Protests are being held across the country today to demand the release of David Huerta, the President of the 750,000-member SEIU California who has been locked up since Friday for protesting an immigration raid in downtown Los Angeles. The arrest represents a dramatic escalation in Trump’s assault on labor unions. It also comes as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement in workplaces. While it is true that Trump likely doesn’t know the scale of the fight that he’s picked, that does not change that it is an enormous warning sign for the future of our democracy and the labor movement. Here’s the list of #FreeDavidEndRaids events.
News and Views
Supermarket Workers Rise Up: Kroger workers in Indianapolis represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 700 just voted overwhelmingly to reject a tentative agreement that would have delivered only 50 cent wage increases over four years to some workers. Over on the West Coast, more than 30,000 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000 voted by a margin of 97 percent to strike Kroger and Albertsons stores. And UFCW locals in Southern California are set to release the results of strike authorization votes later this week.
AFGE v. Trump: The American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents more than 800,000 federal workers, has multiple, ongoing lawsuits against the Trump administration. They’re suing over workforce cuts, the cancellation of collective bargaining agreements, attempts to fire probationary employees, and more. You can follow along on their new lawsuit tracker.
GOP Hamstrings Labor Enforcement: The Republican U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, who has tried to depict himself as a friend to workers, wants the federal Department of Labor (DOL) to investigate potential child labor violations in meatpacking plants. But Hawley’s own party is cutting the DOL workforce and appointing anti-worker people to key labor enforcement posts – posing a likely roadblock to any potential investigation.
Today’s Win:
Experts and labor leaders in California say they’re seeing a major uptick in labor militancy right now, the Orange County Register reports. Workers are struggling to afford basic goods while the companies they work for get richer, and Trump’s immigration policies are targeting workers in key industries – but unions and their members are fighting back.