Featured Stories
A Labor Day Message from National President Randy Erwin
WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 [Category: Union] -- The National Federation of Federal Employees issued the following news release:
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A Labor Day Message from National President Randy Erwin
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Dear NFFE-IAM Brothers and Sisters,
Happy Labor Day to you and your families. This weekend is a celebration of American workers, but more importantly federal employees, and the critical work you do to keep our country running every day.
I am so proud of the dedication NFFE-IAM members have for serving this nation. To our VA professionals caring for our veterans, Defense workers keeping our military ready to
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 [Category: Union] -- The National Federation of Federal Employees issued the following news release:
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A Labor Day Message from National President Randy Erwin
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Dear NFFE-IAM Brothers and Sisters,
Happy Labor Day to you and your families. This weekend is a celebration of American workers, but more importantly federal employees, and the critical work you do to keep our country running every day.
I am so proud of the dedication NFFE-IAM members have for serving this nation. To our VA professionals caring for our veterans, Defense workers keeping our military ready toprotect, USFS and BLM workers maintaining our public lands, wildland firefighters defending our communities, NPS staff stewarding our National Parks, public safety workers keeping our communities safe, passport employees allowing us to travel internationally, and all federal workers providing essential services to the American people - thank you for all that you do!
This Labor Day is especially important as we are in the middle of campaign season and Election Day will be here very soon. It is imperative that working people have representation in Congress, state legislatures, city halls, and in our communities. This means making our voices heard by voting. It also means voting for candidates that are pro-labor and pro-federal employees - those who are running to put working people first, ahead of private interests and their own personal gain.
We must remember that working people have significant power that can improve the lives of all Americans. All the rights and freedoms we have today exist because workers of previous generations fought for them. Now, it is our turn to fight and protect those rights. We must fight to protect our union, and we must fight to protect our democracy - and we can only win that fight if we are in it together in solidarity.
For important Labor Day and Election Day events, please tune in to the AFL-CIO's resources so you can get involved with the labor movement and ensure working people have a voice.
Brothers and Sisters, thank you for the work you do, and for being dedicated members of NFFE.
As always: We work for America every day.
I hope you are having a great Labor Day weekend!
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Original text here: https://www.nffe.org/nffe_news/a-labor-day-message-from-national-president-randy-erwin/
Farm workers mourn Mo Jourdane, who got California to ban el cortito, the crippling short-handled hoe
KEENE, California, Sept. 6 [Category: Union] -- The United Farm Workers issued the following news release:
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Farm workers mourn Mo Jourdane, who got California to ban el cortito, the crippling short-handled hoe
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Mo Jourdane spent his life overcoming multiple tragedies by finding new purpose in changing the lives of underrepresented people and in devotion to family. Shortly before his passing, his son Jonathan asked him what in his life's work made him most proud. He quickly cited representing farm workers. Mo is best known for getting the state of California to abolish use of el cortito,
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KEENE, California, Sept. 6 [Category: Union] -- The United Farm Workers issued the following news release:
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Farm workers mourn Mo Jourdane, who got California to ban el cortito, the crippling short-handled hoe
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Mo Jourdane spent his life overcoming multiple tragedies by finding new purpose in changing the lives of underrepresented people and in devotion to family. Shortly before his passing, his son Jonathan asked him what in his life's work made him most proud. He quickly cited representing farm workers. Mo is best known for getting the state of California to abolish use of el cortito,the infamous short-handled hoe.
Mo, 83, passed away on September 5 following a two-year battle with cancer. Fittingly, it was the end of his favorite season, summer, the surf was up and it was Labor Day weekend, when homage is paid to workers.
Maurice "Mo" Jourdane was born in Los Angeles in 1942 and grew up in Huntington Park: an unlikely protector of farm workers. But as a child he would go to his grandpa's small avocado farm in Vista near Oceanside and learn about the plight of the farm workers picking fruit and learn Spanish.
The first tragedy he overcame was polio, contracted in the third grade during the early 1950s before there was a vaccine. Children were dying and becoming paralyzed. He was treated with hot pads on his legs and swimming. School work was brought home. His response to polio in the year away from the classroom was becoming a relentless academic and athlete.
At 17, he moved to Hawaii to surf the big waves. Then came San Jose State University and the University of California San Francisco School of law, where he graduated at the top of his class.
