"Every single time that you get frustrated or you run into a wall, someone from Labor Notes is going to be there to pick you up," Nora Meek, a founding member of the IATSE CREW reform caucus, says in our new video. Help us build a fighting labor movement!

"Cuts to FEMA and NOAA are going to cost lives—they’re also part of a political project to undermine the idea that we collectively, as a nation, can all put in money to create systems to care for each other when disaster strikes," @JennyBrownLN said in this week's episode:.

Zeldin is also dismantling the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, according to the workers' letter, which said it would kneecap the scientific capacity of the agency and “threaten the health of all Americans.” . The agency’s 2026 budget would cut EPA funding by 54%.

Under EPA head Lee Zeldin, the agency is rethinking asbestos bans, weakening mercury rules, and allowing delays in removing carcinogens from drinking water. EPA workers are rallying to support coworkers facing retaliation for signing a letter of dissent:

You can also listen to the Labor Notes Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and our YouTube Channel: . We're proud to be part of the Labor Radio Podcast Network! Check out shows on the network on #LaborRadioPod.

NEW on the Labor Notes Podcast: As the GOP budget bill formalizes this administration’s large-scale attacks on government agencies and programs meant to support working people, it’s worth remembering the labor struggles that built them in the first place:

Fight ICE. Build the Union. -

July Stewards' Workshop: Build a Steward Network -

Many unions don’t involve members much in negotiations, while others have embraced open bargaining, where there's transparency with members. Spoiler alert: campaigns where members know what’s going on and are involved in the process tend to go a lot better:

Union members rejected ADL’s abuse of “antisemitism” to punish critics of Israel, its use of hyperinflated hate crime stats, and its portrayal of calls for Palestinian rights as “hate speech,” wrote Emmaia Gelman, director of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism 2/2.

The National Education Association “will not use, endorse, or publicize materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or statistics.” 1/2.

"While unions cannot guarantee workers’ safety, many are mobilizing to protect them against an administration that is increasingly targeting workplaces and labor leaders themselves.".

“They’ll come after anybody if you disagree with them. I think it’s just a matter of time. Watch where you’re at. You’re stronger in numbers than you are on your own.”.

A negotiations-focused bargaining model is one where members aren’t as involved, and the focus is on persuasion rather than power, with members only taking action as a last resort. It’s more a gesture toward collective action without a plan to escalate or a real strategy to win:.

RT @nataschaelena: “Anybody who thinks we have to ignore certain issues or avoid certain political conversations in order to grow the base,….

Webinar: How Unions Are Coordinating Bargaining and Aligning Contracts -

Reporting by @nataschaelena and @sarahlazare in collaboration with @workdaymagazine 2/2.

"Facing an emboldened Trump administration, union members across the country are in an intensifying battle to keep their members—and all workers, whether or not they are in unions—free and safe from federal immigration authorities." 1/2.

RT @nataschaelena: Workers across the country are taking up the fight against ICE—and strengthening their unions in the process. In colla….

It can feel disempowering to be in a campaign that moves slowly and seems mostly reactive to management. The campaign mountain model is a useful framework for escalating actions that focuses on bringing members in consistently and fighting as a unit:

"These new circumstances have created a situation ripe for organizing that could finally be the chink in Amazon's armor as they push these machines out across their network," writes Alvin Gaine an Amazon worker at DB4K facility in Queens, New York: