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North America's Building Trades Unions Names Cassandra L. Robertson Director of Capital Strategies
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The AFL-CIO North America's Building Trades Unions issued the following news release on Aug. 13, 2026:
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North America's Building Trades Unions Names Cassandra L. Robertson Director of Capital Strategies
North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) today announced that Cassandra L. Robertson, Ph.D., has joined the organization as Director of Capital Strategies. In this role, she will help advance NABTU's efforts to ensure workers' capital creates union jobs and strong workforce pipelines, while promoting economic development and growth.
Dr. Robertson brings extensive
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The AFL-CIO North America's Building Trades Unions issued the following news release on Aug. 13, 2026:
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North America's Building Trades Unions Names Cassandra L. Robertson Director of Capital Strategies
North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) today announced that Cassandra L. Robertson, Ph.D., has joined the organization as Director of Capital Strategies. In this role, she will help advance NABTU's efforts to ensure workers' capital creates union jobs and strong workforce pipelines, while promoting economic development and growth.
Dr. Robertson brings extensiveexperience at the intersection of labor, government, industry, and finance. Most recently, she served as Director of Strategy at Ullico, the nation's only labor-owned insurance and investment company. Prior to that, she served as Special Assistant to the President at the White House National Economic Council, where she led labor, workforce, and federal investment initiatives and helped shape policies designed to ensure that major public and private investments create high-quality jobs for working people.
"At a time when historic investments are reshaping our economy, it is more important than ever that workers have a seat at the table and a stake in the prosperity they help create," said NABTU President Sean McGarvey. "Cassie understands how capital, policy, and workforce development come together to drive economic growth. She has a rare ability to bridge the worlds of labor, finance, and public policy, and she has spent her career building partnerships that connect investment to opportunity. She brings exactly the kind of strategic leadership NABTU needs as we work to ensure that investments in infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, and technology create long-term value for workers and communities. We are thrilled to welcome her to our leadership team."
Dr. Robertson will work closely with labor leaders, institutional investors, pension funds, developers, employers, and policymakers to advance capital strategies that support high-road investments, worker-focused industrial policy, workforce development, and responsible economic growth.
"I'm honored to join NABTU at such a consequential moment for working people and the industries that are building our future," Robertson said. "The Building Trades have long demonstrated that strong labor standards, skilled workers, and strategic investment create better outcomes for workers, communities, and investors alike. I look forward to expanding the partnerships and strategies that generate opportunity, strengthen our workforce, and ensure that investment delivers lasting value for working families and our nation."
Robertson holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Her academic and professional work has focused on economic mobility, workforce development, labor markets, and the policies that shape opportunity in America.
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About NABTU: North America's Building Trades Unions is an alliance of 14 national and international unions in the building and construction industry, collectively representing more than 3.2 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada. Each year, our unions and signatory contractor partners invest in excess of $3 billion in private-sector money to fund and operate over 1,900 apprenticeship training and education facilities across North America that produce the safest, most highly trained, and most productive skilled craft workers anywhere in the world. NABTU is dedicated to creating economic security and employment opportunities for construction workers by safeguarding wage and benefit standards, promoting responsible private capital investment, investing in renowned apprenticeship and training, and creating more construction career pathways to the middle class for women, communities of color, Indigenous people, veterans, and the justice-involved. For more information, please visit nabtu.org.
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Original text here: https://nabtu.org/press_releases/north-americas-building-trades-unions-names-cassandra-l-robertson-director-of-capital-strategies/
[Category: Union]
NABTU and Meta Announce New Partnership to Invest in Skilled Trades for the AI Era
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The AFL-CIO North America's Building Trades Unions issued the following news release on Aug. 12, 2026:
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NABTU AND META ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP TO INVEST IN SKILLED TRADES FOR THE AI ERA
Meta and North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) today announced a new partnership to support skilled trades workers across the country, with plans to grow their investment and scale their efforts together over time.
