(LAKEVIEW, NEW YORK) – Over a two-day period - Tuesday (September 29th) and Wednesday (September 30th), more than 1,000 High School Students, took part in the 18th Western New York Construction Career Days event out at International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17’s sprawling 400-acre Training Facility in Lakeview. Since its more»

(LAKEVIEW, NEW YORK) – Over the course of two days this week - on Tuesday (September 29th) and Wednesday (September 30th), more than 1,000 High School Students from across the region will make the trek to Lakeview (just south of Buffalo) to experience Western New York Construction Career Days, which is being held for the 18th time at International more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – After the Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council held its annual Workers’ Memorial event back in 2025, its Executive Board met and made a decision that it had to go deeper than just address the yearly number of Workers who’d lost their lives - and instead focus on the pain their families were left to deal with more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – New York State Assemblyman Pat Burke, the Sportsmen’s Americana Music Foundation and members of Western New York’s Labor and Arts Communities have announced the launch of 9 to 5: Songs for Working People of Buffalo, an original song contest that will bring together Western New York Musicians to create a new album more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers East-represented Catholic Health Employees at two nursing homes in Buffalo and Kenmore held informational pickets this week to draw attention to their labor dispute. The Caregivers picketed in front of Catholic Health’s St. Catherine’s Laboure on more»

Organized Labor is on the march. Unions are enjoying strong public support, with approval ratings at the highest level in decades. Union Membership is steady at 10% in the U.S. and more than double that rate - and rising - in New York state, which trails only Hawaii nationally. New York Unions have notched organizing victories, adding New York City Ferry more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Monday (September 7th) was a glorious day in Western New York, especially in Buffalo where dozens and dozens of Unions and hundreds of their Members marched in the annual Buffalo Labor Day Parade to honor the gains made by Organized Labor over the years and to recommit their efforts for the generations of Workers to come. Under more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Pictured above, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York President Jessica Cox (on the right) and Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153’s Grievance Chairperson Lynn Brooks smile for the camera during a recent Highmark-sponsored Night Out At The Ballpark event in more»

(ROCHESTER, NEW YORK) - Two Unions that combine to represent 2,000 Workers at Strong Memorial Hospital and at the University Of Rochester’s River Campus held a Contract Campaign Kickoff Event over the weekend to push for benefit improvements during continuing negotiations on a new contract. The Unions - 1199 Service Employees International Union more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – For the first time since the 1970s, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 10 has bargained an agreement with the Buffalo Convention Center that secures the jurisdiction of the work performed there by its local Membership, IATSE Officials tell WNYLaborToday.com. The agreement features more»

(ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK) - On the front-door of the spectacular Highmark Stadium is something that greets you with warmth. Before you walk inside of its breath-taking interior, it's impossible to ignore the 5,369 names next to a large sign that reads: We Built This House. Those names make up the people who poured their hearts and souls into designing, more»

City & State - the premier Media Organization dedicated to covering New York’s Local and State Politics and Policy, reports construction is not just a thriving industry in New York, it’s the key to addressing some of the State’s most pressing issues. It is at the core of every debate over the State’s housing crisis, with more»

(ALBANY, NEW YORK) - Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the New York Power Authority (NYPA) has approved $13 million in funding to support Clean Energy Workforce development across New York State. The funding, approved by NYPA’s Board of Trustees, includes $3 million to be directed to six Workforce Development Programs that will equip more than 450 more»

(ROCHESTER, NEW YORK) - After three years locked in a Union certification battle with TV Station Operator Nexstar Media Group, a Federal Appeals Court sided with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), ordering the company to recognize and bargain with National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET-CWA) Local 51022. The Unit, more»

(BUFFALO & ROCHESTER, NEW YORK) - The Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) is partnering with the New York State Department of Civil Service in the opening of new computer-based testing centers in both Buffalo and Rochester. Western Region Treasurer Bob Pazik represented CSEA at the Buffalo ceremony (Pictured Above/CSEA-Provided Photo), while more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Pictured above, past Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation (WNYALF) President Richard Lipsitz and current WNYALF President Denise Abbott helped celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Labor Federation over the weekend. The WNYALF oversees 145 local Union Affiliates - including Public and Private Sectors and the more»

