Labor News
Issue 1, 2025

America’s largest labor organization – the union of unions – is now a lot stronger with the addition of two million brothers and sisters of the Service Employees International Union. The move, announced in January, will raise the AFL-CIO’s total membership to nearly 15 million workers.
 
The decision to merge comes at a time when organizing a union is expected to become even more difficult - with a politicized Congress stalling pro-worker legislation and a known anti-union President coming back to the White House.
Together, the partnership will continue fighting for worker protections including a fair wage for a day’s work, expanded benefits, safety standards, and ensuring that when a majority of the workforce at any location wishes to organize and join a union, they are able. 

“SEIU members are ready to unleash a new era of worker power, as millions of service and care workers unite with workers at the AFL-CIO to build our unions in every industry and every ZIP code,” said SEIU International President April Verrett. “Working people have been organizing our workplaces and communities to build a stronger economy and democracy. We are ready to stand up to union-busters at corporations and in government and rewrite the outdated, sexist, racist labor laws that hold us all back. We’re so proud to join together as nearly 15 million members to redouble our commitment to building a thriving, healthy future for working people”

"We always say ‘stronger together,’” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said to Huffington Post after the merger. “This is an incredible time for us to be amassing our power, uniting and building our muscle together and really showing the power of solidarity. Because we want to make sure that workers continue to have their voices heard as we are about to enter into this new administration.”

Amazon States Will Not Recognize Whole Foods Union

In January of this year, workers at a Whole Foods Market in Philadelphia became the first unionized store in Amazon’s grocery chain after organizing with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 1776. “We are incredibly proud of the workers who have stood up to Amazon and demonstrated the strength of solidarity,” said UFCW Local 1776 President Wendell Young, IV. “We are ready to bring Whole Foods to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair first contract that reflects the workers’ needs and priorities.” 

However, Whole Foods has not met Local 1776 at the bargaining table. After President Donald Trump fired the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Gwynne Wilcox, temporarily leaving the board with only two members (see page XX for more information about Wilcox’s termination and legal case). The NLRB is required by the Supreme Court to operate only when there is a quorum of three out of the five members. In February, Whole Foods saw this opportunity; they took it by stating that the election was not certified, and it did not need to negotiate with the workers. 

The legal rollercoaster has set up a lengthy legal battle to and further delays to a potential start of negotiations between UFCW Local 1776 and the massive grocery retailer. One successful tactic of mega-corporations is to stall the negotiation process with legal challenges – forcing the union to spend more money, all while risking a decertification vote if a contract is not reached in the first 1-2 years. 

Federal Worker Unions United to Protect Members Who Have Been Wrongfully Terminated

Since President Donald Trump went back to the White House in January, he has signed over 125 Executive Orders (EOs) – many of them focused on altering the federal government workforce. One major category of these EOs has been to roll back federal workers’ collective bargaining rights and job security. In addition to terminations by the Office of Management and Budget against workers collective bargaining agreements - thousands have been fired by the newly created, extremely-partisan, government “agency” DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) – run by multi-billionaire Elon Musk.

The Administration’s goals are clearly to defund and fire many dedicated and non-partisan civil servants and experts in their respective fields. Many of the positions will then be filled by loyalists to the President and an ultra-conservative agenda, as outlined in Project 2025. 

“AFGE will not stand idly by as a secretive group of ultra-wealthy individuals with major conflicts of interest attempt to deregulate themselves and give their own companies sweetheart government contracts while firing civil servants and dismantling the institutions designed to serve the American people,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley. “This fight is about fairness, accountability, and the integrity of our government. Federal employees are not the problem—they are the solution. They deserve to have their voices heard in decisions that affect their work, their agencies, and the public they serve.” 

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), along with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), National Association of Government Employees (NAGE-SEIU), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), National Nurses United (NNU), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), have filed legal action to combat what they say are retaliatory attacks on the rights of American workers. 

“This administration’s bullying tactics represent a clear threat not just to federal employees and their unions, but to every American who values democracy and the freedoms of speech and association,” Kelly said after an EO was signed attacking federal workers’ collective bargaining rights. “Trump’s threat to unions and working people across America is clear: fall in line or else.

“These threats will not work,” he added. “Americans will not be intimidated or silenced. AFGE isn’t going anywhere. Our members have bravely served this nation, often putting themselves in harm’s way, and they deserve far better than this blatant attempt at political punishment.”

The BAC Journal is starting a new section – “Labor News” – to have stories of other worker struggles and victories throughout North America. BAC stands united with all our union sisters and brothers as they continue the fight in their industries for fair-pay, safe workplaces, comprehensive benefits, and the right to organize a union.