ICE & the World Cup | Citizenship path | Green jobs

Thursday, June 11, 2026

STRIKES

► From the Detroit Free Press — UAW and American Axle reach deal; workers to see pay raises — The United Auto Workers have struck a deal at American Axle Three Rivers, potentially ending a 10-day strike at a key General Motors supplier while delivering higher wages for its members, the union said…While the details of the contract have yet to be published, Josh Jager, Local 2093 bargaining chair, said the company agreed to accommodate the union’s demands for higher pay and more time away from the job.

LOCAL

► From KUOW — Seattle labor groups prepare for increased ICE presence at the World Cup — Some labor groups, immigrant advocates, and workers are wary of having ICE agents present, and possibly scaled up, during the world’s largest and most-watched single sporting event…The World Cup and ICE’s expected security presence coincides with contract negotiations at Embassy Suites in Pioneer Square, just across the parking lot of Lumen field where the games are being hosted…The ICE precautions have become a central issue, said Stefan Moritz with Unite Here Local 8, which represents the hotel workers. “ It’s the responsibility of the community and of employers, to keep folks as safe as possible and stand with them as they’re struggling… with the government crackdown on immigrants right now,” Moritz said.

► From KUOW — Washington paper mills mum about chemical safety after Longview disaster — I spoke with Marissa Baker, a professor of occupational health and hygiene at the University of Washington: “The federal or state agencies would not have kind of purview on inspecting, maintaining the tank. Is it structurally sound? Is it being cleaned as it should? That’s going to really fall on the employer.” While these tanks aren’t tightly regulated, Baker makes the point that our state constitution does require every worker to have a safe workplace, and that was clearly not the case at Nippon Dynawave when multiple workers were killed on the job.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From CBS News — Denver Art Museum workers ratify first union contract for Colorado museum employees — Pam Skiles, Senior Paintings Conservator, said, “It feels great to ratify our first contract and improve working conditions for our coworkers across the museum. We will only continue to build on these wins into the future.” The union says the new three-year contract includes agreements on equitable pay, just cause rights, increased sick time, and updated policies on health and safety and parental leave. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, says this contract “sets the stage for further cultural organizing in the state.”

ORGANIZING

► From the Stranger — Crocodile Security Staff Organize After Sale of Venue — The formation of Croc Solid follows similar efforts at the Seattle club Neumos and at other venues nationwide. A CSC organizer outlined the security’s safety concerns in an email to The Stranger: Obscured/broken venue doors; understaffing; lack of provided uniforms; lack of hazard pay; unstandardized training procedures, including lack of conflict de-escalation, first aid, and emergency training and drills; failure to consistently address recurring problem patrons, including those who have assaulted staff.

NATIONAL

► From People’s World — AFL-CIO demands path to citizenship for undocumented people — Repeating a stand it took more than 13 years ago, the federation’s convention delegates, meeting in Minneapolis on June 8, also declared, as one Steelworker said, “When we come together to protect immigrants, it needs to happen all over the U.S.” …The other story occurred in Washington state, where Maximo Londonio, a Philippine native, a legal migrant, and a Machinist, was held in a detention center for weeks. ICE arrested him as he got off a plane from Manila at Sea-Tac International Airport. His wife, Crystal, his union, and the entire Washington state labor movement mounted pressure for his release. He finally was let out, and a video showed a tearful reunion with Crystal and their three children, with IAM members waving flags and cheering in the background. “I am honored to be here today,” Londonio said as he stood at the convention podium with Crystal. “I was separated from my family, but my wife brought my entire IAM to my side.” He thanked her—and his union.

► From Bloomberg — Warner, Universal Music AI Pacts Violate Contract, Union Says — In the complaint, the [American Federation of Musicians] said the settlement agreements allow the AI companies to use the work of AFM members to train “AI models to generate supposedly ‘new’ sound recordings derived from music ingested into their models.” The settlements violated a “new use” provision of the parties’ labor contract that requires the music companies “to notify the AFM of licenses and other transfers of rights in music” for uses not covered by the CBA and to compensate members who work on those recordings.

