NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration is moving to overrule any state laws that may protect consumers’ credit reports from medical debt and other debt issues.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has drafted what’s known as an interpretative rule related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, interpreting the law in a way that says the FCRA should preempt any state laws or regulations when it comes to how debt should be reported to the credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax and Trans Union.
This repeals previous Biden-era rules and regulations that allowed states to implement their own credit reporting bans. More than a dozen states like New York and Delaware prohibit the reporting of medical debt on a consumers’ credit report.
Medical debt is often the most disputed part of a consumer’s credit report, because insurance payments can take time, and oftentimes patients do not have the means to fully pay a medical bill if insurance is not covering a procedure that has already taken place.
The three credit bureaus jointly announced in 2023 they would no longer track any medical debts below $500, which at the time the bureaus said would eliminate 70% of all medical debts reported on consumers’ credit files. But some states have gone further than that. New York, Delaware and others passed laws where medical debts can no longer be reported to the credit bureaus.
The CFPB, which is largely not operating at the moment with the exception of actively repealing previous rules written under President Biden or earlier, says in its rule that Congress intended to “create national standards for the credit reporting system” under the FCRA and state laws run afoul of that intention.
The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that Americans owe roughly $220 billion in medical debt. In Republican-controlled states like South Dakota, Mississippi, West Virginia and Georgia, roughly one in six Americans have outstanding medical debt, according to the KFF.
Having outstanding, delinquent medical debt can impact the ability for an individual to apply for a mortgage, a credit card or an auto loan.
A spokesperson for the Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ongoing government shutdown continues to disrupt flights at times and put pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay.
Flights were delayed Thursday at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, New Jersey’s Newark airport and Washington’s Reagan National Airport because of air traffic controller shortages. The number of flight delays for any reason nationwide spiked to 6,158 Thursday after hovering around 4,000 a day earlier in the week, according to FlightAware.com.
Many Federal Aviation Administration facilities are so critically short on controllers that just a few absences can cause disruptions, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said that more air traffic controllers have been calling in sick since the shutdown began. Early on in the shutdown, there were a number of disruptions at airports across the country, but for the past couple of weeks, there haven’t been as many problems.
Duffy plans to hold a news conference later on Friday at the Philadelphia airport with the head of the air traffic controllers union, Nick Daniels, to highlight the added stress the shutdown is putting on controllers. Already, some controllers have taken on second jobs to earn some cash to help them pay their bills while the shutdown drags on.
Daniels said in a message to union members Friday that controllers should be focused on keeping flights safe — not worrying about how to pay their bills. He said it’s not fair that controllers are facing impossible choices about whether to pay for rent or childcare or groceries. The union and some airports have offered to help connect controllers with food banks or other assistance to help them get through the shutdown.
“You are carrying the weight of the national airspace system and now doing it without a paycheck. This is not acceptable and it is not sustainable. No American worker should ever be put in this position,” Daniels said.
Duffy has said that air traffic controllers who abuse their sick time during the shutdown could be fired.
Republicans and Democrats have been unable to reach an agreement to end the shutdown that began on Oct. 1. The airlines and major unions across the industry have urged Congress to reach an agreement to end the shutdown.
“Our aviation system has operated safely throughout the shutdown, but it’s putting an incredible and unnecessary strain on the system, and on our air traffic controllers, flight crews, and many other aviation professionals,” said Rep. Sam Graves, who is Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The Missouri Republican urged Democrats to support the GOP bill to fund the government.
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — The union representing Broadway’s musicians reached a tentative labor agreement with commercial producers on Thursday, averting a potentially crippling strike that would have silenced nearly two dozen musicals.
The American Federation of Musicians Local 802 — which represents 1,200 musicians — had threatened to strike if they didn’t have a new contract by the morning, after going into mediation Wednesday.
Early Thursday, the union said it had struck a tentative deal that includes wage increases and contribution increases to the health fund.
“This three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway,” AFM Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a statement.
The 23 shows that could have gone silent ranged from megahits like “Hamilton” and “The Lion King” to newcomers like “Queen of Versailles” and “Chess,” which are still in previews. Plays would not have been automatically impacted.
It was the second Broadway labor deal in less than a week. Labor tensions had already seemed cool after Actors’ Equity Association — which represents over 51,000 members, including singers, actors, dancers and stage managers — announced a new three-year agreement with producers over the weekend.
Members of both unions had been working under expired contracts. The musicians’ contract expired on Aug. 31, and the Equity contract expired Sept. 28.
The health of Broadway — once very much in doubt due to the coronavirus pandemic that shut down theaters for some 18 months — is now very good, at least in terms of box office. It has been a long road back from the days when theaters were shuttered and the future looked bleak, but the 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion — the highest-grossing season in recorded history, overtaking the pre-pandemic previous high of $1.8 billion during the 2018-2019 season.
The unions pointed to the financial health of Broadway to argue that producers could afford to up pay and benefits for musicians and actors. Producers, represented by The Broadway League, had countered that the restored health of Broadway could be endangered by potential ticket price increases to accommodate the demands.
The most recent major strike on Broadway was in late 2007, when a 19-day walkout by stagehands dimmed the lights on more than two dozen shows and cost producers and the city millions of dollars in lost revenue.
On Wednesday, three U.S. senators from New York and New Jersey — Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Andy Kim — wrote to both sides, urging them to “participate in good faith negotiations and continued communication.” The senators noted that Broadway supports nearly 100,000 jobs and is “an essential cornerstone in the economic well-being of surrounding businesses and sectors, including hospitality, retail and transportation.”
Broadway actors have reached a tentative agreement to avert a strike that would shut down 32 stage productions as theater attendance approaches its peak season, according to their union.
Actors’ Equity, a union that represents more than 51,000 actors and stage managers, said it reached a tentative, three-year agreement with The Broadway League, the trade association that represents theater owners, producers and operators.
However, the producers have yet to reach an agreement with the American Federation of Musicians Local 802, which represents Broadway’s musicians, so a strike by that union is still possible. The actors union said it would put its full support behind the musicians union as it works to reach an agreement.
Al Vincent Jr., executive director and lead negotiator for Actors’ Equity, said that the agreement “saves the Equity-League Health Fund while also making strides in our other priorities including scheduling and physical therapy access”.
The agreement for the contract has been sent to members for ratification, according to the union. The previous three-year contract ended on September 28.
