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Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Missouri's Fred Wellman for Election to Congress
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Government Employees issued the following news release:
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Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Missouri's Fred Wellman for Election to Congress
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AFGE says Wellman is a military veteran who will fight for a strong federal workforce
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -The American Federation of Government Employees today announced its endorsement of Fred Wellman for election to Congress representing Missouri's 2nd Congressional District in the 2026 election. Wellman won the district wide primary in August. The general election
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Government Employees issued the following news release:
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Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Missouri's Fred Wellman for Election to Congress
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AFGE says Wellman is a military veteran who will fight for a strong federal workforce
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -The American Federation of Government Employees today announced its endorsement of Fred Wellman for election to Congress representing Missouri's 2nd Congressional District in the 2026 election. Wellman won the district wide primary in August. The general electionis Nov. 3.
Wellman, a 22-year military veteran and the son of a veteran and longtime federal employee, understands that mission failure often begins when leaders fail to provide the workforce and resources necessary to accomplish the mission. Wellman has committed to rebuilding federal capacity and standing with the public servants who keep our country running.
"Fred knows firsthand that you cannot serve our veterans, support our military, or deliver the services Americans depend on without a strong, respected federal workforce. At a time when federal employees and their collective bargaining rights have been under unprecedented attack, we need lawmakers who will stand up, speak out, and fight alongside them. We believe Fred will be that kind of representative for Missouri's 2nd Congressional District," AFGE District 9 National Vice President Shane Reedy said.
Nearly 53,000 federal employees live in Missouri -caring for veterans, supporting the military, and making sure Social Security recipients get 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 more than 56,000 federal employees in District 9, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
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Original text here: https://www.afge.org/link/ee5be8561cb94a0ca2f30031953f22fb.aspx
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler Named to TIME's Fourth Annual List of the TIME100 AI
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 -- The AFL-CIO issued the following news release:
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AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler Named to TIME's Fourth Annual List of the TIME100 AI
TIME named AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to the 2026 TIME100 AI, a list recognizing the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (AI).
Shuler has led the labor movement's response to ensure workers have a voice in how AI's development and implementation affect their livelihoods. Under the president's leadership, unions have won key protections in union contracts related to the implementation of AI technology on the job, and
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 -- The AFL-CIO issued the following news release:
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AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler Named to TIME's Fourth Annual List of the TIME100 AI
TIME named AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to the 2026 TIME100 AI, a list recognizing the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (AI).
Shuler has led the labor movement's response to ensure workers have a voice in how AI's development and implementation affect their livelihoods. Under the president's leadership, unions have won key protections in union contracts related to the implementation of AI technology on the job, andadvanced pro-worker AI policy in Congress and state legislatures.
"I am honored to be included in this year's TIME100 AI list--a recognition that belongs to every worker fighting for fair, safe and equitable jobs in the face of the AI revolution," said Shuler. "We're at the most important fork in the road our economy has faced in a hundred years. There is no worker and no industry this does not touch, and every job is now a technology job. But the labor movement has been here for every transformation of our economy, and we will build a future that works for all of us. Thank you to the team at TIME for recognizing labor's essential role in the conversation about how we get there."
Shuler founded the AFL-CIO Technology Institute in 2021 to ensure working people's knowledge, expertise, and interests are centered in the innovation economy and that technological change benefits workers, not just the wealthy and corporations. Under her leadership, the AFL-CIO and its Tech Institute have convened experts in policy, labor law, and organizing, and worked with affiliated unions to develop the "Workers First Initiative on AI," the first comprehensive labor movement agenda establishing principles on AI technology. They also convened the AFL-CIO's AI Task Force to fight for commonsense, strong AI guardrails at the state and local levels.
To assemble the list, TIME's editors and reporters examined the key stories in AI over the past year and consulted with expert sources and industry leaders for recommendations. The result is a list of 100 leaders, innovators, shapers and thinkers who have a stake in the future of AI.
See the full list here: https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/
The TIME100 AI 2026 will appear in the Sept. 7 issue of TIME, available on newsstands Friday, Aug. 28.