-Mo's greatest achievement for farm workers was his relentless and successful struggle to outlaw agribusinesses' use of the short hoe. It plagued generations of field workers with crippling injuries by demanding they toil stooped over in backbreaking labor while thinning, weeding and harvesting for as long as 10 or 12 hours per day, often in triple digit heat.
Republican U.S. Senator George Murphy of California infamously said in 1964 that Mexican field workers "are built low to the ground...so it is easier for them to stoop."
Over almost a decade in the 1960s and '70s while working with California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), Mo ceaselessly researched and advocated for a state ban of the hated implement. Through negotiations with employers and administrative and court actions, he overcame stern opposition from the conservative, pro-grower administration of Governor Ronald Reagan. With the ascendency of a new governor, Jerry Brown, in the mid-'70s, Mo and CRLA achieved an epic victory. Working with the United Farm Workers, other CRLA lawyers and volunteers, Mo persuaded the California Supreme Court to compel the state to eliminate use of the hoe in the fields.
Mo chronicled this historic crusade in his 2004 book, El Cortito: The Struggle for the Health and Legal Protection of Farm Workers. His story is a shocking reminder of the shameful oppression plaguing impoverished field laborers into the 1970s. He spent the rest of his life striving to overcome that injustice and always reminding people of the unfinished work, in part by supporting the UFW.
-Spanish-speaking school children in the small southern Monterey County town of Soledad were placed in classrooms for what was called at the time the "mentally retarded" because of low IQ scores on tests administered in English, simply because the students did not comprehend English. Mo filed a class action lawsuit that ultimately stopped the practice in California and ordered 55,000 mis-classified children removed from those classes. This case spurred creation of bilingual education and much needed reforms in special education.
-A teacher in the nearby city of Greenfield was fired for encouraging migrant farm worker children to go to college. Mo's lawsuit got her job back and ended the practice.
-He filed a class action lawsuit in Los Angeles County, Maria P. v. Riles, that stopped school districts from refusing to educate non-citizen students who lacked proof of immigration status.
-Abela v. Riverside Unified School District was a trial on a complaint Mo filed for a junior high school girl who the district claimed it could summarily suspend for fighting as "mentally unfit." He won and halted that practice too.
Mo handled landmark cases as an attorney for the newly formed state Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB). He successfully litigated a case sustaining the ALRB's access rule letting farm workers speak with union organizers in the fields during non-working hours as well as a key case against the big lettuce grower Bruce Church Inc. Throughout his years with CRLA and the ALRB, "If you were an employer abusing your workers and Mo Jourdane was on the other side, you knew you were in trouble," observed son Jonathan Julio Jourdane.
"His mantra that he often repeated was if you see someone being harmed, you do something about it," recalled Olivia Flores Jourdane, his wife and partner of more than 42 years. "That was how he lived his life."
Mo's second tragedy occurred in 1977. He was driving in the early morning from Santa Maria to Bakersfield for interviews with farm workers in an ALRB case. On the pitch-black highway, a big tractor-trailer oil truck pulled out in front of him. He lost an eye. His face was crushed. He was in a coma.
They didn't think he would survive. He was moved to Stanford University Hospital. His face was reconstructed. His jaw was wired shut for a year. He had to re-learn how to speak.
Yet he found new purpose after the accident. Rather than dying, he returned to his good work but also transformed himself from a Southern California surfer and bad-ass litigator into a marathon runner, meeting his wife and starting a family. He found Olivia and became a present dad, first for their daughter Jacquelyn (Jackie) and later Jonathan.
Mo spent three years as a Municipal and Superior Court judge in Monterey County, appointed by Governor Brown. He lost his election when growers organized a deputy district attorney to run against him, spotlighting his disability. After all, Mo had fought for the people the powers that be didn't like.
They started anew in San Diego, and he worked for the Fourth District Court of Appeals until Jerry Brown became state attorney general in 2007 with Mo handling labor cases.
The following year began his third tragedy. Esophageal cancer metastasized to his lymph nodes and liver resulting in four ball-sized cancerous tumors engulfing his liver. Doctors did not expect Mo to survive.
He found an oncologist who would prescribe the most intense chemotherapy. He'd go for treatments and then drive with Olivia to New Mexico to walk door-to-door for Barack Obama's first presidential campaign. He would return to California for more treatments and then go back to knocking on doors for Obama. Mo believed in practicing law to change lives but also saw electoral politics as important.