The union had earlier in September threatened to walk off the stage as it had not reached an agreement. A central issue in bargaining had been healthcare and the contribution the Broadway League makes to the union’s health care fund.
Other sectors of the entertainment industry have been roiled by labor unrest, with Hollywood actors and writers striking in 2023, as they fought for better compensation in the streaming TV era and curbs on the use of artificial intelligence.
Video game actors staged a nearly year-long walkout as they sought protections against the use of artificial intelligence, before reaching a tentative agreement with game studios in July.
Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Franklin Paul
LAS VEGAS — LAS VEGAS (AP) — Movies like “The Hangover” and “Ocean’s Eleven” piqued interest in the Las Vegas Strip long ago. But now Nevada labor unions hoping to boost jobs and tourism are pushing state officials to offer tax credits aimed at bringing more Hollywood filmmaking to the state.
The effort to offer up to $95 million in tax credits to Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery for a new film production facility in the Vegas suburbs didn’t win enough legislative support earlier this year. But more than a dozen labor unions are pushing to revive the proposal during an expected special session next month.
“We believe if we can get the public behind us, we’ll be able to get the legislators to understand what a big change this can bring to Southern Nevada,” said Tommy White, business manager-secretary treasurer of Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 872 in Las Vegas.
Trade unions formed a political action committee called Nevada Jobs Now, which has raised over $1 million to be used for digital advertisements, mailers and some TV commercials, White said. The production companies behind the project say it would create 19,000 construction jobs.
If the unions are successful, Las Vegas would be competing with cities like Atlanta, where the film industry has boomed for more than a decade thanks to a far more generous tax break. California, meanwhile, recently revamped its own tax incentive programs to combat a multiyear downward trend in Hollywood film production.
The production companies would not come to Las Vegas if they don’t receive the tax incentives, according to David O’Reilly, CEO of Howard Hughes Holdings, the developer of the proposal called Summerlin Studios. It would include 10 movie stages, hotels, a medical center and be part of a master-planned neighborhood in West Las Vegas.
“There would be no reason for Sony and Warner to film in Nevada when they can get tax credits in 20 other states or around the globe,” he said. “They need to bring their productions to where they have the best economic deal, and we’re just trying to make Nevada competitive with everybody else.”
To be eligible for the tax credits, $400 million needs to be spent building a studio and $1.8 billion spent building the mixed-use development of shops and restaurants, O’Reilly said. Sony and Warner Bros. would have to spend $4.5 billion over 15 years. They would be eligible for the tax credits after the studio is built and filming begins, he said.
The proposal comes as Las Vegas continues to see a decline in tourism. Between June 2024 and June 2025, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported an 11.3% decline in visitors.
White and other supporters argue that not only will the film studios bring jobs and revenue, it will also attract tourists.
“With movie studios, you bring in a whole different type of tourist,” White said, likening it to how major sports teams draw visitors. “You don’t just bring the person that’s come in to go to a resort to gamble.”
Stephen Weizenecker, an Atlanta attorney who was involved in Georgia’s film tax credit program since its inception in 2008, said Georgia has seen more tourists wanting to visit the scenes where movies like “The Hunger Games” and “Forrest Gump” were filmed.
Dubbed the “Hollywood of the South,” metro Atlanta became a ubiquitous backdrop for huge projects, including Marvel films and Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” Its program has supported thousands of jobs and the creation of several thriving studios. But it is expensive — the state in 2024 was projected to give out $1.35 billion in credits that year alone.
The state’s return is an average of 17 cents in tax revenue for every state dollar spent, according to Carlianne Patrick, an associate professor at Georgia State University who conducts audits of the state’s tax credit programs.
Georgia has seen a large increase in production activity and an increase in jobs, though not all of them are full-time, permanent positions, Patrick said.
Some don’t see the payoff in giving tax credits to the film studios.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a union representing thousands of state workers, joined other Nevada organizations this week in sending a letter to the governor urging him to not include the film tax credit proposal in the upcoming special session. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo says he will call lawmakers back to the capital before the years ends, but it’s not yet clear what issues lawmakers will tackle.
They argue the project is “fiscally irresponsible and politically indefensible” and would only generate $0.52 in tax revenue for every $1 in credit, citing a May 2025 report commissioned by the state.
“Every dollar we lock into a corporate handout is a dollar we can’t put toward our rainy-day readiness, public education, health care, wildfire mitigation, housing, and the basic services Nevadans rely on when times get tight,” the organizations wrote in the letter.
Jared Kluesner, a psychiatric nurse at the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health campus in Las Vegas and member of AFSCME, said the state should prioritize public services for people with mental health issues.
Kluesner wants Sony and Warner Bros. to build a film studio facility and create more jobs for Nevadans, but “if they’re going to do it at the cost of public services and funds that should be allocated to state workers, then that’s not really solving any problems.”
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Broadway is a tense place these days after two major labor unions authorized strike action amid ongoing contract negotiations with producers.
Actors’ Equity Association — which represents over 51,000 members, including singers, actors, dancers and stage managers — and American Federation of Musicians Local 802 — which represents 1,200 musicians — have voted in favor of a strike authorization, a strategic step ahead of any work stoppage. No strike has been called.
Members of both unions are currently working under expired contracts. The musicians’ contract expired on Aug. 31, and the Equity contract expired on Sept. 28.
Both unions want pay increases and higher contributions by producers toward employee health care costs, a key sticking point. Actors Equity also wants producers to hire more backup performers and stage managers, add protections for performers in the event of injury and put limits on how many performances in a row actors can be asked to do without a day off.
The health of Broadway — once very much in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic — is now very good, at least in terms of box office. The 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion, the highest-grossing season in recorded history, overtaking the pre-pandemic previous high of $1.8 billion during the 2018-2019 season. It has been a long road back from the days when theaters were shuttered and the future looked bleak.
The unions are pointing to the financial health of Broadway to argue that producers can afford to up pay and benefits for musicians and actors. Producers, represented by The Broadway League, counter that the health of Broadway could be endangered by increasing ticket prices.
“On the heels of the most successful season in history, the Broadway League wants the working musicians and artists who fueled that very success to accept wage cuts, threats to healthcare benefits, and potential job losses,” Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a statement Tuesday.
A strike would cripple most of Broadway, but some shows might continue. “Beetlejuice” and “Mamma Mia!” arrived as part of tours and so do not have a traditional Broadway contract. And shows playing at nonprofit theaters, such as the musical “Ragtime” at Lincoln Center Theater and the play “Punch” from the Manhattan Theatre Club, have separate labor agreements.