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Original text here: https://aflcio.org/press/releases/afl-cio-president-liz-shuler-named-times-fourth-annual-list-time100-ai
[Category: Union]
Teamsters-Backed Waste Accountability Bill Heads to Governor's Desk
WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
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Teamsters-Backed Waste Accountability Bill Heads to Governor's Desk
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Press Contact: Lena Melentijevic Phone: (347) 208-2279 Email: LMelentijevic@teamster.org
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - The Teamsters applaud the California Legislature for passing Senate Bill 1371 (SB 1371) out of both chambers. Authored by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, the bill would prevent municipalities from being forced to pay for waste and recycling services that aren't rendered because of a work stoppage.
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 [Category: Union] -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters posted the following news release:
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Teamsters-Backed Waste Accountability Bill Heads to Governor's Desk
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Press Contact: Lena Melentijevic Phone: (347) 208-2279 Email: LMelentijevic@teamster.org
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - The Teamsters applaud the California Legislature for passing Senate Bill 1371 (SB 1371) out of both chambers. Authored by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, the bill would prevent municipalities from being forced to pay for waste and recycling services that aren't rendered because of a work stoppage.SB 1371 now goes to the Governor's desk to be signed into law.
"On behalf of Teamsters California, I extend my appreciation to every lawmaker who supported SB 1371. This important bill will make our communities safer and improve the lives of union sanitation workers," said Victor Mineros, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division and Co-Chair of Teamsters California. "But the job is not done yet. Teamsters California calls on Governor Newsom to sign SB 1371 without delay and hold multibillion-dollar waste haulers accountable."
When waste companies sign a contract with a municipality, they typically include a "force majeure" clause. This lets them walk away from their contractual obligations without facing penalties when trash goes uncollected due to major disruptions -even during labor disputes caused by management. SB 1371 closes this loophole by excluding labor disputes from the scenarios in which haulers can invoke a force majeure clause.
"Giant waste corporations should not be able to force workers, customers, and communities to pay the price of their greed," said Marcus Ford, a member of Teamsters Local 396 at Republic Services. "The deck is stacked against union workers. SB 1371 would put us on a more level playing field. We call on the Governor to sign this bill into law as soon as possible."
Sanitation Teamsters across the country, including Republic Services workers in Stockton, Calif., represented by Local 439, were forced on strike last year. They extended picket lines to Southern California and the Bay Area. Next month, over 3,000 Solid Waste Teamsters throughout the Los Angeles region are set to see their contracts expire.
Teamsters California is the united voice of 250,000 workers across dozens of industries who power the state's economy and communities every single day. For more information, go to teamstersca.org.
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Original text here: https://teamster.org/2026/08/teamsters-backed-waste-accountability-bill-heads-to-governors-desk/
Statement on Wayne County Judge's Hollow Contempt Claims against Striking Public Defenders by UAW President Shawn Fain
DETROIT, Michigan, Aug. 27 [Category: Union] -- The United Automobile Workers posted the following statement by President Shawn Fain:
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Statement on Wayne County Judge's Hollow Contempt Claims against Striking Public Defenders by UAW President Shawn Fain
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You don't get to turn the courthouse into a hammer against UAW members at Neighborhood Defender Service because they went on strike for fair treatment in the workplace.
If Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne is proceeding with criminal charges against two public defenders, members of UAW Local 2325, over missed court dates while on strike,
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DETROIT, Michigan, Aug. 27 [Category: Union] -- The United Automobile Workers posted the following statement by President Shawn Fain:
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Statement on Wayne County Judge's Hollow Contempt Claims against Striking Public Defenders by UAW President Shawn Fain
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You don't get to turn the courthouse into a hammer against UAW members at Neighborhood Defender Service because they went on strike for fair treatment in the workplace.
If Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne is proceeding with criminal charges against two public defenders, members of UAW Local 2325, over missed court dates while on strike,the people of Wayne County have every right to ask: What is going on here? A labor dispute is not a license to punish workers for standing together. It is further outrageous considering that striking workers were locked out of their office building, their case files, their emails, and their calendars.
This is a heavy-handed move that sends a nasty message to every employee who dares to organize, especially those who work in the public interest. It's unacceptable intimidation.
Going on strike does not mean a public defender suddenly stops caring about clients. It does not mean they turned their backs on the defenseless. And it certainly does not mean they surrendered their rights as workers. Public defenders went on strike last month precisely because they knew they couldn't continue to do their critical jobs for their clients and our community without creating a more sustainable workplace.