"NABTU is proud to partner with Meta. The Future Is For Everyone Fund is exactly the kind of investment communities across America need and will value," said
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The AFL-CIO North America's Building Trades Unions issued the following news release on Aug. 12, 2026:
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NABTU AND META ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP TO INVEST IN SKILLED TRADES FOR THE AI ERA
Meta and North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) today announced a new partnership to support skilled trades workers across the country, with plans to grow their investment and scale their efforts together over time.
"NABTU is proud to partner with Meta. The Future Is For Everyone Fund is exactly the kind of investment communities across America need and will value," saidSean McGarvey, President of NABTU. "We look forward to working together to ensure the future of America is built by the men and women of America--all that's needed is the workforce planning, industry partnerships, and sustained investment required to connect people with the jobs and family-sustaining careers".
"We are so proud to work with NABTU on this partnership," said Dina Powell McCormick, President and Vice Chairman of Meta. "I have had the privilege of working with President McGarvey since I took on this new role and we are so excited to work together on skilled trades. This is an important moment, and these men and women of the skilled trades are building the American infrastructure needed to ensure America's values lead the AI race globally."
The partnership comes as the country's AI infrastructure buildout is driving unprecedented demand for highly skilled tradespeople. The people building this infrastructure are essential to the AI economy, and Meta and NABTU share a commitment to ensuring these workers have real access to the training, credentials, and full-time jobs this moment requires.
Building on Meta's Future Is For Everyone Fund--launched earlier this week to invest directly in communities' teachers, first responders, and energy and water infrastructure--this partnership reflects a shared, long-term commitment to ensuring the workers and communities building America's AI infrastructure benefit directly. Meta's Workforce Academy will work with NABTU's trusted Registered Apprenticeship programs to build strong career pathways into the skilled trades for participants.
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Original text here: https://nabtu.org/press_releases/nabtu-and-meta-announce-new-partnership/
[Category: Union]
AFL-CIO Report Shows Top CEOs Made 312 Times Workers' Pay in 2025
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (TNSrep) -- The AFL-CIO issued the following news release:
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AFL-CIO Report Shows Top CEOs Made 312 Times Workers' Pay in 2025
New research shows S&P 500 CEOs received $22.8 million on average in 2025, a 21% increase from the previous year, while working people struggle to make ends meet.
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S&P 500 CEOs took home an average pay of $22.8 million in 2025 and made 312 times the wage of the median U.S. worker, up from 285 times in 2024, the AFL-CIO's 2026 Executive Paywatch report showed. While working Americans are struggling over every bill, every purchase and every
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (TNSrep) -- The AFL-CIO issued the following news release:
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AFL-CIO Report Shows Top CEOs Made 312 Times Workers' Pay in 2025
New research shows S&P 500 CEOs received $22.8 million on average in 2025, a 21% increase from the previous year, while working people struggle to make ends meet.
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S&P 500 CEOs took home an average pay of $22.8 million in 2025 and made 312 times the wage of the median U.S. worker, up from 285 times in 2024, the AFL-CIO's 2026 Executive Paywatch report showed. While working Americans are struggling over every bill, every purchase and everypaycheck, corporate CEOs are doing better than ever.
The AFL-CIO's annual report analyzes new data on growing pay disparity between S&P 500 CEOs and the workers who make their companies profitable. Thanks to a 21% increase over the previous year, this year's report shows the highest-ever level of executive compensation in three decades of tracking--not including Elon Musk's $158.3 billion pay package, who became a trillionaire this year--a figure so high it would have skewed the data on its own.
Key findings include:
* Factoring in Musk's $158.3 billion Tesla pay package, the average S&P CEO pay exploded to $340.1 million in annual salary, a 1,700% increase from 2024. Musk's total compensation alone was 2,522,203 times the median Tesla worker's pay in 2025.
* President Trump returned to the White House and cashed in on $2.2 billion in income in 2025--almost a 254% increase from what he received in 2024. The median U.S. worker would need 43,154 years to earn what Trump made in his first year back in office.