The most recent major strike on Broadway was in late 2007, when a 19-day walkout dimmed the lights on more than two dozen shows and cost producers and the city millions of dollars in lost revenue.
More than 30 members of Congress, including the entire New York delegation, have signed a letter urging all sides to bargain in good faith and avoid a strike.
“A disruption to Broadway will result in significant economic disruption to not just the New York metropolitan area but harm theater workers and patrons across the country and around the world,” the letter states.
SAN FRANCISCO — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An estimated 31,000 registered nurses and other front-line Kaiser Permanente health care workers went on strike Tuesday to demand better wages and staffing from the California-based health care giant.
Organizers say the five-day strike across 500 medical centers and offices in California, Hawaii and Oregon is the largest in the 50-year history of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals. The strike could grow to include 46,000 people.
Those on strike, including pharmacists, midwives and rehab therapists, say wages have not kept pace with inflation and there is not enough staffing to keep up with patient demand.
They are asking for a 25% wage increase over four years to make up for wages they say are at least 7% behind their peers.
Kaiser Permanente has countered with a 21.5% increase over four years. The company says that represented employees earn, on average, 16% more than their peers, and it would have to charge customers more to meet strikers’ pay demand.
The company said health clinics and hospitals will remain open during the strike, with some in-person appointments shifted to virtual appointments, and some elective surgeries and procedures being rescheduled.
Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plans, serving 12.6 million members at 600 medical offices and 40 hospitals in largely western U.S. states. It is based in Oakland, California.
Even though the U.S. has a stark shortage of air traffic controllers, ones who call in sick instead of working without a paycheck during the federal government shutdown risk being fired, the U.S. transportation secretary warned.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said this week that he understands the controllers’ frustrations and worries. But during an appearance Thursday on Fox Business, he said that by calling in sick they are causing major disruptions to air traffic, and it won’t be tolerated.
“If we have some of our staff that aren’t dedicated like we need, we’ll let them go,” Duffy said, noting that more than 90% of controllers have been showing up to work during the shutdown. “… It’s a small fraction of people who don’t come to work. They can create this massive disruption. And that’s what you’re seeing rippling through our skies today.”
Airports across the country have experienced delays this week because of a shortage of controllers, more than half of which Duffy attributed to work no-shows. The worst problems have come at smaller airports in Burbank, California, and Nashville, Tennessee, but there have also been delays at major hubs in Newark, New Jersey, Chicago, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Even a small number of controllers not showing up for work is causing problems because the Federal Aviation Administration has a critical shortage of them. Duffy has made it a priority to increase hiring to try to eliminate the shortage in the next few years, but he said controllers who are “problem children” could still be fired.
A Transportation Department spokesperson reinforced that message in a statement Friday, saying, “if there are rare bad actors that don’t show up purposefully and cause disruptions to our operations, consequences are inevitable.”
The controllers’ union, the National Association of Air Traffic Controllers, has also stressed that members need to keep working during the shutdown.
“We must be clear. NATCA does not condone a coordinated activity that disrupts the national airspace system or damages our reputation. Such actions are illegal. Risk your careers and destroy our ability to effectively advocate for you and your families,” Mick Devine, the union’s executive vice president, said in a video to members.
Like other affected federal workers, controllers are worried about how they will pay their bills during the shutdown when they won’t get paychecks. Duffy and the union’s president have acknowledged the unfairness of their situation, which only adds more stress to their already stressful jobs.
NATCA President Nick Daniels said controllers might have to take time off to work a second job just to make ends meet during the shutdown. But Duffy said that right now, he thinks the controllers who are missing work are “lashing out” in frustration.
“It’s going to eventually be that when people don’t have money, they have time to start making life choices and life decisions. And it shouldn’t be waiting for air traffic controllers to break because of having to take out loans, credit card debt, paying bills, gas, groceries, mortgages. Those things aren’t going to stop,” Daniels said.
Flight disruptions caused by controllers missing work might add to the pressure on Congress to reach an agreement to end the shutdown. That’s what happened in 2019, but so far Democrats and Republicans have shown little sign of getting close to ending their standoff.
Even though the U.S. has a stark shortage of air traffic controllers, ones who call in sick instead of working without a paycheck during the federal government shutdown risk being fired, the U.S. transportation secretary warned.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said this week that he understands the controllers’ frustrations and worries. But during an appearance Thursday on Fox Business, he said that by calling in sick they are causing major disruptions to air traffic, and it won’t be tolerated.
“If we have some of our staff that aren’t dedicated like we need, we’ll let them go,” Duffy said, noting that more than 90% of controllers have been showing up to work during the shutdown. “… It’s a small fraction of people who don’t come to work. They can create this massive disruption. And that’s what you’re seeing rippling through our skies today.”
Airports across the country have experienced delays this week because of a shortage of controllers, more than half of which Duffy attributed to work no-shows. The worst problems have come at smaller airports in Burbank, California, and Nashville, Tennessee, but there have also been delays at major hubs in Newark, New Jersey, Chicago, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Even a small number of controllers not showing up for work is causing problems because the Federal Aviation Administration has a critical shortage of them. Duffy has made it a priority to increase hiring to try to eliminate the shortage in the next few years, but he said controllers who are “problem children” could still be fired.
A Transportation Department spokesperson reinforced that message in a statement Friday, saying, “if there are rare bad actors that don’t show up purposefully and cause disruptions to our operations, consequences are inevitable.”
The controllers’ union, the National Association of Air Traffic Controllers, has also stressed that members need to keep working during the shutdown.
“We must be clear. NATCA does not condone a coordinated activity that disrupts the national airspace system or damages our reputation. Such actions are illegal. Risk your careers and destroy our ability to effectively advocate for you and your families,” Mick Devine, the union’s executive vice president, said in a video to members.
Like other affected federal workers, controllers are worried about how they will pay their bills during the shutdown when they won’t get paychecks. Duffy and the union’s president have acknowledged the unfairness of their situation, which only adds more stress to their already stressful jobs.
NATCA President Nick Daniels said controllers might have to take time off to work a second job just to make ends meet during the shutdown. But Duffy said that right now, he thinks the controllers who are missing work are “lashing out” in frustration.