He was always present as a dad and husband, even when that was hard. Mo eventually had to stop driving after the accident, so getting to work at the Court of Appeals in San Diego required an hour's commute on bus and trolly.
He endured the same drill running to attend his kids' sporting events. His way of being present wasn't as a coach or chatting with other parents. It was jogging for miles from downtown to watch his children's activities-and them knowing what he had to go through to get there.
He cared for the children when Olivia attended night classes to become a teacher. He covered everything from cooking to helping with homework.
Mo also ran 79 marathons, including one under three hours. He wrote three books.
What made him unique was how overcoming adversity became as important as the mountains he climbed for farm workers and others for whom he fought. The same fighting spirit he applied to people's legal struggles helped him overcome his personal hardships. It inspired people from all walks of life-activists, lawyers, immigrants, students, people with disabilities.
Overcoming adversity also meant never caring what others thought about how he looked. From 1977 onward, he often drooled because half his face was numb. When he was invited to speak on high school and college campuses, he would walk in wearing mismatched clothing-oversized khakis, cowboy boots, a sweater and visor. He could look to some homeless, disabled or disfigured.
But when people heard him talk about professional achievements and overcoming personal tragedy, they saw way beyond his appearance. Some students sat with mouths open. "How were you able to do all this?" they'd ask. "You just do it," he replied. "If you see something wrong, you do something about it." Mo offered powerful lessons about empathy without ever saying the word.
He read to his children every night, picking books with morals and values-stories such as The Little Engine That Could.
In the end, when he was in great pain from his second bout with cancer, Mo took joy being around his granddaughter Josephine who will carry on his legacy.
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Original text here: https://ufw.org/farm-workers-mourn-mo-jourdane-who-got-california-to-ban-el-cortito-the-crippling-short-handled-hoe/
National Union of Healthcare Workers: San Francisco Passes Resolution Opposing Kaiser Contract Demands
EMERYVILLE, California, Sept. 5 -- The National Union of Healthcare Workers, a labor union that represents workers in California and Hawaii, issued the following news release:
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San Francisco passes resolution opposing Kaiser contract demands
Following Special Hearing, San Francisco Becomes First City to Pass Resolution Opposing Kaiser Contract Demands That Would Allow it to Outsource Behavioral Healthcare and Replace Frontline Therapists with A.I.
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SAN FRANCISCO -- The 11-member San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution this afternoon calling on Kaiser to withdraw
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EMERYVILLE, California, Sept. 5 -- The National Union of Healthcare Workers, a labor union that represents workers in California and Hawaii, issued the following news release:
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San Francisco passes resolution opposing Kaiser contract demands
Following Special Hearing, San Francisco Becomes First City to Pass Resolution Opposing Kaiser Contract Demands That Would Allow it to Outsource Behavioral Healthcare and Replace Frontline Therapists with A.I.
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SAN FRANCISCO -- The 11-member San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution this afternoon calling on Kaiser to withdrawcontract demands that would set the stage for the giant HMO to lay off therapists, outsource behavioral health services, and use A.I. to replace licensed professionals in treating patients.
Supervisor Chyanne Chen introduced the resolution after she, Board President Rafael Mandelman, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, and Supervisor Shamann Walton called a July 21 hearing where Kaiser mental health therapists, social workers and psychologists, as well as leaders from behavioral health advocacy and professional associations, warned supervisors that Kaiser's proposals risked significantly reducing the quality of its behavioral health services. Kaiser officials refused to participate in the hearing.
"Kaiser is shrugging off the severity of its proposals, but the supervisors weren't fooled," said Tianna Lui, a therapist who works for Kaiser in San Francisco and testified at the hearing. "This resolution is important validation that the public stands with us in preserving human-centered behavioral healthcare that is integrated with Kaiser's medical services."
The resolution calls on Kaiser to "withdraw its 'Terrible Three' contract demands and negotiate in good faith an agreement that maintains the appropriate clinical authority of its behavioral health providers and preserves the integrity of Kaiser's integrated healthcare system."
The proposals that clinicians have been opposing since their contract expired last September center around:
* Artificial intelligence: Kaiser wants to be able to replace therapists with A.I. and exert total control over a technology that stands to dramatically change how therapy is provided. Kaiser is already using A.I. to record therapy sessions and algorithms to screen patients seeking care. It's now unwilling to agree to language it accepted in its Southern California contract, stating that the intention of new technologies like A.I. "is not to replace" clinicians.
