UE Local 1018 Members on Strike for Fair Wages, Dignity, and Respect
Workers at the Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center in downtown Los Angeles, members of UE Local 1018, went on strike on Wednesday after overwhelmingly rejecting an inadequate contract offer. Local 1018 members provide social work, advocacy, and support services for individuals with developmental disabilities. They are seeking a decent wage increase, improved paid time off, and to protect their ability to work remotely.
“Our members, who serve some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, have been pushed to the breaking point,” said UE Local 1018 President Jackie Palacios. “We are striking for fair wages, dignity, respect, and to put an end to punitive, disrespectful treatment by management.”
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Local 1123 Fights Back Attacks On Just Cause, Wages and Seniority
On April 25, Local 1123 members ratified a new three-year agreement with their employer, National Consolidation Services (NCS). NCS demanded major concessions, attempted to gut just cause provisions and claw back holidays, and stuck to their proposal of implementing an arbitrary merit pay system until the very last day of bargaining.
“We made major gains in the last contract and our goal this round was to maintain those gains,” said Local 1123 President Charles King. “We accomplished that, but with a fight. Bargaining conditions since Trump took office have shifted dramatically, companies feel emboldened to demand take-aways and our solidarity is the only thing stopping them. If you are bargaining a contract this year, get strike ready because they are coming for us, but if we stick together we can still beat them on the shop floor where our power is.”
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General Executive Board Meets, Approves New Budget
The UE General Executive Board (GEB) met in Pittsburgh on May 28 and 29. After reviewing the union’s finances over the past fiscal year, the board approved a budget for the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year, one that further expands the union’s capacity to organize new members, provide support for existing locals, and engage in militant struggle to defend the members’ interests. The board also reviewed the union’s political action, education and international work, and had a robust discussion of how best to ensure that the principles of rank-and-file unionism are upheld throughout the union and passed along to new members. Read more »
Local 222 Settles Three New Contracts
Three sublocals of UE Local 222, a statewide amalgamated public-sector local, have settled new contracts in the past six months. Read more »
Local 248 Wins Wage Increase, Protections from Overwork
Members of UE Local 248 who work as cafeteria workers and custodians for the Old Rochester Regional School District won a 10.5 percent wage increase over the life of their new four-year contract. Members will receive 2.75 percent raises the first and second year and 2.5 percent in the third and fourth year. They also won protections against overwork. When a substitute cannot be provided for the cafeteria, each person working will get a two dollar increase for the time worked. Read more »
Local 613 Members Strengthen Their Union With ‘UE Education Series’
The members of UE Local 613 — teachers, speech language pathologists, and registered nurses at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children — are educators, so it is fitting that this past spring, they decided the strengthen their local union through an educational series. Read more »
Vermont UE Locals Determined to Keep Members Safe from ICE
UE Locals 203 and 267 in Burlington, Vermont have both made significant strides towards keeping their members safe from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. “I think ensuring the safety of our workers is what the union is all about,” said Local 203 President John Donoghue. Local 203 represents grocery workers at City Market, and Local 267 represents service and maintenance workers at the University of Vermont. Read more »
Military Response to Immigration Protests a Step Towards Authoritarianism
Statement of the UE Officers
The Trump administration’s decision to mobilize and deploy 4,000 members of the National Guard and 700 Marines to Los Angeles is disturbing and absolutely unjustified. It is an attempt to stifle dissent through military force — something which has no place in a democracy — and a signal that if we wish to preserve our democratic freedoms, working people will have to be prepared to defend them through action in the streets, in our workplaces, and at the ballot box. Read more »
Local 150 Hosts Political Action Day
UE Local 150-North Carolina Public Service Workers Union held their annual political action day on May 13. Local chapter members met at the state legislative building to demand a stop to recent attacks on the state health plan, pay, and safe staffing. Read more »
Local 197-TRU Wins Guaranteed Sixth Year of Funding in Humanities and Social Sciences
On April 11, UE Local 197-Teachers and Researchers United signed an agreement with Johns Hopkins University to guarantee sixth-year funding to the next two cohorts of graduate workers in the Humanities and Social Sciences. This represents a significant win for Local 197 in our ongoing struggle to ensure that all JHU graduate workers have the funding to complete their degrees. Read more »
Cornell Graduate Workers Secure Standard-Setting First Contract
UE Local 300-Cornell Graduate Students United members Marguerite Pacheco and Ewa Nizalowska describe their local’s successful first contract campaign in this article for the UE NEWS. Read more »
Local 642 Signs One-Year Contract
Local 642, whose members work for the nonprofit Harborcreek Youth Services, negotiated a one-year agreement with their employer in May. Similar to the one-year contract they signed last year, this contract was negotiated in the context of financial difficulties caused by the closing of their largest unit, after a temp employee was found to have been sexually abusing clients. Read more »
UE Office Manager Joanne Caporoso to Retire
UE Office Manager Joanne Caporoso will be retiring this summer, after 14 years helming the union’s national office in Pittsburgh. Read more »
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