The UE NEWS takes a look at the economics news working people need to know. New studies demonstrate the reality of the affordability crisis, examine why American employers are so stingy with vacation and what can be done about it, and explore what our country would be like if every worker that wanted to be in a union had one. Plus: new threats to your retirement.
David Hall, a custodian at Smith Middle School in Glastonbury and member of UE Local 222-27, was honored by the Glastonbury Board of Education in May for his “quick thinking and decisive action” when a student in the middle school cafeteria began showing signs of choking on April 24.
In July, the members of Local 115, who work at the Refresco bottling plant, won a fellow worker his job back after he was unjustly fired.
Custodians for the Glastonbury Board of Education, members of Sublocal 27 of amalgamated Local 222, ratified a new four-year contract in March. The new contract includes raises, increased life insurance coverage, and improved language.
In June, members of amalgamated UE Local 274 who work as clerical and library staff in the City of Greenfield ratified a three-year contract that includes raises and improvements to holiday pay, job security, and workplace safety.
After three weeks of very difficult contract negotiations and the rejection of the company’s last, best, and final proposal, members of the Joint Bargaining Committee (JBC) unions at GE Appliances Factory Service, which include UE Locals 270, 335, and 707, approved a new three-year agreement on June 24. JBC union members repair home appliances; the JBC includes IBEW, UE, IAM, and the Steamfitters.
The members of UE Local 741, who are paraprofessionals, cooks, custodians, bus drivers, mechanics, and maintenance workers in the Highland Local School District, are used to difficult times. Despite being essential to maintaining safe and learning conditions and often being responsible for students’ lives, such “classified staff” in public schools are often overlooked and underrespected. The situation is made worse in Ohio, with 31 years of a Republican supermajority in the Ohio General Assembly failing to rectify Ohio’s inadequate and unlawful school-funding situation.
In June, members of the Japanese union Zenroren, an important UE ally, flew into Chicago for the Labor Notes Conference and extended their stay to visit important labor history sites and meet with UE members. The Zenroren delegation included Vice President Ritsu Takagi, Secretary General Koichi Kurosawa, and Deputy Secretary General Keisuke Fuse.
The members of UE Local 690 ratified a new five-year contract on May 27. The workers, employed by Kenson Plastics, produce plastic components and fixtures for sectors ranging from the aerospace to medical industries. The new agreement includes hourly wage increases of $1.45 in the first year and $1.00 in each of the remaining four years. Fabricators, which make up the majority of the local’s membership, will receive an additional $1.10 per hour with completion of four years of service.
From June 12-14, thousands of union members from across the country, including over 30 from UE, gathered in Chicago for the 2026 Labor Notes Conference. The conference this year focused on the labor movement taking an offensive stance against not only the boss but broader authoritarianism.
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