A Light at the End of the Tunnel: The Working People Weekly List

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.

Millions of Borrowers Will Be Eligible for Student Loan Forgiveness After AFT Union Sues Trump Administration: “‘We took on the Trump administration when it refused to follow the law and denied borrowers the relief they were owed,’ AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. ‘Our agreement means that those borrowers stuck in limbo can either get immediate relief or finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.’”

Nurses: Union Contracts Protect Those Who ‘Speak Truth to Power’: “Nurses ‘speak truth to power’ when hospitals put profits over patients, and union contracts protect them when they do, says National Nurses United President Mary Turner, RN. And that’s why unions and workers’ rights should be strengthened through passage of the Protect The Right To Organize Act, she told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Turner, a Minnesotan, was one of two pro-worker witnesses on October 22 at the GOP-run panel’s second in a series of hearings on the state of U.S. labor law and the need for reform.”

Union President Talks About Judge’s Ruling Halting Shutdown Layoffs: “Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, talks about a judge’s ruling stopping the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the shutdown.”

CWA President Implores U.S. Regulators to Scrutinize EA Buyout to Address National Security and Labor Concerns: “Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Claude Cummings Jr. is urging regulators in the United States to scrutinize EA’s proposed $55 billion take-private over concerns it will place ‘thousands of jobs and sensitive consumer data at risk.’ The CWA currently represents over 4,000 unionized video game workers across the United States. EA is in the process of being acquired by an investor consortium that includes the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, PIF, and the investment firm co-founded by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.”

A Changing of the Guard for the UMWA: “The torch has been passed in one of the nation’s best known and longest standing labor organizations. Brian Sanson, a native of St. Albans, West Virginia, has become the new president of the United Mine Workers of America. Sanson was sworn in as the 16th president of the union at the UMWA Special Convention in St. Louis on Wednesday. He replaces longtime union head Cecil Roberts, a native of Cabin Creek, West Virginia. ‘You can’t replace a legend, you can only follow them,’ said Sanson.”

How Major Labor Unions are Positioning on AI: “So far, unions in the United States have adopted a fairly consistent tone on AI: that the technology has the potential to improve productivity and benefit society, but workers need to be involved in where and how it is deployed. The AFL-CIO, a federation of 63 unions representing roughly 15 million workers, typified that posture in a report published earlier this month. ‘There is a path where new technology makes work better and safer, with good union jobs that have fair pay and better job quality,’ the group wrote. ‘In this vision, working people have economic security, knowing that companies and public agencies must follow rules to make sure technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) is used safely, responsibly, and fairly.’”

Frontline Workers Avoid Strike, Ratify New Contract With Sutter Health: “Sutter Health reached an agreement with frontline employees Monday, avoiding a planned workers’ strike. Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) said this agreement averted an authorized strike at eight Sutter Health facilities in nine cities, including Oakland, Santa Rosa, Roseville, Berkeley, Lakeport, Vallejo, Antioch, Castro Valley and San Francisco.”

UMass Resident Physicians Reach Labor Deal: “University of Massachusetts resident physicians, interns and fellows employed through Worcester-based UMass Chan Medical School reached a tentative labor contract Oct. 23, according to a news release from their union shared with Becker’s. The tentative deal covers about 700 unionized physicians represented by Service Employees International Union’s Committee of Interns and Residents. According to the union, the agreement includes a 9.5% compensation increase over three years; $5,000 annually for mental health services per person, per household; an increase in the educational allowance to $1,500 per resident or fellow, per year (up from $1,000 in the prior contract); and a one-time licensure exam reimbursement. It also fully reinstates union members’ health benefits fund, including co-pay reimbursement.”

Black Americans Cannot Afford the Trump Administration’s Health Care Cost Spike: “This Saturday marks one month of the federal government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers—nearly 20% of whom are Black and 30% of whom are veterans—are missing their second paycheck. Families across the country will be forced to choose between paying for groceries, rent and medical care. President Trump and his allies in Congress are inflicting this pain because they would rather shut down the government than deal with the looming health care crisis that will explode costs for more than 170 million Americans.”