* Workers' share of U.S. national income fell to its lowest level since World War II. While their bosses rake in millions, workers at Amazon, Dollar Tree, FedEx, McDonald's and Walmart are among the highest users of public assistance, relying on programs like Medicaid and SNAP to make ends meet.
* As CEOs gave themselves a 21% raise, 16% of adults cannot pay all their bills in full, 26% skipped medical care due to cost, 37% do not have enough cash to cover a $400 emergency expense and 23% of renters fell behind on their rent in the past year.
"As shown in our latest Paywatch report, executive compensation has reached a new, shameful high," said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond. "Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire. Donald Trump raked in over $2 billion since the 2024 election. Meanwhile, working Americans are struggling to feed their kids and pay their electric bills. But there's a better economy we can build for working people. That's why the labor movement will continue to fight for every worker to have a union contract that begins to level the playing field and ensures they take home the share of the profit they create. And it's why we are spending every day until November organizing and mobilizing 16 million union voters to elect pro-worker politicians who will work for us, not wealthy CEOs."
The full report and findings can be viewed at paywatch.org. The Executive Paywatch database includes CEO compensation data filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and collected by CSuiteComp.com for more than 3,800 corporations. Additional information about the methodology of this research can be found here.
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Original text here: https://aflcio.org/press/releases/afl-cio-report-shows-top-ceos-made-312-times-workers-pay-2025
[Category: Union]
Microsoft XBOX Workers 'Extremely Concerned' Over Artificial Intelligence, New Survey Finds
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 [Category: Union] (TNSrep) -- The AFL-CIO Communications Workers of America posted the following news release:
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Microsoft XBOX Workers 'Extremely Concerned' Over Artificial Intelligence, New Survey Finds
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Microsoft XBOX workers are calling on the company to respect their critical role in identifying appropriate use cases for generative artificial intelligence by negotiating a strong union contract.
(NATIONWIDE) -As XBOX workers negotiate their first union contracts with Microsoft, generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is a significant sticking point with management.
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 [Category: Union] (TNSrep) -- The AFL-CIO Communications Workers of America posted the following news release:
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Microsoft XBOX Workers 'Extremely Concerned' Over Artificial Intelligence, New Survey Finds
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Microsoft XBOX workers are calling on the company to respect their critical role in identifying appropriate use cases for generative artificial intelligence by negotiating a strong union contract.
(NATIONWIDE) -As XBOX workers negotiate their first union contracts with Microsoft, generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is a significant sticking point with management.A new survey (https://cwa-union.org/sites/default/files/2026-08/20260806_msft_xbox_ai_survey_findings.pdf) of video game workers finds that the workers who develop beloved video game franchises are determined to protect human creativity and job quality from corrosive uses of AI.
The survey, conducted by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in collaboration with researchers at Cornell University and Western University, surveyed 759 video game workers about GAI, including hundreds at Microsoft XBOX studios. This preliminary report summarizes findings from respondents who identified their employer as a Microsoft XBOX studio (209 respondents) and those who identified their employer as a non-Microsoft studio (155) and excludes respondents who did not provide their employer. Findings include:
* A majority of workers expressed concern that AI would be used to replace some or all parts of their jobs, with 40% extremely concerned and another 20% moderately concerned.
* Microsoft studio respondents were significantly more likely than workers at other video game companies to report risks of layoffs within the next two years driven specifically by automation and outsourcing. Over 54% of Microsoft workers felt that automation- or outsourcing-related layoffs were somewhat or very likely, compared to less than 35% of workers at other studios.
* Among those respondents who use GAI, a majority agreed that it creates additional work correcting mistakes (59%), while 50% agreed that it makes work more stressful and 56% disagreed that it improves the quality of games.
* Regarding the degree of worker influence over the use of GAI, Microsoft respondents reported less influence compared to non-Microsoft respondents. Only 27% of respondents from Microsoft studios reported having high levels of influence over how they used GAI tools in their work, compared to 42% from non-Microsoft studios.
