The Local: Feb. 20, 2025 news roundup
Welcome back to The Local, a publication of NYC-DSA Labor Working Group reporting every two weeks. As always, send any tips, corrections, and other feedback to thenyclocal@substack.com. In this issue, New York Magazine workers avert a strike, federal workers face off with the Trump administration as mass layoffs begin, and corrections officers engage in wildcat strikes across the state prison system. EWOC is also hosting a February Workers’ Circle on Feb. 24th, RSVP here.
Photo by Alexandra Chan at the 02/19 Federal Unionist Network day of action.
Organizing (asterisks indicate employer-filed petitions for union election)
A decertification petition has been filed for a unit of technicians at Corporate Coffee System, currently repped by Teamsters Local 804.
A unit clarification petition has been filed at StoryCorps, as CWA Local 1180 seeks to expand the bargaining unit.
Doctors at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York are organizing with 1199SEIU.
Bus drivers at JFK Airport contractor ERMC Aviation LLC are organizing with the Transport Workers Union.
Workers at a Starbucks in Ridgewood are organizing (likely with Workers United, though those petition details are – strangely – not available right now).
Editorial employees at PS (formerly POPSUGAR) are voluntarily recognized as part of Vox Media Union with WGA East.
Bargaining & Action
02/07: Pre-college Instructors ARTS-MSM at Manhattan School of Music finish a week-long strike to demand a contract with fair wages and sustainable working conditions that would bring pay rates in line with peer institutions.
02/11: New York magazine editorial staff represented by NewsGuild NY reach a tentative agreement with Vox Media, averting a walkout.
02/12: The Council of School Supervisors and Administrators working in early childhood education centers announced a tentative agreement with the city.
02/15: Alamo Drafthouse workers with UAW in Manhattan and Brooklym walked out on strike over a layoff of 70 union workers. Donate to and support them here.
02/19: Researcher unions of UAW Region 9A cosponsored a rally to defend research funding from Musk-led cuts in Washington Square Park.
02/19: Almost 20 unions and organizations cosponsored noon and 5:30pm Save Our Services rallies in support of the Federal Unionists Network.
Photo by Alexandra Chan at the 02/19 Federal Unionist Network day of action.
Albany
Corrections officers have gone on wildcat strikes across half the state’s prisons; issues cited by the strikers include understaffing, a recent reform law limiting the use of solitary confinement, and increased scrutiny following the release of video showing corrections officers killing an inmate named Robert Brooks. Hochul has threatened to send in the national guard if the strike is not resolved. [NY Focus]
City Hall
Unions push for the completion of the long-delayed Pacific Park development in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, which would be built with union labor and be geared towards working class residents. [Labor Press]
Miscellaneous
Federal workers aren’t giving in despite attacks by Elon Musk and Donald Trump. The American Federation of Government Employees gained over 14,000 new members since the start of the year. [Minnesota Reformer]
Meanwhile, the Trump administration expands its dismantling of the federal workforce, as the Office of Personnel Management directs agencies to lay off workers on probationary status – which encompasses over 200,000 workers. [The Chief Leader]
The administration’s efforts to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have been put on ice; after issuing a broad stop work order to CFPB employees and firing probationary employees, a judge ordered a halt to the firings while the CFPB Union’s lawsuit against the administration plays out. [NPR]
Trump-appointed acting General Counsel of the NLRB William Cowen rescinds 30 Abruzzo-era memos setting out enforcement priorities and approaches; these rescissions indicate that the General Counsel will no longer apply or defend important recent precedents, such as the recognition of college athlete unions, the expansion of remedies for unfair labor practices, and a ban on non-compete agreements. [NLRB Edge]
The PSC-CUNY delegate assembly voted 73-70 to pass a resolution for the union to divest from Israeli assets, while also recommending that the broader Teachers’ Retirement System follow suit. [Truth Out]
Brooklyn Museum prepares to lay off about 50 workers, which the staff unions argue is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement. [Labor Press, The Chief Leader]
Job Listings
Operations Coordinator - Labor Notes (Salary: $75,900)
Campaign Coordinator - 32BJ Health Fund
A complete list of local union jobs can be found at unionjobs.com, alongside here is the complete list of New York City’s civil service exams. Additionally if you’re interested in taking a job in a strategic industry and want to be connected through the Labor Working Group, check out this form here.