“It’s going to eventually be that when people don’t have money, they have time to start making life choices and life decisions. And it shouldn’t be waiting for air traffic controllers to break because of having to take out loans, credit card debt, paying bills, gas, groceries, mortgages. Those things aren’t going to stop,” Daniels said.
Flight disruptions caused by controllers missing work might add to the pressure on Congress to reach an agreement to end the shutdown. That’s what happened in 2019, but so far Democrats and Republicans have shown little sign of getting close to ending their standoff.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — More than 800,000 drivers for ride-hailing companies in California will soon be able to join a union and bargain collectively for better wages and benefits under a measure signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Supporters said the new law will open a path for the largest expansion of private sector collective bargaining rights in the state’s history. The legislation is a significant compromise in the yearslong battle between labor unions and tech companies.
California is the second state where Uber and Lyft drivers can unionize as independent contractors. Massachusetts voters passed a ballot referendum in November allowing unionization, while drivers in Illinois and Minnesota are pushing for similar rights.
Newsom announced the signing at an unrelated news conference at University of California, Berkeley. The new law will give drivers “dignity and a say about their future,” he said.
The new law is part of an agreement made in September between Newsom, state lawmakers and the Service Employees International Union, along with rideshare companies Uber and Lyft. In exchange, Newsom also signed a measure supported by Uber and Lyft to significantly cut the companies’ insurance requirements for accidents caused by underinsured drivers.
Lyft CEO David Risher said in September that the new insurance rates are expected to save the company $200 million and could help reduce fares.
Uber and Lyft fares in California are consistently higher than in other parts of the U.S. because of insurance requirements, the companies say. Uber has said that nearly one-third of every ride fare in the state goes toward paying for state-mandated insurance.
Labor unions and tech companies have fought for years over drivers’ rights. In July of last year, the California Supreme Court ruled that app-based ride-hailing and delivery services like Uber and Lyft can continue treating their drivers as independent contractors not entitled to benefits like overtime pay, paid sick leave and unemployment insurance. A 2019 law mandated that Uber and Lyft provide drivers with benefits, but voters reversed it at the ballot in 2020.
The collective bargaining measure now allows rideshare workers in California to join a union while still being classified as independent contractors and requires gig companies to bargain in good faith. The new law doesn’t apply to drivers for delivery apps like DoorDash.
The insurance measure will reduce the coverage requirement for accidents caused by uninsured or underinsured drivers from $1 million to $60,000 per individual and $300,000 per accident.
The two measures “together represent a compromise that lowers costs for riders while creating stronger voices for drivers —demonstrating how industry, labor, and lawmakers can work together to deliver real solutions,” Ramona Prieto, head of public policy for California at Uber, said in a statement.
Rideshare Drivers United, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group of 20,000 drivers, said the collective bargaining law isn’t strong enough to give workers a fair contract. The group wanted to require the companies to report its data on pay to the state.
New York City drivers’ pay increased after the city started requiring the companies to report how much an average driver earns, the group said.
“Drivers really need the backing of the state to ensure that not only is a wage proposal actually going to help drivers, but that there is progress in drivers’ pay over the years,” said Nicole Moore, president of Rideshare Drivers United.
Other drivers said the legislation will provide more job safety and benefits.
Many who support unionization said they have faced a slew of issues, including being “deactivated” from their apps without an explanation or fair appeals process when a passenger complains.
“Drivers have had no way to fight back against the gig companies taking more and more of the passenger fare, or to challenge unfair deactivations that cost us our livelihoods,” Ana Barragan, a gig driver from Los Angeles, said in a statement. “We’ve worked long hours, faced disrespect, and had no voice, just silence on the other end of the app. But now, with the right to organize a strong, democratic union, I feel hope.”
MINNEAPOLIS — Farm Aid — the annual fundraising concerts launched by Willie Nelson,Neil Young and John Mellencamp during the farm crisis of the 1980s — celebrates its 40th anniversary on Saturday in Minneapolis.
The star-studded festivals are still raising public awareness of the challenges facing family farmers, and assisting struggling producers connect with help.
This year’s concert comes at a worrying time for American farmers. Farm profitability has been falling. Crop prices are low while production costs are rising. And the Trump administration’s trade wars have added to the insecurity. China has not bought any of the 2025 U.S. soybean crop so far and has turned to America’s competitors, such as Brazil, to meet its needs.
A labor dispute nearly derailed the festival this year. Organizers said they would not cross the picket lines of striking teamster service workers at the university, saying “the farm and labor movements are inseparable.” Nelson got on the phone with Gov. Tim Walz. The university and union reached a deal late last week.
“The Governor knows how important this event is to farmers and farm country,” Walz spokesperson Claire Lancaster said. “He worked with all parties involved, including Willie Nelson, to find a solution.”
Farm Aid is thrilled that the show will go on.
“For four decades, Farm Aid has stood with farmers and workers,” organizers said in a statement that called the agreement “a reminder of what can be achieved when people come together in the spirit of fairness and solidarity.”
CNN will carry five hours of programming from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. CDT, featuring live performances by Nelson, Young, Mellencamp, Dylan, Matthews and Price. CNN will also stream it live on CNN.com, and on its apps without requiring a cable login. Sirius XM will carry it on satellite radio starting at noon CDT. Beginning at 11:30 a.m. CDT, it will also stream on the nugs live music platform and YouTube channel, and at FarmAid.org and on Farm Aid’s YouTube channel.
This will be the ninth Farm Aid for Rateliff, whose music combines rock, soul, country, gospel, folk and Americana. He said he joined because he has long felt a connection to farming and the land.
“I grew up in rural Missouri, and grew up with agriculture around me, and we didn’t have much money as a family,” Rateliff recalled in an interview. “So we had a huge one-acre garden, and my mom canned a lot of stuff, and my dad and I would hunt squirrel and rabbit and deer and whatever else we could eat.”
Jennifer Fahy, Farm Aid’s co-executive director, said the founders never expected 40 years ago that they would be able to raise enough money to pay off all the debts and solve all the other problems of struggling farmers. She said their bigger hope was to foster systemic solutions.
“Farm Aid was kind of the first rallying point for farmers publicly,” Fahy recalled. “It was the first time that farmers would reach out and call a number.”
That hotline — 1-800-FARM-AID (1-800-327-6243) — was one of their first initiatives. Operators mostly come from agricultural backgrounds. Fahy said they can help with immediate needs, then connect farmers with other resources, such as financial and business counseling, legal advice or mental health support, or help them navigate federal farm programs.