* The issues of highest concern across all survey respondents, with over 70% reporting they were 'extremely concerned,' were ethical: concerns with AI stealing intellectual property and having a negative environmental impact.
"Our data show that fears and frustrations about AI are real and warranted," said Johanna Weststar, Western University Associate Professor of Management & Organizational Studies. "Game workers are no stranger to technological innovation, and their expertise and experience can improve AI implementation decisions."
CWA-represented XBOX workers are the developers, artists, engineers, producers, user researchers, and customer support staff behind some of the video game industry's most profitable games, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and more.
As XBOX workers ramp up their public mobilizations calling for Microsoft to bargain more constructively, these survey findings demonstrate workers are the conscience of the video game industry. XBOX workers are calling on company leaders to embrace a high-road approach to the development and implementation of GAI that centers workers and the quality of the games that they take such care to produce.
About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.
cwa-union.org @cwaunion
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Original text here: https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/microsoft-xbox-workers-extremely-concerned-over-artificial-intelligence-new-survey
Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Delaware's Chris Coons and Sarah McBride for Reelection to Congress
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Government Employees issued the following news release:
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Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Delaware's Chris Coons and Sarah McBride for Reelection to Congress
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AFGE says Coons and McBride will fight the attacks on federal workers' jobs and union rights
CORAOPOLIS, Pa. - The American Federation of Government Employees today announced its endorsements of Christopher Coons for reelection to the U.S. Senate and Sarah McBride for reelection to the U.S. House representing Delaware in the 2026 elections. The
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Government Employees issued the following news release:
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Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Delaware's Chris Coons and Sarah McBride for Reelection to Congress
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AFGE says Coons and McBride will fight the attacks on federal workers' jobs and union rights
CORAOPOLIS, Pa. - The American Federation of Government Employees today announced its endorsements of Christopher Coons for reelection to the U.S. Senate and Sarah McBride for reelection to the U.S. House representing Delaware in the 2026 elections. Thestatewide primary is Sept. 15, and the general election is Nov. 3.
Chris Coons, U.S. Senate
Sen. Chris Coons fights for our values and our future, ensuring every Delawarean has access to opportunity, security, and justice. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and currently serves on five committees: Appropriations, Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Ethics. He previously served as president of the New Castle County Council and spent six years as county executive. He lives in Wilmington with his wife Annie, with whom he has three adult children.
"Chris Coons has supported our union and federal workers in Delaware. He voted in support of an amendment to the fiscal 2025 budget bill to protect collective bargaining rights and prohibit attacks on federal employees," AFGE District 3 National Vice President Philip Glover said. "We need to keep Senator Coons in the U.S. Senate to push back on all the attacks against federal workers."
Sarah McBride, U.S. House
Rep. Sarah McBride proudly represents our country's first state, Delaware, as its sole member in the U.S. House of Representatives. McBride grew up in Wilmington and has been serving our state for decades as a public servant and advocate. She served as state senator for the First State Senate District from 2020-2025, worked for former Gov. Jack Markell and the late Attorney General Beau Biden, and served as the national spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign.
"Sarah McBride has supported our union and federal workers in Delaware. She voted in support of H.R. 2550, the Protect America's Workforce Act, which would rescind President Trump's executive order banning collective bargaining for most of the federal workforce," Glover said. "We need to keep Representative McBride in the House of Representatives to push back on all the attacks against federal workers."
More than 12,976 federal employees live in Delaware - caring for veterans, supporting the military, and getting Social Security recipients their benefits accurately and on time.
AFGE is the largest federal employee union in the country, representing more than 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers in all functions of government. AFGE represents nearly 33,000 federal employees in District 3, which includes Delaware and Pennsylvania.