Morton’s First-Ever Full-Time Firefighters Ratify Contract: “The first full-time firefighters in the Morton Fire Department’s nearly 150-year history have a contract with the village. The 19 members of Morton Fire & EMS Local 4952 of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), consisting of seven full-time firefighters and a dozen full-time paramedics, unanimously ratified the five-year contract last week.”

Temple Union of Resident Assistants Becomes First Undergraduate, Public University Union in State: “Temple Union of Resident Assistants voted 97–0 to join the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153 on Oct. 7, making them the first undergraduate employees at a public Pennsylvania university to unionize. The union is forming a collective bargaining unit, which gives them leverage to bargain for better pay, working conditions and benefits during contract negotiations. ‘We’ve had a lot of success negotiating contracts with student workers,’ said Scott Williams, lead organizer for OPEIU Local 153. ‘We expect we’ll be following up with Temple very soon to begin this process.’”

United Steelworkers Elects Its First Woman President: “The United Steelworkers union, a Pittsburgh-based giant of organized labor, has selected its next leader. International Vice President Roxanne Brown secured the presidency in a unionwide election, the United Steelworkers announced Friday. Brown, a Black woman, is the 10th person to hold the top job—and the first who’s not a White man. She was the sole nominee for international president in an election process that started in June and stretched into the fall. Her four-year term as head of the 850,000-member union starts March 1.”

Cecil Roberts Reflects on Growing up in Coal Country, Going to Vietnam, and Why Too Many Miners Die on the Job: “United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts is retiring later this week. I’ve covered the coal industry, the mine workers and their leader since before he became union president 30 years ago. In a two-hour interview, we talked about growing up on Cabin Creek, going to Vietnam and coming home, the dangerous life of a miner, and the past and future of West Virginia’s coalfield communities. This is the first part of that interview.”

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 11/03/2025 - 14:21

Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: Bricklayers

This is the next post in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates. The series will run weekly until we've covered all 63 of our affiliates. Next up are the Bricklayers (BAC).

Name of Union: International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers

Mission: To actively fight to improve the quality of life for all trowel trade workers—on and off the job—through access to fair wages, good benefits, safe working conditions and solidarity among members.

Current Leadership of Union: Timothy J. Driscoll has served as president of BAC since 2020. Prior to that he served as secretary-treasurer from 2017 to 2020, and as executive vice president from 2010 to 2017. A second-generation bricklayer, Driscoll joined BAC Local 3 in Massachusetts as an apprentice in 1985, where he worked on numerous commercial and institutional projects throughout the Boston area, earning his journeyman card in 1988. Traveling for work in the early 1990s, he eventually settled in the Washington, D.C., metro area and joined Local 1 in 1992. 

His service with the international union began in 1995 when he joined BAC’s Government Relations Department, later becoming assistant to the president. In 1999, he was called upon to lead BAC’s Department of Trade Jurisdiction. In addition, he has been a leader directing the international union’s efforts to address emerging new products and building systems, seeking to enhance work opportunities for signatory contractors and BAC members alike.

Jeremiah Sullivan Jr. serves as secretary-treasurer and Keith Hocevar serves as executive vice president. The executive council consists of the executive board, regional directors, regional vice presidents, the Canadian Congress co-chair, craft vice presidents and at-large members.

Members Work As: Bricklayers, stone and marble masons, cement masons, plasterers, tilesetters and finishers, terrazzo and mosaic workers, pointers, cleaners and caulkers, refractory construction and masonry restoration workers—in short, the trowel trades.

Industries Represented: The trowel construction trades. 

History: Watch this video about the history of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers.

Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: The BAC Craft Awards recognize distinguished service that BAC members provide to our unions and communities. BAC runs an International Pension Fund, a Member Assistance Program, IMI/IMTEF Maternity Benefit and Childcare Discount and an International Health Fund to improve the quality of life for members and their families. The BAC Disaster Relief Fund helps members who are survivors of natural or other disasters. Through its online tool sales store, BAC sells tools and branded clothing and other merchandise. BAC has several training and education resources. The BAC Journal provides information for working people in the masonry industry. The International Masonry Institute develops and conducts apprenticeship and training programs for BAC trowel trades craftworkers, as well as safety training. BAC also offers the Bates Scholarship for members’ children and stepchildren in the United States and Canada.

Learn More: Website, Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 11/03/2025 - 11:51