* Layoffs and outsourcing: Kaiser is proposing language that would allow it to lay off clinicians in order to refer far more patients to third-party contractors for behavioral health services, divorcing behavioral health from the rest of Kaiser's integrated care model.
* Disempowering clinicians: Kaiser is demanding that the contract state that it has the "sole discretion" to "determine or modify the behavioral health operating and clinical models of care," thereby ending any requirement that it work collaboratively with therapists to improve services.
The HMO is also seeking to reverse critical patient-care protections agreed upon as part of a settlement to end a 10-week strike in 2022.
"Mental wellness is incredibly important, and how we're taking care of our patients and workers, especially with emerging technology, is more important now than ever," Supervisor Chen said. "We all must do our part to protect our workers and patients."
Kaiser is making these proposals despite being under state and federal monitoring over its "failure to provide timely and appropriate access to mental health and substance use disorder services." Kaiser is currently under a $200 million settlement agreement with the California Department of Managed Health Care, signed in 2023; and a $31 million settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, signed earlier this year. Both agreements resolved investigations that were sparked in part by testimony from clinicians.
"Kaiser officials should be eager to work with their clinicians to improve services, but instead they want to sideline them to escape accountability for under-resourcing behavioral healthcare," NUHW President Emeritus Sal Rosselli said. "By taking this stand, San Francisco Supervisors are making it clear to Kaiser that it needs to work with therapists, not replace them with A.I. that won't advocate for patients."
No progress was made toward an agreement during four days of mediation in August, and no additional mediation dates have been set. Clinicians held a one-day strike in March and have authorized a three-day strike, although no strike date has been set.
More details on Kaiser's demands and past actions are available on this fact sheet (https://nuhw.org/wp-content/uploads/Kaiser_IBHS_fact_sheet_SFBOS_hearing_20260701.pdf).
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The National Union of Healthcare Workers is a member-led movement that represents 19,000 healthcare workers in California, Hawai'i, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, including nearly 4,700 Kaiser mental health clinicians and medical professionals.
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Original text here: https://home.nuhw.org/2026/09/02/san-francisco-passes-resolution-opposing-kaiser-contract-demands/
[Category: Union]
Wikimedia Foundation Workers Overwhelmingly Vote to Form Union with CWA
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO Communications Workers of America posted the following news release:
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Wikimedia Foundation Workers Overwhelmingly Vote to Form Union with CWA
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U.S. workers certify first recognized unit as global union movement builds across Wikimedia Foundation
San Francisco, Calif. - U.S.-based workers at Wikimedia Foundation-the nonprofit organization that hosts Wikipedia and sister projects-have won their union election, voting overwhelmingly to join Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9415. The victory marks an important milestone in
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO Communications Workers of America posted the following news release:
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Wikimedia Foundation Workers Overwhelmingly Vote to Form Union with CWA
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U.S. workers certify first recognized unit as global union movement builds across Wikimedia Foundation
San Francisco, Calif. - U.S.-based workers at Wikimedia Foundation-the nonprofit organization that hosts Wikipedia and sister projects-have won their union election, voting overwhelmingly to join Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9415. The victory marks an important milestone ina global movement among Wikimedia Foundation workers to establish collective bargaining through the legal frameworks available in their respective countries.
U.S.-based workers began organizing as a part of the broader Wiki Workers United global union campaign of Wikimedia Foundation workers committed to strengthening worker voice, transparency, equity, and shared stewardship.
"The recognition of our union's first government-sanctioned bargaining unit is a huge milestone in our over ten-year journey to educate, agitate, and organize coworkers," said Bryan Davis, a WWU organizing committee and WWU-US/CWA member. "We continue our petition for recognition in the U.K. and hope to see more jurisdiction-specific units call for voluntary recognition in the coming weeks and months. Solidarity will continue to drive our discussions, planning, and actions as we begin working on our collective goals for contract bargaining to support all WMF workers regardless of legal jurisdiction, job duty, or hours of employment."