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Original text here: https://www.afge.org/link/b1941db48d8c4ef39c9d9cb80811270a.aspx
After Years of Union Advocacy, NFFE Achieves Victory in Providing Hazardous Duty Pay for Prescribed Fire Activities
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 [Category: Union] -- The National Federation of Federal Employees issued the following news release:
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After Years of Union Advocacy, NFFE Achieves Victory in Providing Hazardous Duty Pay for Prescribed Fire Activities
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Washington, DC - Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) applauds the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for finalizing a rule to add prescribed wildland fire activities to the Firefighting Hazardous Duty Pay (HDP) category for General Schedule employees and Firefighting Environmental Differential Pay (EDP) category for Federal
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 [Category: Union] -- The National Federation of Federal Employees issued the following news release:
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After Years of Union Advocacy, NFFE Achieves Victory in Providing Hazardous Duty Pay for Prescribed Fire Activities
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Washington, DC - Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) applauds the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for finalizing a rule to add prescribed wildland fire activities to the Firefighting Hazardous Duty Pay (HDP) category for General Schedule employees and Firefighting Environmental Differential Pay (EDP) category for FederalWage System employees.
Specifically, the rule applies to firefighting activities on the fireline related to the preparation, implementation, and control of prescribed wildland fires. The new rule will take effect 30 days from today.
The rule was proposed after the NFFE legal team and Forest Service Council (NFFE-FSC) approached OPM about providing hazard pay for prescribed fire activities, originally in 2022. Since then, NFFE has been advocating for statutory change with Congressional offices, in addition to regulatory change via OPM, and at the bargaining table with agency management.
NFFE is continuing to work with Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) on the Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act (H.R. 5091), legislation to codify the change into law - separate from the OPM rule.
"This is yet another step in the right direction to ensuring federal wildland firefighters receive the pay they deserve for the incredible work they do protecting our communities from the wildfire crisis," said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. "For years, NFFE has been seeking a permanent policy allowing hazard pay for prescribed fire activities. We have explored legal options, legislation, and regulatory action, and after many sustained efforts by NFFE members campaigning for change, we have achieved a monumental victory."
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Original text here: https://www.nffe.org/press-release/after-years-of-union-advocacy-nffe-achieves-victory-in-providing-hazardous-duty-pay-for-prescribed-fire-activities/
Actors' Equity Association Announces Formation of Legal Department
NEW YORK, Aug. 13 -- Actors' Equity Association, a labor union that says it represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers, issued the following news release:
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Actors' Equity Association Announces Formation of Legal Department
Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, is establishing an in-house legal department.
The department will be led by Andrea F. Hoeschen, who has served as assistant executive director for Equity's Central Region as well as general counsel since 2020.
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Aug. 13 -- Actors' Equity Association, a labor union that says it represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers, issued the following news release:
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Actors' Equity Association Announces Formation of Legal Department
Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, is establishing an in-house legal department.
The department will be led by Andrea F. Hoeschen, who has served as assistant executive director for Equity's Central Region as well as general counsel since 2020.She is departing her role in the Central Region to provide legal services for the union full time. Serving under her is Afifa Samad as associate general counsel and director of human resources, as well as two full-time paralegals.
"Equity is prioritizing augmenting our legal resources, and we are incredibly fortunate to have Andrea Hoeschen to lead the way," said Al Vincent, Jr., executive director of Actors' Equity Association. "Andrea started at Equity just a couple months before the COVID shutdown began, and she has seen the union through incredibly difficult, but also transformative times.
"From enforcing protections for our members in the workplace to fighting threats on free expression nationwide, Andrea has taken on every challenge with incredible energy and a sharp legal mind. She is going to head an unstoppable team."
"The legal department is ready to charge full steam ahead," said Andrea Hoeschen, general counsel for Actors' Equity Association. "This is a dedicated, talented group and together we are going to be able to offer sound support to the union at a very quick speed. I'm excited to be leading this initiative and protecting performing artists at a time when we don't take any legal rights for granted."
With Hoeschen moving to a full-time legal position, Equity will announce a new assistant executive director for the Central Region shortly.
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ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. www.actorsequity.org #EquityWorks
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Original text here: https://actorsequity.org/news/PR/2026/08/12/actors-equity-association-announces-formation-of-legal-department
[Category: Union]