Our members fought for fair wages, healthcare, and better workplace standards. We are proud of the collective bargaining agreement that was reached, and they have been hard at work representing the people of Wayne County since then.
Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne is the sole judge in Wayne County seeking to punish UAW workers, out of the over forty judges in the county who presided over hearings for which NDS attorneys did not appear during the strike. The UAW demands that the proceedings for criminal contempt be dropped immediately. Workers should not have to choose between their livelihood and their basic right to stand together.
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Original text here: https://uaw.org/statement-on-wayne-county-judges-hollow-contempt-claims-against-striking-public-defenders-by-uaw-president-shawn-fain/
Second Unit at unWired Broadband Wins Union Recognition Following Battle With Company
WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO Communications Workers of America posted the following news release:
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Second Unit at unWired Broadband Wins Union Recognition Following Battle With Company
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Workers at unWired Broadband first joined a union in 2025 to improve workplace safety, address unjust firings, and secure a voice on the job.
(FRESNO, Calif.) - Despite continued anti-union pushback from the company, unWired Broadband fiber technicians in California's Central Valley voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in a July election
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO Communications Workers of America posted the following news release:
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Second Unit at unWired Broadband Wins Union Recognition Following Battle With Company
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Workers at unWired Broadband first joined a union in 2025 to improve workplace safety, address unjust firings, and secure a voice on the job.
(FRESNO, Calif.) - Despite continued anti-union pushback from the company, unWired Broadband fiber technicians in California's Central Valley voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in a July electionoverseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The election comes one year after unWired installation and service technicians voted to join CWA in June 2025. Throughout the organizing campaign, unWired installation and service technicians endured anti-union captive-audience meetings, and several members of the organizing committee were illegally fired. In July 2026, CWA reached a $75,000 settlement with unWired Broadband resolving several unfair labor practice charges filed with the NLRB. The workers have demonstrated their commitment to a union and holding the company accountable for unlawful behavior.
"We are proud to have stood together and won our union," said Chris Cooke, an unWired Broadband fiber technician and CWA Local 9408 member. "As fiber technicians we know that we are critical to unWired's success. We look forward to having a seat at the table to continue to improve the connectivity of the Central Valley while ensuring democracy and dignity on the job."
"I support the right of fiber splicers at unWired Broadband to exercise one of the most fundamental freedoms in our democracy: the choice of whether to be represented by a union," said California State Senator Anna M. Caballero (D-Merced). "Even under pressure, they have remained united. Every worker deserves the opportunity to make this decision free from fear, intimidation, or retaliation, and I am proud of their courage and the respect they have shown one another throughout this process. Their determination reflects the best of the Central Valley, and I remain in full solidarity with them."
"We are proud to welcome unWired Broadband's second bargaining unit to the CWA family," said Jason Orozco, President of CWA Local 9408. "These workers endured an aggressive campaign by unWired to thwart their right to organize, but today they prevailed. CWA stands ready to bargain with unWired on behalf of both bargaining units so that unWired's technicians can continue to connect residents of California's Central Valley to high-quality internet."
"Congratulations to the second bargaining unit at unWired Broadband for winning their union election, despite fierce resistance from the company," said Assemblymember Liz Ortega, Chair of the California Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment. "I am inspired by these workers' strength and bravery in exercising their right to organize. I stand with them and call on unWired to come to the table to bargain for a fair contract."
unWired Broadband is a Fresno, California-headquartered internet service provider focused on serving the Central Valley of California. unWired is a portfolio company of O2 Investment Partners, a Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based private equity firm.
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/second-unit-unwired-broadband-wins-union-recognition-following-battle-company
SAG-AFTRA, Cameo, CAA, Music Artist Coalition, UTA and WME Statement on Protecting Performer Rights Against Unauthorized AI Use
LOS ANGELES, California, Aug. 27 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
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SAG-AFTRA, Cameo, CAA, Music Artist Coalition, UTA and WME Statement on Protecting Performer Rights Against Unauthorized AI Use
SAG-AFTRA, Cameo, and leading talent agencies and organizations--including CAA, Music Artist Coalition, UTA, and WME--have a shared commitment to safeguarding talent's names, voices, likenesses, and creative works in the face of emerging AI technology. We are dedicated to finding the best way to support
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LOS ANGELES, California, Aug. 27 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
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SAG-AFTRA, Cameo, CAA, Music Artist Coalition, UTA and WME Statement on Protecting Performer Rights Against Unauthorized AI Use
SAG-AFTRA, Cameo, and leading talent agencies and organizations--including CAA, Music Artist Coalition, UTA, and WME--have a shared commitment to safeguarding talent's names, voices, likenesses, and creative works in the face of emerging AI technology. We are dedicated to finding the best way to supportthe ethical use of talent likenesses in AI-generated content.