While emergency grants aren’t the main focus of Farm Aid — they’re $500 per farmer and totaled just around $50,000 last year — Fahy said the money may help a family in financial straits buy groceries or keep the heat on in a barn while they seek longer-term solutions.
Farm Aid has raised over $85 million over the years, making it one of the largest in a line of famed benefit concert series.
It awarded grants totaling just over $1 million in 2023, mostly to allied groups across the country, including the Missouri Rural Crisis Center that was launched with the help of a $10,000 grant.
Farm Aid also works with grassroots groups, such as the Land Stewardship Program in Minnesota, to organize rural communities, help maintain local control, and train new farmers.
Rateliff said he keeps coming back to Farm Aid because not enough has changed. People are still fighting against the concentration of agriculture among bigger and bigger producers, he said. But he said music bridges political differences. He said his own fans include people who voted for Bernie Sanders, a self-named democratic socialist, and for President Donald Trump.
“What music has the ability to do is bring people together — to create commonality in a shared human experience — so that we all can examine ourselves together and see how alike we are,” Rateliff said.
PARIS — Protesters hit France with transport strikes, notably hobbling the Paris Metro, demonstrations and traffic slowdowns and blockades Thursday, pitting the power of the streets against President Emmanuel Macron ‘s government and its proposals to cut funding for public services that underpin the French way of life.
The first whiffs of police teargas came before daybreak, with scuffles between riot officers and protesters in Paris. Nationwide demonstrations, from France’s biggest cities to small towns, were expected to mobilize hundreds of thousands of marchers, voicing anger about mounting poverty, sharpening inequality and struggles for low-paid workers and others to make ends meet.
“We say ‘no’ to the government. We’ve had enough. There’s no more money, a high cost of living,” striking transport worker Nadia Belhoum said at a before-dawn protest targeting a Paris bus depot. She described “people agonizing, being squeezed like a lemon even if there’s no more juice.”
Labor unions that called strikes are pushing for the abandonment of proposed budget cuts, social welfare freezes and other belt-tightening that opponents contend will further hit the pockets of low-paid and middle-class workers and which triggered the collapse of successive governments that sought to push through savings.
Opponents of Macron’s business-friendly leadership complain that taxpayer-funded public services — free schools and public hospitals, subsidized health care, unemployment benefits and other safety nets that are cherished in France — are being eroded. Left-wing parties and their supporters want the wealthy and businesses to pay more, rather than see spending cuts to plug holes in France’s finances and to rein in its debts.
“Public service is falling apart,” said teacher Claudia Nunez. “It’s always the same people who pay.”
The day of upheaval — with strikes also impacting schools, industry and other sectors of the European Union’s second-largest economy — aimed to turn up the heat on new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Macron appointed him last week, tasking Lecornu with building parliamentary support for belt-tightening that brought down his predecessors.
“Bringing in Lecornu doesn’t change anything — he’s just another man in a suit who will follow Macron’s line,” said 22-year-old student Juliette Martin.
“We want our voices heard. People my age feel like no one in politics is speaking for us,” she said. “It’s always our generation that ends up with the insecurity and the debt.”
Unions have decried budget proposals by Macron’s minority governments, weakened by their lack of a dependable majority in parliament, as brutal and punitive for workers, retirees and others who are vulnerable.
“The bourgeoisie of this country have been gorging themselves, they don’t even know what to do with their money anymore. So if there is indeed a crisis, the question is who should pay for it,” said Fabien Villedieu, a leader of the SUD-Rail train workers union. “We are asking that the government’s austerity plan that consists of making the poorest in this country always pay — whether they are employees, retirees, students — ends and that we make the richest in this country pay.”
Striking rail workers waving flares made a brief foray into the Paris headquarters of the Economics Ministry, leaving trails of smoke in the air before leaving.
Macron’s opponents also continue to denounce unpopular pension reforms that he railroaded through parliament and which raised the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, triggering a firestorm of anger and rounds of protest earlier in what is his second and last term as president, which ends in 2027.
The government said it was deploying police in exceptionally large numbers — about 80,000 in all — to keep order. Police were ordered to break up traffic blockades and other efforts to prevent people who weren’t protesting from going about their business. Paris police used tear gas to disperse a before-dawn blockade of a bus depot. French broadcasters also reported sporadic clashes in the cites of Nantes, in the west, and Lyon in the southeast, with volleys of police tear gas and projectiles targeting officers.
The Interior Ministry reported 94 arrests nationwide by midday.
“Every time there’s a protest, it feels like daily life is held hostage,” said office worker Nathalie Laurent, grappling with disruptions on the Paris Metro during her morning commute.
“You can feel the frustration in the air. People are tired,” she said. “It’s not very democratic when ordinary people can’t even do their jobs. And Lecornu — he’s only just started, but if this is his idea of stability, then he has a long way to go. We don’t need big speeches, we need to feel that someone in government understands what this chaos means for us.”
The Paris Metro operator said rush-hour services suffered fewer disruptions than anticipated but that traffic largely stopped outside those hours except on three driverless automated lines.
French national rail company SNCF said “a few disruptions” were expected on high-speed trains to France and Europe, but most will run.
Regional rail lines, as well as the Paris Metro and commuter trains, will be more severely impacted.
In airports, only few disruptions are anticipated as the main air traffic controllers union decided to postponed its call for a strike pending the appointment of a new Cabinet.
Last week, a day of anti-government action across France saw streets choked with smoke, barricades in flames and volleys of tear gas as protesters denounced budget cuts and political turmoil.
Although falling short of its self-declared intention of total disruption, the “Block Everything” campaign still managed to paralyze parts of daily life and ignite hundreds of hot spots across the country.
___
Associated Press journalists Sylvie Corbet, Michael Euler, Oleg Cetinic and Yesica Brumec in Paris contributed.
Hizzoner says ‘neigh’ to horse-drawn carriages in the city.
Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday endorsed legislation to ban horse-drawn carriages in New York City. This policy shift follows years of advocacy, public safety concerns, and high-profile animal deaths.
Adams, who also signed an executive order directing agencies to prepare for the industry’s end, called on the City Council to swiftly pass Ryder’s Law, a bill that has languished for more than a year.
The measure would phase out the horse-drawn carriage industry by halting the issuance of new licenses and banning carriage operations entirely starting June 1, 2026.
It also requires that retired horses be placed in humane settings, barring their sale for slaughter or to other carriage businesses. In addition, the bill directs the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to create a workforce development program to help drivers and other employees transition into new jobs.
Executive Order 56 directs city agencies to prepare for the industry’s end, increase oversight and enforcement, create a process for drivers to voluntarily return their licenses, and identify new employment opportunities for workers.
“While horse-drawn carriages have long been an iconic fixture of Central Park, they are increasingly incompatible with the conditions of a modern, heavily-used urban green space,” Adams said in a statement.
“It’s not about eliminating this tradition,” Adams said. “It’s about honoring our traditions in a way that aligns with who we are today.”
Adams emphasized that his administration will work with drivers as the city transitions away from horse carriages. “We will not abandon the drivers themselves, who are honest, hard-working New Yorkers,” he said, noting that the city is considering new programs for electric carriages.
‘Opportunistic and not helpful’
Calls to end the industry have intensified in recent years after a string of high-profile incidents involving carriage horses. In Aug. 2022, a horse named Ryder collapsed in Hell’s Kitchen during a heatwave, sparking outrage from animal advocates. Ryder later died of cancer that October.
Animal rights activists and politicians, including City Council Member Robert Holden, have led the charge to pass the horse’s namesake law since Ryder’s death.
Last month, another horse, Lady, collapsed and died from an aortic rupture near Times Square.
Since Ryder’s now famous collapse, Councilmembers Holden and Erik Botcher have been peddling legislation that would outlaw horse carriages and replace them with electric carriages. Holden argues that the shift would benefit both the animals and the drivers since the promised machines would be able to run year-round and in any temperature.Photo by Dean Moses
Last month, the Central Park Conservancy, for the first time, took sides in the off-again, on-again, years-long controversy between carriage drivers and animal rights supporters by calling on city officials to end horse-drawn carriages in the park.
An ‘absolute disgrace,’ union says
Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents about 200 carriage riders in the city, has long called the proposed ban “outrageous” and a move that would be a “devastating blow” to its members.
TWU Local 100 President John V. Chiarello said Mayor Adams’ backing of the ban was an “absolute disgrace” and a betrayal of working-class New Yorkers.
“It’s disappointing to see Adams, who is polling dead last in the mayor’s race, now abandon hardworking people who make their living taking part in an age-old New York tradition,” Chiarello said.
A spokesperson for the NYC Council said Ryder’s Law is continuing through the legislative process, criticizing Mayor Adams for using the issue for political gain.
“The Council appreciates that this is a difficult and emotional issue for many New Yorkers, which has persisted for decades. Mayor Adams politically using it for his reelection campaign is opportunistic and not helpful,” the spokesperson said.
“Mayor Adams and Randy Mastro have no credibility in the legislative process after the Council was forced to override their vetoes of grocery delivery worker and street vendor bills that their administration had supported,” they added.
Mastro: City Hall ‘meeting the moment’ on industry
Responding to criticism that the mayor’s timing is politically motivated, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro described such claims as “emotional” and said Mayor Adams is merely “meeting the moment” following the series of horrific incidents involving horse-drawn carriages.
“A consensus is developing that there’s a need to act now and to phase out this industry,” Mastro told amNewYork. “So this legislation has been pending for a year or more in the city council. It has 21 co-signers, which means it’s very close to passage, and the mayor hopes that the council will also meet the moment.”
The First Deputy Mayor said that TWU 100’s comments in response to Adams’ announcement used “rhetoric that’s totally uncalled for,” especially since his executive order directs city agencies to “find new jobs for these workers” and to “recognize and compensate those who voluntarily return their licenses.”
Mastro urged council leadership to expedite hearings and a vote, saying the legislation is necessary to legally end the carriage business and ensure a structured transition, saying they have a “moral imperative” to do so.
On the possibility of new roles for current carriage drivers, the First Deputy Mayor suggested that potential opportunities could include roles in a prospective electric carriage industry, city government driving positions, and other jobs involving horses.
“We’re going to respect the workers in this industry. We’re going to respect the licensees in this industry, and we’re going to respect these animals and do right by all of them,” he said.
Amid the criticism, Adams found an unexpected ally in fellow mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and longtime animal rights advocate.
The Republican nominee praised the mayor’s support for Ryder’s Law, calling the horse-drawn carriage industry “cruel and barbaric.”
“Today, for once, I agree with the mayor,” Sliwa said.
On Friday, SAG-AFTRA elected Astin — an actor who appeared in “The Lord of the Rings,” “Stranger Things” and “Rudy” — to succeed Fran Drescher as its president. Astin is the son of the late Academy Award-winning actress Patty Duke and John Astin, who starred in the 1960s TV series “The Addams Family.”
Sean Astin defeated Chuck Slavin in a 79% to 21% vote. Michelle Hurd was elected secretary-treasurer.
Patty Duke, Sean Astin’s mother, served as the Screen Actors Guild’s president from 1985-1988.
According to its website, SAG-AFTRA brings together Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. It represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, program hosts, recording artists and others.
Another contract proposal has been rejected by Boeing workers who now have been on strike for nearly six weeks from three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed.
The vote on Friday refusing the latest proposal sends the workers back to the picket lines, according to the union representing the 3,200 striking workers who build fighter jets, weapons systems and the U.S. Navy’s first carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Fifty-seven percent of members voted against the proposal, the union said.
“Boeing’s modified offer did not include a sufficient signing bonus relative to what other Boeing workers have received, or a raise in 401(k) benefits,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 said in a statement.
“We’re disappointed our employees have rejected a 5-year offer, including 45% average wage growth,” said Dan Gillian, Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager, in an emailed statement. “We’ve made clear the overall economic framework of our offer will not change, but we have consistently adjusted the offer based on employee and union feedback to better address their concerns.”
Boeing said no further talks are scheduled.
“We will continue to execute our contingency plan, including hiring permanent replacement workers, as we maintain support for our customers,” Gillian said.
The strike, which began Aug. 4, is far smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. Still, the work stoppage has threatened to complicate the aerospace company’s progress in regaining its financial footing.
Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security business accounts for more than one-third of the company’s revenue.
Boeing Co., based in Arlington, Virginia, employs more than 170,000 workers in the U.S. and more than 65 other countries.
DENVER — Labor Day is a chance to celebrate American workers and the contributions they make to society. For labor unions in Colorado, it’s also a chance to take stock of what they have been able to accomplish for workers and the challenges that still lie ahead.
