Victory for UNITE HERE Local 26 Battery Wharf Workers!

Join us in congratulating these brave workers who joined together, fought and won!
Landmark Education Bill Will Send $1.5B To Massachusetts Schools

Click here to see a statementfrom the American Federation of Teachers, Massachusetts.
This Thanksgiving Shop Union Made


The Annual AFL-CIO Scholarship and Labor Education Program is in its 62nd year. Through the program, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and affiliated unions are proud to award financial resources to high school students pursuing trade union programs or college/university study. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO administers half a million dollars of scholarship awards on behalf of unions and labor councils throughout the state. Individual awards range from $500 to $16,000. All high school seniors in Massachusetts are eligible to compete for an award.
Applications must be received by December 20th at 5pm. The exam will be administered on February 10, 2020.
To learn more and apply, click here:
Congratulations To Our Newly Elected Union Members and Endorsed Candidates!
This election season saw a surge of union member and pro-working family candidates for municipal office. The Massachusetts Central Labor Councils and Assemblies endorsed in many races to help create a government where working people have a voice.
To see who won in your city, click here.
To learn more about jumping into the political process and to continue the momentum heading into 2020, join our first ever union member candidate school this December 7th.
Massachusetts Building Trades Unions’ Annual Helmets To Hard Hats Events Bolsters Program to Help Veterans Get Union Careers
Building trades unions based in Dorchester donated $13,000 to Helmets to Hardhats at a State House fundraising event last Friday. Helmets to Hardhats aims to connect National Guard, Reserve, and transitioning active-duty military members with trades unions jobs, according to a release from the Massachusetts Building Trades Council.
The overall union fundraising effort ultimately delivered more than $65,000 to the charity.
Stand With Harvard Student Workers
The Harvard Graduate Students Union-UAW (HGSU-UAW) bargaining committee has set a strike deadline of December 3rd, following the student workers’ overwhelming 2,425 to 254 vote (90.4% in favor) to authorize a strike. The October strike authorization vote was the largest vote of its kind at a private university. Eighteen (18) months after HGSU-UAW formed its union and Harvard agreed to negotiate, the administration has failed to make real movement toward a contract that addresses the union’s core priorities which include: comprehensive and affordable healthcare, fair pay, and common-sense protections from harassment and discrimination.
Support graduate student workers! Click here to learn more.
Ensuring that Massachusetts Corporations Pay Their Fair Share
Action Alert: Tell Disney To Pay Their Musicians
MP Boston and Building Trades Unions sign Project Labor Agreement for Winthrop Center

There's More to Mass. Licensing Rules Than Meets Critics' Eyes

On Aug. 29, 2007, firefighters rushed into a blaze at the Tai Ho Mandarin and Cantonese Restaurant in West Roxbury. Unknown to them at the time was that grease had built up in the duct work above the stoves over many years. The grease caused the fire to spread, and the roof collapsed. Two firefighters were killed.
Protect the USPS - NO to Privatization

The public service mission of the Postal Service has made it the most popular federal agency. However, this public good is at risk if we don’t all act soon.
In June 2018 the White House announced proposals to privatize the Postal Service. Now Postmaster General Megan Brennan has announced her departure as Postmaster General in January 2020.
The Postmaster General has wide powers to shape the mission of USPS and there is a real risk that Brennan’s successor could hand over parts of the service to private, profit-making corporations and prepare it for a wholesale sell-off.
The people will rightly expect a new Postmaster General who will uphold the Postal Service’s public mission and will work to preserve and enhance our national treasure.
Add your voice. Protect our public Postal Service.
Join AFSCME to Protest Union Busting in Cambridge This Black Friday!

On Black Friday, join AFSCME at Guess stores around the country to tell the Marciano family to respect workers’ rights, reopen the Marciano Art Foundation (MAF), reinstate their workers and recognize their union.
Just in time for the holidays, the MAF laid off Visitor Services staff only four days after they filed their union petition to organize! The next day, the Marcianos closed the whole museum, indicating that they would rather cut and run on their obligations to the community rather than address employees’ concerns.
A week later, they continue to hold private tours and events at MAF.
MAF workers need our help and solidarity. We are going to Guess stores to show the Marcianos that they are not above the law.
Join us at Guess stores to demand that the Marcianos: Reopen MAF, Reinstate MAF workers and, Recognize their union.
Teamsters Local 25 Ends Marshfield Strike

The MA AFL-CIO salutes the courageous workers of Republic Services Marshfield for holding the line for 84 days against corporate greed.
Click here for a statement from Teamsters Joint Council 10:
"A small group in Marshfield, Massachusetts had the stones to take on a mammoth corporation. Working Teamsters and their local unions across the nation backed them every day. That is a point of pride,” said Sean O’Brien, Teamster Local 25 President.
‘Construction life got us to where we are now’ says formerly homeless East Bridgewater mother

When Tara Williams thinks about how her life has changed in the past few months, she attributes the transformation to her new career in construction.
Following a divorce that left her and her two children homeless, the 42-year-old worked various types jobs and settled in East Bridgewater. Becoming a construction worker has provided her family stability and the ability to look ahead.
“It feels awesome,” Williams said. “When I walk around, I feel a big sense of accomplishment. I’ve been through so much and it can only get better.”
About six weeks ago, she started with Northern Construction Co. She is part of an eight-person crew in Carver that is converting a bridge to two-way traffic and adding sidewalks.
Read more about this Laborers, Local 721 member from The Enterprise.
Join AFSCME to Protest Union Busting in Cambridge This Black Friday!

MAF workers need our help and solidarity. We are going to Guess stores to show the Marcianos that they are not above the law.
Teamsters Local 25 Ends Marshfield Strike
The MA AFL-CIO salutes the courageous workers of Republic Services Marshfield for holding the line for 84 days against corporate greed.
Click here for a statement from Teamsters Joint Council 10:
"A small group in Marshfield, Massachusetts had the stones to take on a mammoth corporation. Working Teamsters and their local unions across the nation backed them every day. That is a point of pride,” said Sean O’Brien, Teamster Local 25 President.
‘Construction life got us to where we are now’ says formerly homeless East Bridgewater mother
When Tara Williams thinks about how her life has changed in the past few months, she attributes the transformation to her new career in construction.
Read more about this Laborers, Local 721 member from The Enterprise.
Final Week to Register for Union Member Candidate School
Support for union members running for elected office is a top priority for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and our affiliates. We know that when our members run on a platform of working people’s values and receive unified support from the labor movement, we will win. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO and its Executive Board are establishing a union candidate school to train our members to run for elected office from the local/municipal level all the way up to statewide/federal office.
December 3: Tradeswomen Tuesday, Roxbury
December 6: The Labor Guild CGA Awards Dinner
December 7: Union Member Candidate School, Boston
December 7: Forging Pathways: 16th Annual Women's Solidarity Breakfast, Lynn
December 11: Building Trades Futures Committee
For a full list of events, visit the calendar on our website. If you have any events that you would like to be included, contact Rachael Running at [email protected]