Featured Stories
Sacramento Waste Management Workers Join Teamsters
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
* * *
Sacramento Waste Management Workers Join Teamsters
*
Press Contact: Lena Melentijevic Phone: (347) 208-2279 Email: LMelentijevic@teamster.org
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - Waste Management workers in Sacramento, Calif., have voted to join Teamsters Local 150. The 69 drivers, mechanics, and welders overcame a vicious union-busting campaign to secure strong Teamsters representation.
"This win was a long time coming, and it did not come easy. Waste Management went to desperate
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
* * *
Sacramento Waste Management Workers Join Teamsters
*
Press Contact: Lena Melentijevic Phone: (347) 208-2279 Email: LMelentijevic@teamster.org
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - Waste Management workers in Sacramento, Calif., have voted to join Teamsters Local 150. The 69 drivers, mechanics, and welders overcame a vicious union-busting campaign to secure strong Teamsters representation.
"This win was a long time coming, and it did not come easy. Waste Management went to desperatelengths trying to stop us from unionizing -everything from forcing us to attend captive audience meetings to spending huge amounts of money on union busters," said Francisco Covarrubias, a seven-year Waste Management worker and proud new Teamster. "Waste Management's aggression only made it clearer why we need a strong union in our corner. Now that we're Teamsters, we can finally start working to negotiate a first contract that forces management to treat us with respect."
The new Teamsters provide waste collection services throughout the capital of California. They are the first waste workers in the city of Sacramento to join the Teamsters.
"Local 150 is very proud of our new brothers and sisters for driving this victory. Waste Management was ruthless in trying to block them from becoming Teamsters. But the company's union busting only made these workers stronger," said Dale Wentz, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 150. "This is Local 150's first waste organizing win in the City of Sacramento. We look forward to continuing to expand our reach throughout the city using the playbook these workers courageously wrote."
Waste Management is the largest solid waste and recycling company in North America. Last year, the company's workers generated $25 billion in revenue. The Teamsters Union proudly represents thousands of Waste Management workers across the country.
Teamsters Local 150 represents approximately 9,000 members across Northern California, primarily in Sacramento. For more information, go to teamsters150.org.
***
Original text here: https://teamster.org/2026/09/sacramento-waste-management-workers-join-teamsters/
AFT Demands Financial Regulators Investigate AI Bubble Risks to Workers' Retirement Security
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 [Category: Union] (TNSida) -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release:
* * *
AFT Demands Financial Regulators Investigate AI Bubble Risks to Workers' Retirement Security
*
WASHINGTON-Today, AFT President Randi Weingarten sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who chairs the Financial Stability Oversight Council, urging an immediate investigation into serious financial risks from the artificial intelligence sector's rapid debt-laden expansion. The letter from the head of the 1.875 million-member union calls for swift action
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 [Category: Union] (TNSida) -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release:
* * *
AFT Demands Financial Regulators Investigate AI Bubble Risks to Workers' Retirement Security
*
WASHINGTON-Today, AFT President Randi Weingarten sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who chairs the Financial Stability Oversight Council, urging an immediate investigation into serious financial risks from the artificial intelligence sector's rapid debt-laden expansion. The letter from the head of the 1.875 million-member union calls for swift actionto address the existential threat these dangers carry for AFT members' retirement security and the U.S. economy as a whole.
AFT members' deferred wages sit in pensions and retirement funds with over $4 trillion in combined assets and include investments in AI-related firms. Weingarten's letter followed concerns expressed by members of the AFT Trustee Council who help oversee those funds.
"The alarm bells could not ring any louder," said Weingarten. "If President Donald Trump won't act to protect working people's deferred wages from the dangers AI poses to the U.S. economy, public officials need to act. Educators, nurses and public employees didn't create this AI bubble, and they shouldn't be the ones who pay for it if it bursts.
"Our members have already lived through one devastating financial crisis that set workers back financially for more than a decade, and we will not stand by while regulators look the other way as Wall Street piles up trillions in hidden debt and circular deals to chase the next valuation high."
The letter was sent ahead of Bessent testifying today before the House Financial Services Committee about the state of the international financial system and before Weingarten meets with members of the AFT Trustee Council to discuss dire warnings from AI executives over the industry's trajectory. This week, Trump brazenly dismissed calls to slow the pace of AI development.
In her letter, Weingarten pressed Bessent and the financial regulatory agency heads that make up the FSOC to disclose information to the public regarding a web of connected hazards: inflated AI stock values clustered among a few firms, a growing mismatch between AI investment spending and AI income, expanding debt kept off balance sheets, questionable accounting practices, round-robin funding deals between AI companies and their backers, and tighter links among private credit, banking, insurers and private equity.