“Colorado has a deep labor history,” said Nicole Speer, a Boulder City Council member and supporter of labor unions. “Unions have been under attack for many decades now, so we’re in a rebuilding phase.”
Denver7 caught up with Speer at a union rally following the Louisville Labor Day parade on Monday. She appeared there alongside union leaders and various political candidates for office.
KMGH-TV
Boulder Area Labor Council hosted a picnic rally at Community Park in Louisville on Labor Day. The event featured local and state candidates for office, union leaders, and union members.
Speer said unions are needed now more than ever.
“So many of us are being laid off,” said Speer. “When our health care is being taken away, when our rights are being taken away, that’s exactly what we need to keep going and keep fighting.”
Speer was among those who lost their job earlier this year.
“I worked at the University of Colorado Boulder, running a research facility for over 13 years,” she told Denver7. “But because of all the funding cuts and delays at the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, there wasn’t enough money to keep supporting all of us who work there.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor, union members accounted for 7.7% of wage and salary workers in Colorado last year, a slight increase from 6.9 % in 2023. However, membership is down from 11% in 2018.
Denver7
When it comes to the percentage of wage and salary workers who belong to a union, Colorado ranks far below many Democratic-controlled states and alongside many Republican-controlled states.
“Colorado has one of the most stringent standards for forming a union, so unions basically have to vote twice,” said Speer.
Unions and their supporters pushed for a bill to get rid of the two-vote requirement during this year’s legislative session, but Governor Jared Polis vetoed the bill, saying mandatory dues should require a high threshold of worker participation and approval.
Politics
Polis vetoes contentious labor bill that would have reshaped unionization laws
“I was very disheartened at the situation with the Worker Protection Act,” said Sharron Pettiford, the president of the Colorado Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU).
Pettiford said she’s also watching things at the federal level very closely.
Thousands of federal workers have been laid off this year, and hundreds of thousands more have lost union protections due to executive orders by President Donald Trump. Black Americans, who make up 18% of the federal workforce compared to 12% of the country’s population, have been disproportionately impacted.
“We’re under attack,” said Pettiford. “I think the targeting, especially in terms of Black workers, are at an all-time high.”
Denver7
Despite their setbacks, unions and their supporters say there have been successes this year. Speer said one accomplishment was fighting against a state bill they described as “terrible” because it would have made changes to tipped workers’ wages.
The bill, House Bill 25-1208, still passed and was signed into law, but unions and their supporters say thanks to their efforts, it was a watered-down version.
“There was a corporate-backed force at the State Capitol that was working to lower tipped workers’ wages because they felt like it was getting too high,” said Speer. “We were able to fight back.”
They plan to continue fighting in the years ahead.
Denver7
Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Brandon Richard
Denver7 politics reporter Brandon Richard closely follows developments at the State Capitol and in Washington, and digs deeper to find how legislation affects Coloradans in every community. If you’d like to get in touch with Brandon, fill out the form below to send him an email.
As we say goodbye to the summer season by celebrating Labor Day, most Americans are eager to recognize the ingenuity and determination of rank-and-file workers.
But not union bosses, who hijack the holiday every year to argue for more government-granted coercive powers. Instead of focusing on the workers they claim to represent, union officials wield political clout to protect and expand their privileged positions.
This is because today’s unions are built on the government-authorized ability to compel workers into their ranks. In the 24 states without right-to-work laws, union chiefs can legally extort private sector workers to “pay up or be fired.” Even when union membership is voluntary, workers must accept the union bargaining collectively for their wages and working conditions.
It doesn’t matter that you, as an individual employee, may not want the union’s so-called representation or a one-size-fits-all contract; union bureaucrats can forcibly take your dues money, then use it to buy political influence or advocate causes you oppose.
Workers do still have some limited rights guaranteed under federal law, such as the right to have union dues not pay for political activities (CWA v. Beck, 1988) or the right of public employees not to be forced to pay any money to a government union (Janus v. AFSCME, 2018). But, union political operatives are using their influence — bought with workers’ dues money collected under duress — to try to push through a legislative agenda that upends these rights.
For example, the Protecting the Right to Work Act (PRO Act), Big Labor’s top legislative priority in Congress, would repeal all current 26 state Right to Work laws by federal fiat. Even though Right to Work laws don’t stop a single worker from joining a union or paying dues voluntarily, they’ve made it their signature move to end this protection for good.
Why? Because union bosses want to strip rank-and-file workers of their choice. This becomes all the more obvious as you examine the PRO Act’s other provisions, which codify several suspect or downright illegal tactics union enforcers already use to get around workers’ rights.
One such tactic is the controversial “card check” method of organizing a union, which avoids the traditional secret ballot that lets workers have the final say. Instead, this process lets organizers submit union cards collected in person from workers, often using pressure or intimidation tactics. The AFL-CIO even admitted in its own organizing handbook that such cards don’t reflect workers’ actual wishes.
To protect existing unions from decertification (secret-ballot votes to remove an incumbent union), the PRO Act codifies another common Big Labor tactic. Through union-filed blocking charges — unproven allegations against the company of unfair practices — union officials can unilaterally block decertification votes for months or more.
In multiple cases, such tactics were used to block decertification votes from occurring even though 100% of workers signed the decertification petition. Workers can literally be unanimously opposed to the union, yet union officials can manipulate their special legal powers to trap workers against their will.
It’s the latest sign that today’s union officials have fully rejected the warnings of some early union officials who wanted to build their organizations without coercing workers into their ranks.
Take Samuel Gompers, the founder of the American Federation of Labor (now the AFL-CIO). In a 1924 speech to union delegates he forcefully rejected the coercion today’s union bosses rely on: “I want to urge devotion to the fundamentals of human liberty — the principles of voluntarism. No lasting gain has ever come from compulsion.”
Gompers understood, as do the 8 in 10 Americans who oppose forced union dues and affiliation, that when union affiliation and financial support are voluntary, union officials must prove their worth to individual workers. But today, union bosses increasingly reject this ideal, and undermine the liberty of those they claim to “represent.”
So this Labor Day, remember that truly being “pro-worker” means rejecting the propaganda from union bosses and respecting a worker’s right to choose whether they want to join a union.
After all, it’s Labor Day, not Union Day.
Mark Mix is the president of the National Right to Work Committee and National Right to Work Foundation.
Amid a trend of declining membership since the Supreme Court struck down mandatory union dues, the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions have poured tens of millions into left-wing causes, a new report finds from a conservative watchdog group.