► From People’s World — NewsGuild President Schleuss: Media consolidation threatens democracy — In the last several decades, the mainstream print media has consolidated into two big chains listed on securities exchanges, McClatchy and Gannett, and a third, Tribune, owned by the private venture capital fund Alden Global Capital. Two smaller chains—including one non-profit group—own other papers. Schleuss has nicknamed Alden “vulture capital.” It swoops in on distressed papers, buys them, cuts their staff in half or more, eliminates coverage, and leaves ruined families and jobless workers. It also sells off valuable real estate and then pockets all the proceeds from those moves.

► From Wired — A Meta Employee Who Just Lost Their Job Was Detained by Immigration Agents — A former Meta employee who lost their job during a round of layoffs on May 20 is said to have been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent days, according to communications inside the company seen by WIRED…In May, Meta cut nearly 10 percent of its workforce, or roughly 8,000 people, as part of its ongoing efforts to make the company more efficient and offset the massive investments it is making into AI infrastructure. Numerous workers on visas were among those let go, according to employees familiar with the departures.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From Dollars & Sense — The Green New Deal is a Jobs Engine, Despite Trump — But what Trump and his minions ignore is that the investments to build the new clean energy infrastructure will create far more jobs than the jobs that will be lost through phasing out fossil fuels. Moreover, any Green New Deal program worthy of the name will include generous transition provisions for the fossil fuel industry dependent workers whose jobs will be phased out…At present, women account for only about 27% of the clean energy jobs in Michigan, as opposed to holding 48% of jobs in Michigan’s overall economy. Still, as large-scale clean energy investments, subsidized with public funding, expand in Michigan, this can create new leverage for workers and their union representatives to fight for gender and racial equity, along with better wages and benefits.

► From the AP — Trump has a new, surprising take on the higher cost of living: ‘I love the inflation’ — Trump didn’t dismiss the affordability issue as a “hoax” that was started by Democrats, as he has done previously. Nor did he claim that he was bringing down the cost of living. Instead, after the government said that inflation spiked to the highest level since April 2023, Trump praised the numbers. “You know what I really love?” Trump said. “I love the inflation.” It was an unexpected take given that voters ahead of the November midterm elections have ranked the economy as a top concern — and have given Trump low marks on that issue.

► From Bloomberg Law — AFL-CIO Sues Labor Department Over Financial Reporting Rule — The DOL’s rule created a new LM-2 Long Form document that the nation’s largest unions are required to submit every year and changed reporting requirements for other disclosure forms. The AFL-CIO claimed in its lawsuit filed Wednesday with the US District Court for the District of Columbia that the rule “blindsided” labor organizations with “sweeping changes” to their disclosure requirements. The department violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to give a notice and comment period to solicit feedback from the public, according to the complaints. The AFL-CIO also claimed the rule was “arbitrary and capricious” and exceed the department’s authority.

► From Stateline — After nursing home crises, states target private equity’s role — This year, Connecticut enacted what may be the strongest law in the country addressing transparency and accountability for private equity-owned nursing homes. It is the latest in a string of states stepping into a regulatory vacuum created by limited federal laws and a presidential administration that’s proven friendly to private equity while showing little appetite for scrutinizing private equity’s role in the healthcare industry…Last year, at least seven states (California, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington) passed legislation putting more guardrails around private equity’s involvement in healthcare.

► From the NW Labor Press — Portland may look at capping Uber/Lyft’s grab of driver earnings — Drivers Union Oregon organizer Joe Jackson showed screenshots from the driver-side versions of rideshare apps. “Why did this ride cost over $100? And why did the driver only get paid $14?” he asked committee members. The screenshot he was referring to, shared with the Labor Press, shows for that ride from Portland to Oregon City, a passenger was charged $109.15 — $8.58 of that went to “external fees,” $86.46 was taken by Lyft, and only $14.11 made it to the driver.

INTERNATIONAL

► From Common Dreams — Indian Officials, Sailor’s Union Condemn ‘Gruesome’ US Killing of 3 Ship Workers in Gulf of Oman — “The deaths of Aditya Sharma, Shivanand Chaurasia, and Patanala Suresh are a painful reminder that seafarers continue to bear the human cost of conflicts in which they have no stake,” said the union’s general secretary, Manoj Yadav. “Their sacrifice must not be forgotten, and their deaths must lead to concrete action to improve the protection of maritime workers everywhere.”

The Stand posts links to local, national and international labor news every weekday morning. Subscribe to get daily news in your inbox.