In July, U.S.-based workers demanded union recognition after a supermajority of them signed union authorization cards. When management refused to uphold the organization's commitment to respect the rights of workers to freely choose union representation, workers persevered through a union election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
"Today's victory is a demonstration of the power of international solidarity," said Decovan Rhem, President of CWA Local 9415. "WWU-US/CWA members organized across their workplaces and across the world, building support among coworkers internationally and among an incredible community of volunteers and wiki editors. Now, we will take the power our members have built to the bargaining table to negotiate a strong contract that gives Wikimedia workers the voice they have long deserved."
WWU extends its sincere gratitude to the Wikimedia volunteer community. Over 2,000 volunteers and community members who have collectively made more than 15 million edits have publicly signed petitions supporting Wikimedia Foundation workers and affirming the importance of giving workers a meaningful voice in shaping the future of the movement. This petition is the most supported petition in history on the English-language Wikipedia. The WWU Organizing Committee is deeply appreciative of this extraordinary demonstration of solidarity.
"Today's election result is a well-deserved victory not only for Wikimedia U.S. staff, but for everyone who believes in a free, democratic internet. I am proud to be among the 2,000 volunteer editors celebrating this achievement today," said Shushugah, a volunteer Wikipedia editor since 2015 with over 14,000 global edits.
About CODE-CWA
The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) is a union movement of thousands of workers fighting every single day to build the voice and power necessary to ensure the future of the tech, games, and digital industries in the United States and Canada. CODE-CWA is a project of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents hundreds of thousands of workers throughout tech, media, telecom, and other industries who stand together to fight for justice on the job and in our communities.
cwa-union.org @cwaunion
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Original text here: https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/wikimedia-foundation-workers-overwhelmingly-vote-form-union-cwa
U.S. District Court Grants End to 37-Year Federal Monitorship of Teamsters Union
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
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U.S. District Court Grants End to 37-Year Federal Monitorship of Teamsters Union
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Press Contact: Kara Deniz Phone: (202) 497-6610 Email: kdeniz@teamster.org
(WASHINGTON) - After nearly four decades, the U.S. government has officially ended federal monitorship of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, following the approval by the Honorable Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York (Southern District) of a joint motion filed this summer by the union and
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
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U.S. District Court Grants End to 37-Year Federal Monitorship of Teamsters Union
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Press Contact: Kara Deniz Phone: (202) 497-6610 Email: kdeniz@teamster.org
(WASHINGTON) - After nearly four decades, the U.S. government has officially ended federal monitorship of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, following the approval by the Honorable Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York (Southern District) of a joint motion filed this summer by the union andthe Department of Justice (DOJ).
The filing issued on June 17 sought to amend the Final Order established in 2015 and the original Consent Decree policing the union. In 1989, the Southern District and the Teamsters entered into an agreement to eliminate organized crime influence within the union and ensure fair, democratic, member-driven elections. Over the past 37 years, the Teamsters have conducted nine elections and successfully eliminated corrupt elements from the union.
Since the election of Sean M. O'Brien as Teamsters General President in 2021, the Teamsters have built a new system of rigorous checks and balances in which every member complaint is investigated, and when appropriate, referred to legal authorities. O'Brien was re-elected to a second term as General President this summer at the Teamsters 31st International Convention.
In her ruling granting the motion, Judge Preska cited agreement by former federal judge Barbara Jones (ret.) -who has served as the Independent Review Officer monitoring the union -that the Teamsters indeed have "developed the institutional tools, processes, and procedures necessary to adequately detect, investigate, and resolve instances of major corruption."
"True history has been made today for the Teamsters Union that begins a new chapter of self-governance and organizational independence to benefit all rank-and-file members and elected leaders," O'Brien said. "This is the end to the longest monitorship of any union, corporation, nonprofit, or public entity in the history of the United States. Our efforts over the past four years to create a culture of vigilance in our union have proven that we can police our own. The controls in place in the Teamsters today to operate a strong, transparent, and progressive union are more stringent than any labor organization in the country."
Judge Preska in her ruling reiterated that any concerns of potential corruption in the Teamsters or any union should always be referred to the U.S. Department of Labor and the DOJ -and that the court has no intention of being an indefinite monitor. "Generalized concerns regarding the Teamsters should be directed to the Teamsters management or these agencies, not this Court," Judge Preska concluded.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.