She called on public officials to avoid a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis and reject any future possibility of a taxpayer-financed bailout of AI firms, their leaders or their financiers as a remedy for a crisis engineered, once again, by Wall Street itself.
The AFT letter follows a November 2025 note from 22 members of the House Financial Services Committee and a January 2026 letter from Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Van Hollen and Tina Smith, both requesting that FSOC form an AI task force and update Congress.
"AI companies' addiction to debt could trigger the next financial crash. It threatens to devastate workers and crush retirement savings. Now big AI companies are considering going public just as our financial regulators have stopped doing their jobs, potentially exposing more families to these risks. Instead of giving Big Tech handouts and deregulating Wall Street, the Trump administration should use the tools at its disposal to safeguard our working-class families and financial system from a potential AI bubble," said Warren, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
The Treasury Department's response so far has been to weaken FSOC's ability to guard against financial crises, even as former International Monetary Fund economists have cautioned that a "dot-bomb"-like collapse in AI equities could erase $20 trillion from American household wealth-$3 trillion greater than the loss suffered in the 2008 meltdown.
In response, Warren and Blumenthal proposed the AI Bubble Transparency Act in June 2026 to require FSOC to compile the very data it has so far declined to gather. That legislation has since stalled.
"FSOC exists for exactly this moment," added Weingarten. "It needs to do its job, get the data, tell the public the truth and take steps now to reduce the risk building in our financial system. We need to be clear right now-to both FSOC and our elected officials-that if they fail to act and prevent this bubble from bursting, there will be no bailout for AI behemoths or the financiers behind them if it all comes crashing down."
* * *
INFODOC: https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2026/AFTFSOCLtr.pdf
***
Original text here: https://www.aft.org/press-release/aft-demands-financial-regulators-investigate-ai-bubble-risks-workers-retirement (TNSmlt)
Transit Workers in Augusta, Georgia Ratify New Three-Year Contract with Major Raises and Improved Benefits
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- The Transport Workers Union of America issued the following news release:
* * *
Transit Workers in Augusta, Georgia Ratify New Three-Year Contract with Major Raises and Improved Benefits
*
Transport Workers Union of America Local 527 ratified a new three-year contract with MV-Transit in Augusta, Georgia, securing significant raises and quality-of-life improvements. TWU Local 527 represents Fixed Route & Paratransit Bus Operators, Rural Bus Operators, Mechanics, Utility Workers, Customer Service Clerks, and Parts Clerks working for MV-Transit at Augusta
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- The Transport Workers Union of America issued the following news release:
* * *
Transit Workers in Augusta, Georgia Ratify New Three-Year Contract with Major Raises and Improved Benefits
*
Transport Workers Union of America Local 527 ratified a new three-year contract with MV-Transit in Augusta, Georgia, securing significant raises and quality-of-life improvements. TWU Local 527 represents Fixed Route & Paratransit Bus Operators, Rural Bus Operators, Mechanics, Utility Workers, Customer Service Clerks, and Parts Clerks working for MV-Transit at AugustaTransit.
Starting wages increased from $17.48 to $20 per hour and wages this year will increase on average by 13.31% for all workers and job titles. Over the life of the agreement, the highest wage increase is 30% with an average of 20% among all workers. Everyone in the bargaining unit will also receive a $1,000 ratification bonus.
The agreement comes a month after the TWU raised the prospect of a strike after months of negotiations.
"The wage increases and quality-of-life improvements in this contract are a significant win for Augusta Transit workers," TWU International President John Samuelsen said. "Local 527 made clear to management that their substandard offers and months of slow-walking negotiations were unacceptable, and it led to a contract victory. This is another successful fightback campaign for the TWU."
Local 527 also decreased the amount members must pay for medical, dental, and vision insurance from 30% to 25% of costs, with MV Transit agreeing to increase their share from 70% to 75%. Management must also respond to leave requests within three business days or else the leave is automatically approved, and denials for leave must include a written reason.
"I'm proud that we were able to win a contract that is significantly better than management's initial proposals," Local 527 President Benyoel T. Morgan said. "We were able to work through issues and secure wins on wages, benefits, attendance policies, safety policies, vacation, and staffing concerns."
Other highlights of the agreement include:
- Language guaranteeing bargaining rights in response to changes in working conditions during the life of the agreement.
-Revised language removing provisions that limited Local 527's rights in what court it can file a lawsuit for violations of the contract.