The national nonprofit group, Defending Ed, released a report this week after combing through the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers’ contributions to left-wing and far-left groups. The nonprofit found that the two unions spent a combined $43.5 million since 2022 to help fund state and federal political action committees and other ideologically left-wing entities, such as D.C. think tanks.
“It is clear that the teachers unions’ priorities are advancing far-left politics and radical social justice issues, not the education of children,” Defending Ed researcher Rhyen Staley told Fox News Digital. “This is a slap in the face to families and teachers who want to focus on helping students improve their reading and math skills. It is time that Congress acts to stop this obscene redistribution of public monies to advance left-wing identity politics.”
Presidents of the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions, Becky Pringle (left) of the National Education Association (NEA), and Randi Weingarten (right) of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).(Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for March For Our Lives)
Left-wing philanthropic behemoths like the Tides Network, New Venture Fund, Sixteen-Thirty Fund, and Future Forward, the last of which was the main Super PAC supporting Kamla Harris’ 2024 presidential run after former President Joe Biden dropped out, all received a combined nearly $1.5 million from the unions, according to the report.
The unions also forked over significant amounts of cash for groups that focus on supporting left-wing candidates for public office, such as the Democratic Governors Association, Democrat’s House Majority and Senate Majority PACs.
Other groups they have donated to include major left-wing think tanks like the Center for American Progress and its 501(c)(4) arm, which received close to a million dollars since 2022 from the two unions.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (left) and Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (right) speak during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 22, 2024.(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Aaron Withe, an expert on public-sector unions, pointed out that the National Education Association spends less than 10% of its budget on what he called “representational activities,” while, at the same time, the union spends 38% of its budget on contributions to left-leaning groups, lobbying and political gifts.
“You’d think in light of the decline in union membership in recent years, that they’d start providing value to members that outweighs the cost of membership,” Withe told Fox News Digital. “Instead, they are appeasing the radical base of union members by advocating for men in women’s sports, transitioning minors, antisemitism and other radical ideological stances.”
He added that this is just “the tip of the iceberg” too “when you consider that there are thousands of statewide and city and county teachers unions that are mostly funding the same causes.”
Education activists alongside elected officials attend a rally outside the U.S. Capitol ahead of Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon’s confirmation hearing on Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for National Education Association)
NEW ORLEANS — A federal agency was wrong to order that Tesla CEO Elon Musk delete a 2018 social media post that union leaders saw as a threat to employee stock options, a sharply divided federal appeals court has ruled.
The case involved a post made on what was then known as Twitter during United Auto Workers organizing efforts at a Tesla facility in Fremont, California. The post was made years before Musk bought the platform, now known as X, in 2022.
On May 20, 2018, Musk tweeted: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare.”
The National Labor Relations Board said it was an illegal threat. After Tesla appealed, three judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld that decision, as well as a related NLRB order that Tesla rehire a fired employee, with back pay.
But Tesla sought a rehearing, and the full 5th Circuit later threw out the earlier decision and voted to hear the matter again. In an opinion dated Friday, the judges split 9-8 in favor of Tesla and Musk.
“We hold that Musk’s tweets are constitutionally protected speech and do not fall into the categories of unprotected communication like obscenity and perjury,” the unsigned opinion said.
The majority also found the NLRB must reconsider its order that the fired employee be reinstated, saying there was no proof that the person who fired the worker acted out of ill will toward the union.
The 11-page opinion was followed by a 30-page dissent on behalf of eight judges, written by Judge James Dennis.
“Relevant here, the Supreme Court has consistently held that the First Amendment does not protect threatening, coercive employer speech to employees in the labor organization election context— the precise category of speech Musk disseminated via Twitter,” Dennis wrote.
He also argued that the attitude of the supervisor who fired the worker was not relevant to whether he should be reinstated. The worker, Dennis wrote, “was fired for declining to divulge information about protected union activities during an interrogation.”
The ruling sent the case back to the NLRB for further action. It was not immediately clear if there would be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Associated Press sent an email to the UAW Tuesday seeking information on the union’s next move.
Several unions united Tuesday morning to urge the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to support a referendum that would allow voters to choose if a casino and entertainment district is approved for Tysons, Virginia.
Dozens of union workers and supporters rallied outside the Fairfax County Government Center on Oct. 22, 2024, urging the county board to back a ballot referendum before the new legislative session for the commonwealth begins in 2025.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO, told WTOP the jobs that would come out of the casino would “lift people out of poverty” and make buying homes and renting more affordable in the notoriously-expensive Northern Virginia suburb.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Groups who oppose the Tysons Corner Casino argue it will hurt local businesses and property values as well as increase traffic in the area. But union workers say it will bring much-needed jobs to the area,
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Members of several unions united Tuesday morning to urge the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to support a referendum that would allow voters to choose whether a casino and entertainment district is approved for Tysons, Virginia.
Dozens of union workers and supporters rallied outside the Fairfax County Government Center to ask the board to back a ballot referendum before the new legislative session for the commonwealth begins in 2025.
Rafael Cruz who works with a hospitality union said the jobs are life-changing in times of inflation and economic worry, “You can see … the benefit in wages.”
Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO, told WTOP the jobs that would come out of the casino would “lift people out of poverty” and make buying homes and renting more affordable in the notoriously expensive Northern Virginia suburb.
“We have agreements in place that will allow more than 5,000 workers to be able to choose freely, to become part of a union. And having a union job is life-changing,” Diamond said.
Unions that wouldn’t see direct jobs also support the project.
David Walrod, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, said in a statement, “This is an important opportunity to bring in more commercial tax revenue for schools and other county services, which is sorely needed.”
A study conducted in 2019 by the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission found that a Northern Virginia casino could generate upward of $155 million annually in tax revenue.
Earlier this year, Virginia’s Senate Finance and Appropriations committee voted against a bill that would have allowed the county to have a ballot referendum on building a casino. They instead decided to carry the bill over to next year’s session, hoping to get more research on the project.
Groups who oppose the Tysons Corner Casino argue it will hurt local businesses and property values, as well as increase traffic in the area.
Democratic Sen. Jennifer Boysko, who represents parts of Fairfax County, is among those who opposes the casino.
“This is where Fortune 500 companies have come to make their home,” Boysko said of Tysons Corner during the session. “This is not something that Fortune 500s would like to have in their community.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
