alleges Illegal Interference

BESSEMER, Ala.—After an overwhelming defeat in the election at the Amazon warehouse here, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union [RWDSU] announced it would file

Six Years After Carlos Moncayo’s Death, Grief, Anger, Frustration And Fatalities Continue

New York, NY – “A Construction worker died here.” Earlier this week, New Yorkers flocked to the beautiful al fresco dining along 9th Avenue’s cobblestone