-Protected a minimum 10 working day notice for layoffs, and modified current language increasing the number of days a laid off worker has to choose to return to work from seven to 14 days, starting from when the company offers a worker their job back.
-Sick leave is established at 12 days per year, with workers allowed to convert four days into personal days.\
-Workers who choose to work on holidays and receive holiday pay will also receive credit for time worked during holidays for the purposes of calculating overtime.
-Workers who serve as Behind the Wheel Trainers receive an extra $2 per hour for all hours worked in the training role.
-Pre-trip bus inspections increase from 10 minutes to 15 minutes for fixed routes, a win for safety.
-Management must notify workers two weeks in advance before making changes in hours or shift assignments.
-New language modifies the company attendance point policy to ensure just cause is applied when assigning points.
-New language codified that all new work be union work.
TWU Local 527 and MV Transit previously engaged in two dozen bargaining sessions beginning in November of 2025 for a contract that expired on January 31, 2026. MV Transit was awarded a contract for the operation and maintenance of Augusta's public transit system beginning in 2026, taking over from the previous operator.
***
Original text here: https://www.twu.org/transit-workers-in-augusta-georgia-ratify-new-three-year-contract-with-major-raises-and-improved-benefits/
Nurses from Kaiser and Sutter systems plan joint protest in Oakland
SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- National Nurses United issued the following news release:
* * *
Nurses from Kaiser and Sutter systems plan joint protest in Oakland
*
Registered nurses from the Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health systems will hold an joint protest on Sept. 16 to rally for strong contracts to improve patient care at two of the Bay's biggest hospital systems. Combined at both systems, more than 35,000 nurses are represented by California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) in active contract negotiations.
Who: Kaiser and Sutter nurses
What:
... Show Full Article
SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- National Nurses United issued the following news release:
* * *
Nurses from Kaiser and Sutter systems plan joint protest in Oakland
*
Registered nurses from the Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health systems will hold an joint protest on Sept. 16 to rally for strong contracts to improve patient care at two of the Bay's biggest hospital systems. Combined at both systems, more than 35,000 nurses are represented by California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) in active contract negotiations.
Who: Kaiser and Sutter nurses
What:Joint protest for strong contracts for California nurses and patients
When: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 3 p.m.
Where: CNA/NNU Headquarters, 155 Grand Ave., Oakland, Calif.; on south side of building
"It's clear to us as nurses that both Kaiser and Sutter are very worried about expanding their business empires throughout the country," said Deb Capistrano, RN in telemetry at Kaiser San Francisco. "We refuse to let that expansion come at the expense of our patients. We know our contracts have helped turn our hospitals into some of the best in the country, and we're fighting for safe staffing and A.I. protections to keep it that way."
Kaiser nurses recently held informational pickets at 22 facilities to demand safer staffing and protections for patients and health care workers when management attempts to implement artificial intelligence technologies. Kaiser's footprint is expanding not only within the Bay Area, but across the country through its subsidiary Risant Health, which recently acquired Cone Health, and through its joint venture with Renown Health.
"We've had to fight Sutter in the past to invest in our communities and provide vital services for our patients," said Jessica Fernandez, RN in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Sutter Delta Medical Center. "Which is why it's strange to us that they seem so worried about buying new facilities across the country. We want Sutter to work with us on taking care of our patients here in California."
CNA/NNU represents more than 25,000 registered nurses at 22 Kaiser facilities and more than 10,000 nurses at 18 Sutter facilities in bargaining in California.
California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.
***
Original text here: https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/nurses-from-kaiser-and-sutter-systems-plan-joint-protest-in-oakland
California Waste Solutions Teamsters Ratify Contract
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
* * *
California Waste Solutions Teamsters Ratify Contract
*
(SAN JOSE, Calif.) - Over 60 California Waste Solutions drivers and mechanics in San Jose, Calif., represented by Teamsters Local 350, have overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year contract, locking in substantial raises, protections for relief employees, improved work rules, and additional vacation time.
"With today's economic challenges, our members now more than ever are rising up to demand respect and dignity
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
* * *
California Waste Solutions Teamsters Ratify Contract
*
(SAN JOSE, Calif.) - Over 60 California Waste Solutions drivers and mechanics in San Jose, Calif., represented by Teamsters Local 350, have overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year contract, locking in substantial raises, protections for relief employees, improved work rules, and additional vacation time.
"With today's economic challenges, our members now more than ever are rising up to demand respect and dignityin their workplaces. With this strong contract, they have shown their commitment to raising the bar for workers across the entire waste industry," said Sergio Arranaga, a business agent for Local 350 and chief negotiator for the bargaining unit. "We carried the unit's energy into negotiations and collectively delivered strong results."
