Defying the ‘Wrecking Ball’: Federal Workers in NYC Protest Trump-Musk Purge
By Steve Wishnia
“How do you spell corruption? E-L-O-N!” about 250 picketers chanted in front of 26 Federal Plaza Feb. 19, in the first of two lower Manhattan protests to defend federal workers from the personnel purge by Donald Trump and his hectobillionaire hatchet man, Elon Musk. Five hours later, a crowd of about 750 filled the concrete island in Foley Square for an after-work rally.
Phil Cohen War Stories: The Union Saves a Good Man
War Stories By Phil Cohen
During the spring of 2008, 49-year-old Steve Garrett worked a second shift in the ICQA (Incoming Quality Control Assurance) Department at the Kmart Distribution Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. This small department was responsible for inventory control, product inspection, and organizing storage space in the huge warehouse. Forklifts were used to transport pallets of merchandise for these purposes.
Listen: Is NYC Mayor Eric Adams Toast?
By Bob Hennelly
On this episode of the Stuck Nation Labor Radio Hour, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is talking about the status of embattled Mayor Eric Adams.
Listen: ‘A President is Not King Unless We Bow’
By Bob Hennelly
Less than a month into Donald Trump’s second presidential term, his full court press to let billionaire Elon Musk dismantle the federal government is getting major pushback. On this episode of the Stuck Nation Labor Radio Hour, we’re looking at the protests that are cropping up in Washington D.C. and dozens of states.
Hijacked DC37 Retirees Association ‘Opposes’ NYC Council Bill to Protect Real Medicare
By Joe Maniscalco
Maybe they thought nobody was watching?
A year after seizing control of the DC37 Retirees Association and suspending officers opposed to the ongoing Medicare Advantage push in NYC, the American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees—under the auspices of Administrator Ann Widger—has begun pumping out letters declaring the Retirees Association’s sudden and miraculous opposition to legislation aimed at protecting Traditional Medicare benefits.
Federal Workers Plan Feb. 19 Protests Against Trump-Musk Purge!
By Steve Wishnia
“We are putting out a distress signal to the American people,” says Chris Dols of the Federal Unionists Network.
The group, founded two years ago by leaders of locals in various federal employees’ unions, is organizing protests February 19 against the Trump-Musk administration’s assault on federal workers. It’s using the slogan “save our services.”
MLC Continues Its War on NYC Retirees—But Retirees are Answering Back
By Joe Maniscalco
It was déjà vu all over again this week in NYC when the head of the Municipal Labor Committee [MLC] once more fired off another letter to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams warning her that legislative efforts to protect the Traditional Medicare benefits of 250,000 municipal retirees “should not be permitted to proceed.”
Federal Judge Again Spikes Trump-Musk ‘Fork Directive’
By Steve Wishnia
A federal judge in Boston on February 10 continued his halt on the Trump administration’s scheme to slash the federal workforce by offering to pay workers through September if they quit by Feb. 6.
Listen: NYC H+H Threatens Doctors Protecting Patients From ICE!
By Bob Hennelly
In the first half of this week’s episode of “What’s Going On?” we explore the difficult position physicians working in New York City’s Health + Hospitals face when it comes to treating immigrants. Last week, the municipal hospital system told their clinicians that it is “illegal to intentionally protect a person who is in the United States unlawfully from detention.” H+H further warned, “You should not try to actively help a person avoid being found by ICE.”
Listen: Trump Firings Cloak Billionaire Tax Cuts—Plus More
By Bob Hennelly
On this episode of “What’s Going On: The Friday Labor Edition, hosts Keziah Glow and Mary Pizzitola, retired FDNY EMT and president of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees interview Alex Lawson, the executive director of Social Security Works.
Now What? How Will Labor Respond to Trump-Musk Assault on US Workers?
By Steve Wishnia
In his first two weeks as President, Donald Trump launched a frontal assault on American workers, axing thousands of federal employees, illegally firing members of the National Labor Relations Board to deny it a functioning quorum, and staging immigration raids that snagged Puerto Ricans and military veterans.
‘Asian Worker Stories’ — Too Powerful to Be Ignored
By Joe Maniscalco
Things are bad for U.S. workers and they only appear to be getting worse. But how much do any of us who have never had to do it, know about what it’s really like being a migrant worker forced to leave behind everything and everyone that matters to us just to survive?
Saving Your Sanity Amidst the Medicare Dis-Advantage Fiasco
By Ryn Gargulinski
Greed. Lies. Betrayal. Rage. While these sound like great ingredients for a soap opera or action thriller, they are less than ideal for real life. Yet they are the key components in the real-life fight New York City retirees are waging against being shuttled into the aptly nicknamed Medicare Dis-Advantage Plan.
Listen: Inside Trump’s Gaza Grab, Musk’s Treasury Takeover…
By Bob Hennelly
On the latest episode of WBAI’s “What’s Going On?” radio show, Palestinian rights activist and author Linda Sarsour talks about Donald Trump’s Gaza grab.
NYC Retirees to UFT Prez: How Do You Spell ‘H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y’, Michael?
By Joe Maniscalco
UFT President Michael Mulgrew wants members of the New York City Council to introduce and pass new legislation giving hard-working paraprofessionals a sorely-needed $10K salary boost. But hold on, if those same City Council people are treating pending legislation protecting the Traditional Medicare benefits of municipals retirees like an ugly green hunk of Kryptonite—why are they rallying behind this effort?
Mitchell-Lama Housing With Union Legacy Under Siege
By Adrian Spencer
East River Landing, once a beacon of affordable housing, is in now in crisis
East River Landing, a Mitchell-Lama cooperative in East Harlem, has long stood as a symbol of affordable housing for working families. Established in 1974 by Local 1199 Drug and Hospital Workers’ Union (now 1199 SEIU), the cooperative was designed to provide safe, affordable homes for its members. Today, it houses 1,594 apartments, many occupied by union retirees and their families. However, under Metro Management Development Company and its principal officer David Baron, this beacon of affordability is now a flashpoint for mismanagement, neglect, and frustration.
Frustrated Rochester Home-Care Workers OK Strike
By Steve Wishnia
Frustrated after eight months of fruitless negotiations to reach their first union contract, professional and clinical home health-care workers in Rochester have voted to authorize a strike of up to three days long.
Listen: A. Philip Randolph Still Speaks to Us Today
By Bob Hennelly
Join WBAI’s "What’s Going On?” at 7 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 3, to reflect on the labor-civil rights connection as well as the essential contribution made by A. Philip Randolph to both movements. For Randolph, an avowed socialist, enduring economic empowerment was won through the kind of collective action required by union organizing.
Just Sour Grapes From ‘Muppety Maoists’ Or a ‘Hostile Takeover By the International’?
By Joe Maniscalco
We now know that the head of the union representing more than 40,000 New York City Transit workers is officially out. Former TWU Local 100 President Richard Davis resigned under pressure last week, amidst ugly allegations of “inappropriate sexual behavior” and outrageous abuse of power.
But why just now, many rank and file members wonder—when these kinds of complaints have been swirling around for years?
Let’s Take Back Billions in 2025 to Advance the Wellbeing of All New Yorkers
By Ray Rogers
It’s Time to End New York's Multi-Billion-Dollar Stock Transfer Tax Rebate To Wealthy Wall Streeters
While infrastructures throughout New York State are crumbling and critical public services are grossly underfunded or non-existent, the message for years emanating from the offices of Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is "now is not the right time." Well, maybe now is not the right time for them but most certainly it is the "right time" for millions of suffering New Yorkers.