(BATAVIA, NEW YORK) - The United Public Service Employees Union (UPSEU) has reached an impasse in contract negotiations with Batavia Downs Gaming after months of bargaining failed to produce a fair agreement for the Employees who the Union says have helped drive the corporation’s continued financial success. Batavia Downs is once again celebrating more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - New York State Attorney General Letitia James HAS secured $440,000 from Denny’s Franchise Owners Reveille Management, LLC (Reveille Management) and Top Line Restaurants, Inc. (Top Line Restaurants) for failing to pay their Restaurant Workers the full wages they were owed. Reveille Management and Top Line Restaurants, both owned more»

(ALBANY, NEW YORK) – New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) President Melinda Person has released the following statement in response to the Salamanca School District's plan to bring a humanoid robot into classrooms this coming school year: “A robot built by a company associated with sex dolls has no business in our classrooms. Our students more»

(BATAVIA, NEW YORK) – A group of 338 Workers at O-AT-KA Milk Products in Batavia, represented by Teamsters Local 118, have ratified a five-year contract that delivers wage increases up to 46%, improves health care benefits and increases retirement funding. “This contract is a testament to the hard work and dedication shown by our negotiating more»

(RANSOMVILLE, NEW YORK) – The Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council’s 2026 Labor’s Night at the Races fundraiser that’s held annually to support the United Way of Greater Niagara at Ransomville Speedway raised nearly $24,000. Labor Representatives said more than 900 tickets were sold for the event and the dollars raised more»

(MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA) - The National AFL-CIO has set a target of 22,500 people by July 3rd, eight times that number by Labor Day, and even more after that, to pound the pavements for Pro-Worker candidates and issues this Fall. The Labor Federation’s Convention Delegates, meeting in Minneapolis, approved the mobilization plan President Liz Shuler more»

(SPRINGVILLE, NEW YORK) – Nearly 40 rural Nursing Home Workers - represented by 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers East, have been notified the Jennie B. Richmond, an 80-bed facility in rural Springville, is closing. The Unionized Workers employed at the facility in Southern Erie County work as Licensed Practical more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has determined the Buffalo AKG Art Museum violated Federal Labor Law and retaliated against the Workers’ Union - AKG Workers United, by laying off 13 Union-represented Workers employed in the Visitor Experience Department in the Spring 2025. The Museum has been ordered to reinstate more»

(ALBANY, NEW YORK) - Every Union in the United States is dealing with a plethora of problems when it comes to providing health care for their Members and getting them to take advantage of it - but something is happening across the country that’s saving Unions and their Members a great deal of money when it comes to health care, and - in the process, more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - The fourth anniversary of the horrific mass shooting at a Tops Grocery Store in Buffalo on May 14th was both solemn and joyful. During an afternoon ceremony, Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan and others addressed survivors, families and the media in a tent outside the more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - Nearly a year after voting to opt-in to New York’s Nation-leading Paid Family Leave (PFL) Program, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)-represented Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Nurses are still fighting for Hospital Management to implement the benefit. New York’s PFL Program - which was signed into law in 2016 more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – In all the years WNYLaborToday.com has interviewed National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 3 President David Grosskopf, Jr. on the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, he had never before shared his personal story as to why the event is so important not only to him - but to so many across Western New York who are in more»

(NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK) – Anyone who’s ever attended one of the previous 34 Workers’ Memorial Events held by the Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council at Reservoir Park in Niagara Falls knows what traditionally happens: The names of dozens of area Workers who died on the job are read aloud, followed by a number of addresses made more»

Much has been reported on the Trump Administration’s attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusions (DEI) Initiatives, including its purging of 300,000 Black Women from the Federal Workforce by demolishing DEI Affirmative Action. For example, WNYLaborToday.com recently published a report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington, D.C. that more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - A new five-year contract has been agreed to by American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1095 after Union Membership voted 444-to-83 to approve the new deal, which covers the period from January 1st, 2027 through December 31st, 2031. The new contract includes pay raises in each of those years as more»

Daniel Donovan at Skillit reports that across the U.S., cranes are rising in some of the same states year after year and housing permits remain concentrated in high-growth regions, particularly across the South and Mountain West. But at the same time, the labor pipeline is not expanding at the same pace. A new 50-state comparison of housing permits and more»

(ALBANY, NEW YORK) - United University Professions (UUP) President Fred Kowal is condemning President Donald Trump and his Administration for Trump’s unprovoked and ongoing war with Iran - which, in its first month, has claimed thousands of lives, including the lives of at least 13 U.S. Soldiers. Kowal, who leads America’s largest Higher more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Teamsters First Student National Negotiating Committee (TFSNNC) has reached a tentative contract agreement with First Student, averting a nationwide Strike that could have included thousands of School Bus Workers across 96 Locals. The National First Student Master Agreement protects more than 17,000 Bus Workers across the more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor's Note: Pictured above, Variety Club Telethon President and Labor Co-Chair Tony Vaccaro - who serves as a Business Agent at Teamsters Local 264 (on the left), and Labor Co-Chair William Mayer of International Union of Painters & Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 4 (on the right), finally take a breather after working hard more»

(ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK) - A new approach to Worker well-being is gaining attention at the construction site of the new stadium for the National Football League Buffalo Bills, where organizers say mental health support is becoming just as important as physical safety. Last week the Anti‑Stigma Coalition held a discussion about the mental health challenges more»

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Pictured above, United University Professions (UUP) Statewide President Fred Kowal addresses a rally held outside Buffalo State University’s Rockwell Hall earlier this week that attracted hundreds of students, area Labor Leaders, Elected Officials and Community Activists, who came together to call on New York more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Governor Kathy Hochul’s budget is on path to offset devastating U.S. Congressional Republican cuts to health care, but State Leaders must act now to provide critical investments, so says a coalition of Front-Line Health Care Workers, employers, Faith Leaders and Community Advocates who joined together to call on State more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – The Communications Workers of America (CWA) honored Holly and Brian Nowak with the Union’s 2026 Eugene J. Mays Citizenship Award, as well as remembering the late Local 1122 Labor Leader Jan Borman during a recently-held and emotional awards dinner that also saw 13 area students receiving scholarships of $1,500 each. Every more»

Arnel Larracas at the Anxious Adult reports that throughout U.S. History, African-American Workers organized Labor Unions to fight discrimination, improve working conditions and secure fair wages. These Unions not only advanced the rights of their Members - but also influenced broader Labor policies and Civil Rights Movements. From the Brotherhood of more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1168 is speaking out against Kaleida Health’s proposal to reduce the Medical Rehabilitation Unit (MRU) at Buffalo General Medical Center from 34 beds to 16 beds, a more than 50% cut that would eliminate 22 health care jobs and significantly reduce access to Hospital-based more»

(WESTERN NEW YORK) – Buffalo-headquartered Carpenters Local 276 is collaborating with a number of community-based organizations across the Western New York Region and Rochester to provide career opportunities to those enrolled in Workforce Programs. Through these efforts, the Local 276 has trained and welcomed several new Members into the Local, who more»

Empire Report New York Editor’s Note: This Labor Perspective was authored by three New York State Labor Leaders: Joe Peluso, who serves as Vice President and Assistant Business Manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 97; Sam Capitano, who serves as Business Manager for the Upstate Laborers District Council; and Greg more»

United University Professions (UUP) President Fred Kowal has issued a statement after University at Buffalo (UB) Research Scientist Shovgi Huseynov was released from an ICE Detention Facility in Michigan: Huseynov, an Azerbaijani native who has a valid U.S. Work Authorization, was apprehended by ICE agents on January 7th after making a wrong turn onto the more»

(ROCHESTER, NEW YORK) – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 86 Business Manager Ray Ryerse has been elected President of the Rochester Building & Construction Trades Council. The Rochester Trades Council represents 18 Affiliated Member Unions and a combined 10,000 Unionized Construction Workers who are highly skilled in a more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is voicing concern over “essential Front-Line Caregivers who care for patients and keep the Hospital running” after Buffalo’s Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) announced a 3% workforce reduction that equates to 150 Employees. The layoffs/furloughs at ECMC are mostly more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - President Fred Kowal is strongly condemning ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for taking a University at Buffalo (UB) Researcher into custody after he made a wrong turn on the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Canada. Shovgi Huseynov, a UB Medical Researcher and an Azerbaijan native, was detained by Border Patrol Agents on more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Jomo Akono’s story is truly amazing - and inspiring. This Radio Disc Jockey/Producer who has immersed himself in his African heritage and culture in so many ways in the Buffalo Community, started as an Apprentice Carpenter nearly 21 years ago - at the behest of his Father, who was also a Union Carpenter. more»

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – These Tin Knockers have heart. While you may not have noticed, the Membership and Retirees of SMART (the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers) Local 71 here in Buffalo are continuing to work to make the Buffalo Community a better place to live when it comes to donating their time and more»

We Could Be Heroes Just For One Day What’d You Say Lyrics from the Song, Heroes - by David Bowie (BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – When it comes to Heroes, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 3 isn’t short of them. Since 2018, 80 Members of this NALC Branch here in Western New York have been honored nationally by NALC as Heroes more»