Labor/Economics

[ap215]

LIRR strike shuts down nation's busiest commuter train line, union says 'we're far apart'

The Long Island Rail Road shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after a group of unions failed to reach a new contract deal with the MTA and went on strike, according to officials on both sides of the negotiations.

The move brought service on the country’s busiest commuter rail service to a halt for the first time in over 30 years. A Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers union spokesperson told Gothamist they didn’t expect the parties to return to negotiations Saturday.

https://gothamist.com/news/lirr-workers ... train-line

[ap215]

Butler Memorial Hospital workers ratify first union contract, averting strike

Frontline healthcare workers at Butler Memorial Hospital overwhelmingly approved their first union contract on Friday, avoiding a planned strike that was scheduled to begin.

The three-year agreement covers 235 surgical technologists, respiratory therapists, licensed practical nurses, radiology technologists, and other hospital employees represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news ... -contract/

[ap215]

Deal reached to end LIRR strike; riders still face rough Tuesday morning commute

LIRR officials say limited service is expected to return around noon Tuesday, with full service back in time for the evening rush.

https://brooklyn.news12.com/2026/05/19/ ... ZmQwdexrHO

[ap215]

Private payrolls grew by 122,000 in May, stronger than expected, ADP reports

Private hiring expanded at a brisk pace in May, providing further indication of a stable labor market, ADP reported Wednesday.

The payrolls processing firm said companies added 122,000 workers for the month, up from 105,000 in April and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 110,000. May marked the strongest month since January 2025. April’s total was revised down by 4,000.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/03/adp-job ... 22000.html

[ap215]

Cahokia school district and teachers union reach tentative agreement

After going without a contract for an entire school year, the Cahokia Federation of Teachers and the school district have reached a tentative agreement.

Cahokia School District 187 and the union, which represents teachers, service employees and secretaries, reached a four-year deal Tuesday night, according to Ray Roskos, the field service director at the Illinois Federation of Teachers, who’s been assisting with negotiations.

https://www.stlpr.org/education/2026-06 ... -agreement

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Challenger Report: May Job Cuts Rise 16% from April; Highest May Total Since 2020

U.S.-based employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, up 16% from the 83,387 job cuts recorded in April, and up 3% from the 93,816 announced in the same month last year, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

May’s total is the highest for the month since 2020, when 397,016 job cuts were recorded in May at the height of the pandemic. It also marks the third straight month that cuts have risen, climbing from 48,307 in February to 97,006 in May.

https://www.challengergray.com/blog/cha ... ince-2020/

[ap215]

US added 172,000 jobs in May, even as inflation squeezes consumers

The U.S. economy added a robust 172,000 jobs in May, a sign that the labor market remained resilient even despite a growing energy and inflation crisis triggered by the ongoing war in Iran.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%. Average hourly earnings rose 3.4% from a year ago, which puts wage growth below inflation. In April, inflation sharply jumped to a 3.8%, its highest level in three years, due to the surging price of gasoline and the resulting economic ripple effect.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets ... ocialshare

[ZoWie]

All these statistics are kind of meaningless, given the current public consciousness. Right now the vast majority of people are being squeezed from all directions by inflation, and they're pissed. Been to the gas station or drug store lately? Not happy places.

Today's LA Nooz led with the story that American Airlines is cutting back on its LA flights because jet fuel is so expensive here. Put that in your engine and burn it. If we don't get to NYC this fall, it's all Trump's fault.

[ap215]

Denver Art Museum workers ratify first union contract for Colorado museum employees

Denver Art Museum Workers United ratified a historic bargaining agreement on Saturday, becoming the first museum workers in the State of Colorado to have a union contract.

The contract is the result of nearly two years of negotiations between the union's bargaining committee and museum management.

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/d ... -contract/

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Administrative & Clerical State Workers In Nevada ‘Go Union,’ Join AFSCME

(LAS VEGAS, NEVADA) - More than 3,500 State Workers in Nevada will form a Union through American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 4041 after a successful organizing effort and a strong, decisive Union vote.

Maria Behic, an Administrative Assistant employed at the Florence McClure Women's Correctional Center in Las Vegas, said: "I am proud of my Co-Workers for coming together to organize our Union. As Admin Assistants, we are the backbone of our offices – nothing happens without us - and we deserve the dignity and respect that comes with having a unified voice on the job. We look forward to joining our AFSCME Family in building our power in the workplace.”

https://www.wnylabortoday.com/news/2026 ... in-afscme/

[ap215]

Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, chocolate workers union agree to deal

HERSHEY, Pa. — Hershey Entertainment and Resorts and the Chocolate Workers union have reached a deal, averting a potential strike.

Chocolate Workers Local 464 voted to approve a deal that was reached by negotiators earlier this week. The union has employees who work at Hersheypark and Giant Center.

https://www.wgal.com/article/pa-hershey ... l/71572937

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IAM Union Members at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth Vote to Accept Strong Agreement

Approximately 5,000 members of IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) District 776 in Fort Worth, Texas, voted on Sunday to ratify a new contract with the largest defense contractor in the U.S., Lockheed Martin.