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Original text here: https://teamster.org/2026/09/u-s-district-court-grants-end-to-37-year-federal-monitorship-of-teamsters-union/
Federal Wildland Firefighter Overtime Pay Cap Waiver Extended Through 2027
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 [Category: Union] -- The National Federation of Federal Employees issued the following news release:
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Federal Wildland Firefighter Overtime Pay Cap Waiver Extended Through 2027
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Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) is pleased to share that the overtime pay cap for federal wildland firefighters has been waived through the end of calendar year 2027. The original waiver language was implemented in 2021 following NFFE lobbying efforts and has been extended as needed since then. The extension of the 2026 and 2027 waiver was included in the continuing
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 [Category: Union] -- The National Federation of Federal Employees issued the following news release:
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Federal Wildland Firefighter Overtime Pay Cap Waiver Extended Through 2027
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Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) is pleased to share that the overtime pay cap for federal wildland firefighters has been waived through the end of calendar year 2027. The original waiver language was implemented in 2021 following NFFE lobbying efforts and has been extended as needed since then. The extension of the 2026 and 2027 waiver was included in the continuingresolution passed by Congress this week, which also funds the government through December 11, 2026.
During peak fire season, many federal wildland firefighters work extensive overtime while assigned to an incident, but by law, overtime hours are subject to an arbitrary and unfair pay cap. This often leaves our firefighters performing dangerous jobs without full compensation.
NFFE is advocating for the Support our Firefighters Act (H.R. 9444/S. 4271), a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would make this provision permanent and include critical recovery periods for firefighters following long assignments and deployments.
"NFFE is proud to ensure our federal firefighters are appropriately compensated for the work they do to combat the wildfire crisis through 2027," said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. "However, we cannot leave this up to Congress each year when government funding negotiations begin. We must pass the bipartisan Support our Firefighters Act to codify this critical provision into law permanently."
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Original text here: https://www.nffe.org/nffe_news/federal-wildland-firefighter-overtime-pay-cap-waiver-extended-through-2027/
Casino Teamsters Launch Strike at Encore Boston Harbor
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
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Casino Teamsters Launch Strike at Encore Boston Harbor
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Press Contact: Maura Drumm Phone: (215) 510-3735 Email: mdrumm@teamster.org
(EVERETT, Mass.) - More than 1,300 workers at Encore Boston Harbor, represented by Teamsters Local 25 and UNITE HERE Local 26, have been forced to go on strike after the company refused to bargain in good faith for a new contract.
On Thursday, August 20, Teamsters voted 97 percent to authorize a strike if a fair contract wasn't reached.
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
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Casino Teamsters Launch Strike at Encore Boston Harbor
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Press Contact: Maura Drumm Phone: (215) 510-3735 Email: mdrumm@teamster.org
(EVERETT, Mass.) - More than 1,300 workers at Encore Boston Harbor, represented by Teamsters Local 25 and UNITE HERE Local 26, have been forced to go on strike after the company refused to bargain in good faith for a new contract.
On Thursday, August 20, Teamsters voted 97 percent to authorize a strike if a fair contract wasn't reached.Encore Boston Harbor Teamsters are demanding a contract that delivers better wages, stronger benefits, and enhanced protections on the job.
"Encore management has pushed our members to the brink because they thought they could take our labor for granted," said Tommy Blitsch, Director of the Teamsters Convention, Trade Show, and Casino Division. "If Encore wants its casino running, it needs the workers who make it run. And the Teamsters are standing up and fighting back."
The group includes 211 Teamsters who work in the warehouse, horticulture, call center, cage cashiers, limo drivers, dispatchers, traffic attendants, valet and guest experience attendants. They are crucial to Encore's operations as a five-star resort.
"We make Encore a world-class resort that generates enormous profits because of our hard work," said James Atkins, lead gardener and chief steward at Local 25. "We didn't want to strike but we won't accept a contract that blatantly disrespects our labor. We're on the picket line and will stay out as long as it takes to get a fair deal."
Encore took in $847 million in Boston last year, yet management refused to come back to the table and offer any meaningful improvements, even after the strike authorization vote.
"Encore slow-walked negotiations and played games with our members, and now they're going to see how big of a mistake that was," said Thomas G. Mari, President of Local 25. "When a company refuses to respect the workers who make its profits possible, we shut it down. The Teamsters don't cross picket lines and won't be intimidated."
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.
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Original text here: https://teamster.org/2026/09/casino-teamsters-launch-strike-at-encore-boston-harbor/