Authenticity is core to the Cameo experience for talent and fans alike. Ensuring that talent feel safe and in control of their name, image, and likeness is essential; talent on Cameo retain full ownership of their submitted videos, and Cameo's policies prohibit any account from using AI to generate deepfake videos of talent without their explicit authorization. Cameo does not use talent videos to create or train AI digital replicas without talent permission.
The talent agencies and organizations of this coalition are supportive of Cameo's efforts to protect talent and their livelihoods, which continue to evolve. Moving forward, this coalition remains dedicated to strengthening both policy and technological safeguards to ensure that talent rights are protected in the continually evolving landscape.
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About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.
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Original text here: https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-cameo-caa-music-artist-coalition-uta-and-wme-statement-protecting-performer-rights
[Category: Union]
Nurses hold nationwide civil disobedience actions to demand 'Palantir Out!'
SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Aug. 27 [Category: Union] -- National Nurses United issued the following news release:
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Nurses hold nationwide civil disobedience actions to demand 'Palantir Out!'
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On Thursday, Aug. 27, hundreds of registered nurses - joined by patients and community allies - mobilized to demand hospitals and elected officials immediately cut ties with artificial intelligence giant Palantir. The nurses, who are members of National Nurses United, the nation's largest union of registered nurses, stopped traffic in an act of civil disobedience in eight cities: Palo Alto, California;
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SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Aug. 27 [Category: Union] -- National Nurses United issued the following news release:
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Nurses hold nationwide civil disobedience actions to demand 'Palantir Out!'
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On Thursday, Aug. 27, hundreds of registered nurses - joined by patients and community allies - mobilized to demand hospitals and elected officials immediately cut ties with artificial intelligence giant Palantir. The nurses, who are members of National Nurses United, the nation's largest union of registered nurses, stopped traffic in an act of civil disobedience in eight cities: Palo Alto, California;Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, D.C.; Portland, Maine; Asheville, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; and New Orleans, Louisiana.
The actions included visual displays of the deadly costs of Palantir's products, including its development and operation of ELITE, an application used by federal agents that identifies people for arrest using, in part, improperly obtained Medicaid data.
In each city, nurses placed 50 pairs of baby shoes in the street - one pair of shoes representing every 10 babies who have been detained since President Trump took office. Passersby could also see large images of the heart-wrenching notes written by some of the 6,000 children who have been imprisoned by federal agents since the second Trump term began.
The nurses also held large red umbrellas emblazoned with eyes, symbolizing that nurses are keeping an eye on Palantir's harmful activities.
"Union nurses cannot be silent when our most vulnerable people, babies and children, are being detained by federal immigration agents," said NNU President Jamie Brown, RN. "While our patients and neighbors are living in fear of immigration raids enabled by Palantir, our hospitals are facing huge cuts and our patients are facing mounting health care costs because of H.R. 1. Nurses aren't just saying no to Palantir, but we're calling for our public resources to go toward the benefit of working people, not billionaires and their corporations."
While the U.S. government and corporations award the company billions of dollars in contracts to Palantir, the U.S. health care system faces a dire threat. H.R. 1 is the 2025 budget bill, pushed through by Republicans and President Trump, that cut more than $1 trillion in Medicaid and Medicare funding to give billionaires tax breaks, militarize immigration enforcement, and fund endless wars abroad. Not only will these cuts threaten health coverage for millions of people, they risk closures and service cuts at more than 600 hospitals nationwide, according to new NNU research.
NNU President Brown continued: "What we know is the money spent on ICE detention could fund health care for at least 12 million children every single year. Nurses and our allies condemn these unjust, misguided political choices. Everyone deserves health care, education, and housing. Our politics should not be controlled by billionaires."
Purge Palantir allies join RNs nationwide.