IAM Union members at the Fort Worth facility build the F-35, the world’s most advanced multi-role fighter. The IAM has long championed continued support for the F-35 program.

https://www.goiam.org/news/imail/iam-un ... agreement/

[ap215]

University of Michigan graduate student workers’ union extends contract

The contract covering 3,300 graduate student workers at the University of Michigan expired May 1. The Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), Local 3350 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), extended the old contract and announced no plans to strike for a new agreement.

The GEO represents over 3,300 workers, including graduate student instructors, graduate student staff assistants and graduate student research assistants across U-M’s three campuses in Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint. In addition to the GEO, the AFT has five other locals across the three U-M campuses and the university-owned Michigan Medicine healthcare complex in Ann Arbor.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/0 ... c-j22.html

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Core inflation rate hit 3.4% in May, highest since October 2023, Fed’s preferred gauge shows

The Federal Reserve’s primary price gauge rose at its highest level since 2023, reinforcing the central bank’s recent tough talk on inflation.

Excluding food and energy, the personal consumption expenditures price index showed a 3.4% annual rate after rising 0.3% for the month, both in line with the Dow Jones consensus. The annual core reading was the highest since October 2023.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/25/pce-inf ... 2026-.html

[ap215]

Private payrolls rose by 98,000 in June, less than expected, ADP reports

Companies added slightly fewer workers than expected in June, with hiring targeted heavily toward healthcare-related sectors, ADP reported Wednesday.

Private sector employment grew by a seasonally adjusted 98,000 for the month, down from an unrevised 122,000 in May and a bit below the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 110,000, the payrolls processing firm reported.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/01/private ... ports.html

[ap215]

US adds just 57K jobs in June, falling short of expectations

The U.S. job market slowed down in June, falling far short of expectations, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

American employers added just 57,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate ticked slightly down to 4.2 percent. Economists expected the U.S. to add roughly 110,000 jobs and for the jobless rate to stay stable at 4.3 percent, according to consensus estimates.

https://thehill.com/business/5951004-ju ... sappoints/

[Drak]

LOL, “falling short of expectations.”

Remember when Biden was adding 200k+ jobs a month and somehow it was bad?

[ZoWie]

Until we reform the media, everything the Democrats do will be considered bad.

[Number6]

Remember when republicans kept say we need to elect businessmen to the Congress and as president to make the government run lie a business? We've seen since Reagan was elected what republican businessmen have done to our economy. Reagan, Bush I & II, and the Orange Turd have caused major recessions, increased unemployment, destroyed the social safety net, attacked voting rights and the rights of the individual all in the name of "freedom." "Freedom" means the rights of the wealthy and those in power overrules everyone else's rights.

[ZoWie]

Republicans always say that we have to let business leaders run the country, and it always dredges up the worst suited for that job, and it always causes classist/racist messes that the Democrats have to fix. Often the Democrats are restrained by the far right and the mess doesn't get fixed, then the Republicans get elected again.

I'm not sure that's what Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams had in mind.

[ap215]

Major Union Livid After 1,000 Factory Workers Were Replaced With 50 Robots

One of the most powerful labor unions in the United States is furious, as over 1,000 workers at General Motors’ leading Detroit factory are being pushed out to make room for dozens of new robots.

According to Crain’s Detroit Business, the lack of work coincides with the installation of 50 AI-integrated manufacturing robots, which GM installed in its Factory Zero plant, a major all-electric vehicle facility in Detroit. When the industrial robots went online, the UAW says the factory idled the thousand-odd workers, a situation in which employees aren’t allowed to work, but aren’t fully fired either (as Crain’s explains, the vast majority of these workers have functionally been laid off.)

https://futurism.com/robots-and-machine ... off-robots

[ZoWie]

Sounds like what happened to the QC people at Ford when the company decided AI could do the job better and cheaper. As I noted somewhere else, Ford had to eat their words and hire a bunch of them back, after the AI was not up to the task.

I suspect that this is not a good year to buy a new car.

[ap215]

PECO, union reach tentative deal, ending 3-day strike

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- PECO and IBEW Local 614 reached a tentative contract agreement Monday night, bringing an end to a three-day strike involving about 1,600 workers.

The union announced the deal after days of negotiations and picketing across the region.

https://6abc.com/post/negotiations-set- ... /19457276/

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Production Assistants on ‘Chicago Fire’ and ‘Chicago Med’ Ratify Union Contract

Production assistants on “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago Med” have voted to ratify their first union contract, as part of a broader unionization campaign for P.A.’s.

The deal covers 26 employees at “Chicago Med” and 35 at “Chicago Fire,” both of which are produced by Universal Television. The workers will be represented by LIUNA Local 724, which has previously organized P.A.’s on “Abbott Elementary,” “The Pitt,” and a couple of other shows.

https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/produc ... 236802870/

[ZoWie]

Interesting. That's been a grey area forever.