California Waste Solutions workers provide vital residential recycling services to over 170,000 households throughout the San Jose area.
"Every time we sit down at the bargaining table, we know the expectation of the members is to raise the bar. This contract does exactly that with strong economic improvements, new work protections, and an industry-leading ninth week of vacation time," said Robert Sandoval, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 350. "A big thank you and congratulations to our bargaining committee members who stood strong and united during negotiations to ensure the contract delivered what their co-workers demanded."
Teamsters Local 350 represents members in the public sector and solid waste, recycling, and linen industries, across San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito Counties. For more information, visit teamsters350.com.
***
Original text here: https://teamster.org/2026/09/california-waste-solutions-teamsters/
California Waste Solutions Teamsters
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
* * *
California Waste Solutions Teamsters
*
Press Contact: Alexandra Banash Phone: (510) 418-2612 Email: alexandra@teamjc7.org
(SAN JOSE, Calif.) - Over 60 California Waste Solutions drivers and mechanics in San Jose, Calif., represented by Teamsters Local 350, have overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year contract, locking in substantial raises, protections for relief employees, improved work rules, and additional vacation time.
"With today's economic challenges, our members
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
* * *
California Waste Solutions Teamsters
*
Press Contact: Alexandra Banash Phone: (510) 418-2612 Email: alexandra@teamjc7.org
(SAN JOSE, Calif.) - Over 60 California Waste Solutions drivers and mechanics in San Jose, Calif., represented by Teamsters Local 350, have overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year contract, locking in substantial raises, protections for relief employees, improved work rules, and additional vacation time.
"With today's economic challenges, our membersnow more than ever are rising up to demand respect and dignity in their workplaces. With this strong contract, they have shown their commitment to raising the bar for workers across the entire waste industry," said Sergio Arranaga, a business agent for Local 350 and chief negotiator for the bargaining unit. "We carried the unit's energy into negotiations and collectively delivered strong results."
California Waste Solutions workers provide vital residential recycling services to over 170,000 households throughout the San Jose area.
"Every time we sit down at the bargaining table, we know the expectation of the members is to raise the bar. This contract does exactly that with strong economic improvements, new work protections, and an industry-leading ninth week of vacation time," said Robert Sandoval, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 350. "A big thank you and congratulations to our bargaining committee members who stood strong and united during negotiations to ensure the contract delivered what their co-workers demanded."
Teamsters Local 350 represents members in the public sector and solid waste, recycling, and linen industries, across San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito Counties. For more information, visit teamsters350.com.
***
Original text here: https://teamster.org/2026/09/california-waste-solutions-teamsters/
AAUP and AFT Call on Linda McMahon to Halt Unlawful Political Interference and Protect Academic Freedom
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release:
* * *
AAUP and AFT Call on Linda McMahon to Halt Unlawful Political Interference and Protect Academic Freedom
*
WASHINGTON-Today, in a direct response to Education Secretary Linda McMahon's "A National Call to Action to University Presidents and Governing Boards" (often known as "Compact 2.0"), American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson and AFT President Randi Weingarten issued a letter demanding that the Trump administration immediately cease weaponizing
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release:
* * *
AAUP and AFT Call on Linda McMahon to Halt Unlawful Political Interference and Protect Academic Freedom
*
WASHINGTON-Today, in a direct response to Education Secretary Linda McMahon's "A National Call to Action to University Presidents and Governing Boards" (often known as "Compact 2.0"), American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson and AFT President Randi Weingarten issued a letter demanding that the Trump administration immediately cease weaponizingtaxpayer funds and civil rights enforcement to politically coerce colleges and universities to adopt their authoritarian agenda.
Wolfson and Weingarten's letter, "A National Call to Action to the Secretary of Education," demands an end to arbitrary grant cancellations and funding threats; explicit protections for academic freedom and freedom of speech for students, staff and faculty; a rejection of government-mandated ideological censorship; guardrails for artificial intelligence; and protection for all students and scholars regardless of whether their research and opinions align with the current presidential administration.
The AAUP and the AFT have given McMahon a 30-day deadline to provide written assurance that no college or university will face federal retaliation or receive favorable treatment based on how they respond to McMahon's Compact 2.0 letter.
The full "A National Call to Action to the Secretary of Education" can be found here.
***
Original text here: https://www.aft.org/press-release/aaup-and-aft-call-linda-mcmahon-halt-unlawful-political-interference-and-protect
