UE NEWS Updates

Members of UE Local 123 at Daikin Industries ratified a new four-year contract at the end of April. The contract guarantees six percent wage increases for the lowest paid workers, increases vacation days and paid time off, and improves language on other benefits. It also increases shift differential pay from $.80 to $2.30 per hour, giving second and third shift workers an additional $1.50 raise.

In March 2026, GSU-UE Local 1103 members at the University of Chicago won unprecedented victories against unfair dismissals. By mobilizing hundreds of members to their coworkers’ defense, the local won two discharge grievances for the first time — an important victory in a moment when basic workplace protections for graduate workers are under attack by university administrators across the country.

After months of planning and coalition building, 13 unions representing bargaining units across ten different university campuses and branches around New Mexico, including UE Locals 1466 and 1498, gathered in Albuquerque for the first Higher Education Labor United (HELU) summit in the state. The summit included presentations covering legislative advocacy, New Mexico Tax Code, and successful revenue campaigns in New Mexico and Massachusetts. Participants also began to draft HELU-NM's vision statement.

On April 30, nearly two dozen members of UE Locals 228 and 728 participated in a member-led steward/organizer workshop. Now over halfway through their hard fought one-year contracts, officers and stewards of both locals continue to emphasize the power of aggressive struggle rather than relying solely on the grievance process.