Jenny Brown

The Government Programs They’re Axing Came from Our Struggles

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Jenny Brown

Ronald Reagan used to say the scariest nine words were “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Wait, what?

When my house was half destroyed by Hurricane Frances in 2004, a Federal Emergency Management Agency agent showed up three days later and cut us a check so we could get the giant tree off the house and do temporary repairs. Through FEMA, we were able to get a $20,000 low-interest loan from the Small Business Administration so we could rebuild. The federal government was there to help.

Federal Unionists Say It’s Not Game Over, It’s Game On

A scrappy network of federal unionists is leading the response to the Trump administration’s attacks on their workplaces, including Trump’s March 27 order purporting to end union contracts covering most federal workers.

Where the Federal Unionists Network has led, union leaders have followed. In a Zoom event that drew 65,000 viewers, FUN got official support from all the significant federal unions for their bottom-up organizing approach to the Trump onslaught.

Trump Tries to Blow Up Airport Screeners Union

In a memo that that one TSA employee said sounded like “a teenage blogger writing about someone they don’t like,” the Department of Homeland Security announced March 7 that it was cancelling the union contract for 47,000 workers at the Transportation Security Administration.

The American Federation of Government Employees signed its contract with TSA in May 2024, and it wasn’t set to expire until 2031.

DHS also stopped deducting union dues, and ordered all union officers to immediately return to their TSO duties. Workers voted in the union in 2011.

Federal Workers Mobilize against Musk’s and Trump’s ‘Corporate Coup’

Federal employee union members have been speaking out, rallying, and suing, as agency after agency has been hit by Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE)—a private unaccountable entity which has been demanding access to all government records while spreading wild lies about waste and fraud.

Around 20,000 workers have been summarily fired so far.

2024 in Review: Strikes and Organizing Score Gains, but Storm Clouds Loom

Union workers broke open the cookie jar in 2024, after years of stagnant wages and rising prices. With strikes and the threat of strikes, workers did more than forestall concessions: They gained ground. Union workers in the private sector saw 6 percent real wage rises for the year.

Just the fear that workers would organize drove up wages at non-union employers like Delta Airlines, Amazon, and Mercedes.

Boeing Machinists End 53-Day Strike with 38 Percent Raise

Striking Boeing Machinists will start returning to work tomorrow after voting for a new contract with substantial wage increases. The 33,000 Seattle-area Machinists voted 59 percent to accept, just two weeks after two-thirds of them voted to reject a slightly worse contract.

Voting was more subdued this time, workers said. “The big difference in this contract is that we're getting a lot of intimidation from our CEO now,” said striker Mylo Lang. He voted no.

‘Not Good Enough’: Striking Machinists Reject New Boeing Offer

After 40 days on strike, 33,000 Machinists rejected an improved contract offer from Boeing by 64 percent on Wednesday. The offer included a 35 percent wage increase over 4 years.

Members of Machinists (IAM) District 751 and District W24 build passenger jets and freighters, including the 737, 767, and 777. Most work at Boeing’s huge factories at Everett and Renton, Washington.

“It’s a little bit better, but it still needs to go further,” said Ky Carlson, who was staffing a picket line at Everett on Tuesday, where she would normally be assembling the 777.

Port Strike Ends, Workers Win $24 Wage Increase

East Coast Longshore workers with the International Longshoremen’s Association are returning to work, after three raucous days on the picket lines. They received a promise of a $24-an-hour pay raise over six years, bringing top pay from $39 to $63.

The strike paralyzed shipping in huge port complexes like Newark, Houston, and Charleston, stopping loads of fruit, vehicles, and heavy equipment. It was the first coastwide strike for the ILA since 1977.

Ships Piled Up as Longshore Strike Hit East Coast Ports

Longshore workers walked off the job at midnight at Atlantic and Gulf ports from Boston to Houston. This is the first coastwide strike since 1977 for the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), and took many by surprise. The workforce loads, unloads, and tracks ship cargo, and maintains port machinery.

The 19,000-worker walkout shut down 14 port complexes, as ILA members drew the line at automation that threatens their jobs. Wages are also an issue; the last contract was negotiated in 2018 before shocks from the pandemic and inflation.

Strike Threat Wins Boarding and Retro Pay at American Airlines

Flight attendants at American Airlines were celebrating September 12 after approving a new five-year agreement by 87 percent, with 95 percent turnout. They won a big retroactive pay package and an immediate wage increase of 20 percent.

They also became the first flight attendants to nail down boarding pay in a union contract. Flight attendants typically are not paid until the aircraft doors close. All that greeting, seating, sorting out problems, and assistance with bags is off the clock.

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