Trump Administration Continues Assault on Federal Employees While Sanitation Teamsters, Grocery Workers, and More Gain Good Contracts
Trump’s Attacks on Federal Labor Continue
The anti-union, anti-worker Trump administration took another step forward in dismantling decades of labor protections by severing contracts with employee unions representing workers at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also canceled a negotiated contract with its more than 8,000 employees represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
“The Trump administration and EPA’s unlawful and authoritarian move to unilaterally strip EPA workers of their collective bargaining agreement and workplace rights is nothing short of an assault on our democracy, the rule of law, and the lives of working people in America,” AFGE Council 238 President Justin Chen said in a statement.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has likewise terminated its collective bargaining agreements with AFGE and other labor unions, affecting more than 400,000 VA workers nationwide.
Above and below: Members of Teamsters Local 350 stand in solidarity with members of Teamsters Local 439, who were on strike against Republic Services, in July. | Photos via Instagram @teamsterslocal350
Solidarity Pays Off for Sanitation Workers
Sanitation workers throughout Northern California turned up the pressure on waste disposal giant Republic Services as their brothers and sisters in Stockton fought for — and won — their first contract.
Workers with Stockton-based Teamsters Local 439, a part of Teamsters Joint Council 7, had organized a Republic-managed landfill in Manteca. Negotiations for a first contract stalled, prompting the workers to go on strike and extend their picket lines to other jurisdictions throughout the Bay Area.
After about two weeks, Republic capitulated.
Robert Sandoval, president of Teamsters Local 350 in San Francisco, said that wherever his local had “protection of rights” language, members refused to cross the picket line. He credited San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary–Treasurer Rudy Gonzalez with ensuring that Republic felt the heat in the City.
Sandoval also praised his members for their steadfastness and solidarity.
“My members — they held out for two weeks straight, knowing it wasn’t their strike, knowing they weren’t collecting a paycheck, yet they knew that at the end of the day, it was for the greater good,” Sandoval told Organized Labor.
Grocery Workers Turn Up the Heat, Bag Sweeter Deal
Grocery store workers with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 5, UFCW 8–Golden State, and UFCW Local 648 put the pressure on their employers at the end of July and came out smelling sweeter than the bakery section of your neighborhood chain supermarket.
The three unions represent approximately 25,000 members who are employed by Albertsons, Safeway, and Vons across Northern California and the Bay Area. They were prepared to strike on Sunday, July 27, but at the last minute, management came to the table, and a deal was reached.
The tentative agreement includes meaningful wage increases, a fortified retirement plan, fully funded healthcare benefits, and stronger job protections.
According to UFCW 8, the agreement follows five months of intensive negotiations and around-the-clock bargaining sessions in the final days.
“This moment is the result of our collective strength, determination, and refusal to settle for less,” said UFCW 8 President Jacques Loveall in a statement posted to the local’s website. “Take pride in knowing that your solidarity at the bargaining table delivered a contract that uplifts and protects grocery workers from Bakersfield to the Oregon border.”
As of press time, a ratification vote is pending.
Bad for Your Health: AFSCME Workers Protest Unfair UC Layoffs
Hundreds of unionized workers represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Emloyees (AFSCME) staged one-day strikes last month at UCSF Health and UC San Diego Health to protest what they called unnecessary job cuts.
Service and patient care workers at UCSF Medical Center walked out on July 25 after AFSCME Local 3299 filed unfair labor practice charges, citing the recent layoffs of 130 employees.
“Our members are exercising their legal right to strike because the university’s illegal layoff scheme is both financially unjustified and will hurt patients,” said AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant in a press release.
In San Diego, about 100 service and technical workers represented by Local 3299 picketed on Tuesday, July 22.
All Major Vegas Strip Casinos Now Unionized
Here’s a good bet: All major casinos on the Las Vegas Strip are now unionized, according to the Associated Press. That’s 60,000 workers represented by the Culinary Workers Union (CWU).
The latest to join the fold are employees of the Venetian and the Strip’s newest palace of one-armed bandits, the Fontainebleau.
The Venetian — a union holdout for a quarter century — reached a contract agreement with CWU Local 226 covering more than 4,000 workers.