Across the eight cities, NNU nurses were joined by community allies in their calls to "Purge Palantir!".
"Palantir makes money by enabling mass violence in the U.S. and around the world," said Kenny Morris, campaigns strategist for the American Friends Service Committee. "The surveillance company has no place in our hospitals, our utilities, our investments, or our government. This day of action shows just how many communities are organizing to push our institutions to cut ties with Palantir."
"It is critical times like these, where Palantir brings us together across movements, crystallizing a common enemy," said Olivia DiNucci, D.C. organizer for CodePink. "The fight for Medicare for All, the fight to end the genocide in Gaza, the fight to end mass surveillance and deportations are unified to cut ties and influence of Palantir and its profiting on mass deportations, genocide and war, and a for-profit healthcare system."
"In a moment where Big Tech is attempting to become the final decision maker of what is democracy, freedom, and what is the definition of privacy, we see it essential for all sectors of labor and organizing to come together against this common evil," said Cathy Carrillo, organizer for Mijente. "Palantir is at the forefront of the chaos happening to immigrant communities and the attempt to expand surveillance and AI in all other sectors. We are united in the call to Purge Palantir."
"Palantir is a secretive data and AI company whose technology facilitates ICE terror and enables the Israeli military's genocide on Gaza," said Dani Noble, campaigns organizer for Jewish Voice for Peace. "Palantir should have no place in our hospitals -it's designed to control and to harm. It is a company built on unlawful surveillance deeply embedded in policing and war, all to generate profit for right-wing billionaires."
"Palantir's AI technology is used to harm our communities by putting patient care in the hands of a machine, identifying and tracking immigrants for ICE abduction, and targeting Palestinians in Gaza for assassination," said fatima mohammadi, director of organizing at U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR). "The well-being and safety of our loved ones and neighbors are at stake. Palantir out of hospitals! Every institution must cut ties with Palantir now." [Note: the lowercase name is intentional.]
Nurses say: "Palantir Out!"
Palantir's growing notoriety - fueled by a growing wave of grassroots protests organized by nurses and criticism from employees, clients, and elected officials - have threatened its business and made its brand politically toxic in the United States and abroad. However, Palantir continues to benefit from its close relationship with the Trump administration, and, increasingly, with the U.S. hospital industry.
From 2009 to 2025, Palantir received $2.5 billion in federal government funding, but this number has grown tremendously in just the past year. Last July, the Department of Defense announced a $10 billion agreement with Palantir to use its technology to share data across federal agencies, enabling unprecedented surveillance power. This followed a $30 million contract awarded to Palantir by the Department of Homeland Security to build an AI-powered system that would identify immigrants for deportation. In Feb. 2026, the Department of Homeland Security and Palantir signed a $1 billion contract.
In the hospital industry, already, Palantir manages more than one-fifth of U.S. hospital beds. For nurses, this marks a dangerous threat to the nursing profession, which is seeing a glut of untested and unregulated technology introduced into patient care settings.
The firm's technology is already being used for automated scheduling and staffing in the largest for-profit hospital group in the country, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Timpani, otherwise known as HCA Inspire, is used for nursing staff scheduling, removing hospitals' local managers from staffing decisions and replacing them with an anonymous office in Nashville.
Even these limited applications are already exacerbating the nationwide staffing crisis, as executives are rushing to use untested and unregulated technology to replace clinical judgement and make critical health care decisions like how many nurses are on a unit to take care of patients on a shift.
Other hospitals represented by NNU, like MaineHealth, are also using Palantir technologies. As with HCA, MaineHealth has refused to disclose the extent of the hospital's cooperation with Palantir, including how patients' and health care workers' data are being protected. That lack of transparency only underscores the importance of demanding hospitals purge Palantir out of their operations.
In addition to working closely with the U.S. government and hospitals, Palantir has also entered into partnership with Israel's Ministry of Defense to support their "war effort" in Gaza which Israeli human rights organizations, the globe's leading association of genocide scholars, and a United Nations Special Committee, among others, have concluded is a genocide. More than 1,500 health care workers, in addition to tens of thousands of innocent civilians, have been murdered in Gaza since Israeli forces invaded in October 2023.
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Original text here: https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/nurses-hold-nationwide-civil-disobedience-actions-to-demand-palantir-out
