These are some noteworthy labor headlines we read this week.

Weekend Labor Reads:

TOP STORY

How are unions pushing back against Trump’s attacks on labor and layoffs?

“Labor unions have emerged as some of [President Trump’s] staunchest opponents,” writes Michael Sainato for the Guardian this week. This article unpacks some of labor unions’ campaigns to combat anti-worker policies put forth by the Trump Administration, including lawsuits to halt the mass firing of federal workers and protect organizing and collective bargaining rights. According to a tracker by the non-profit law journal Just Security, unions have filed at least 30 lawsuits against the Trump administration. Sainato breaks down the fight into three significant areas: attacks on labor rights, workforce cuts and agency dismantling.



The Guardian

Michael Sainato

AUTOMATION

Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots

The New York Times

Karen Weise

FEDERAL WORKERS

Effort to pay at least some federal workers fails in Senate

NPR

Sam Gringlas

PERSPECTIVES



We Can’t Rebuild the Labor Movement Without Taking on Big Targets

Labor Notes

Kate Bronfenbrenner

RELIGION AND ORGANIZING

Pope Leo's support for organized labor should inspire Catholic institutions

National Catholic Reporter

Michael Sean Winters

IRLE IN THE NEWS:

IN MEMORIAM

The Loss of Kent Wong and the Future of Labor and Immigrant Rights in California

Capital & Main

Mark Kreidler

WAREHOUSE WORKERS

Riverside County supervisors rezone Mead Valley land for future warehouse

The Press-Enterprise

Beau Yarbrough

Mentions UCLA IRLE report

STUDENT WORKERS

Opinion: It’s OK to be on the mend instead of the grind – stay home if you’re sick

Daily Bruin

Lilly Leonhardt

Ft. Lucero Herrera, UCLA Labor Center project director

IRLE NEWS:

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Introducing “Labor Studies Now” speaker series



UCLA Labor Studies

STAFF AND FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS

Meet UCLA IRLE’s 2025 Visiting Scholars

UCLA IRLE

Remember This!

Memory Work Los Angeles is a project of UCLA IRLE. We bring the past to the present to highlight the diverse experiences and perspectives of working people in Southern California, the changing world of work, and the continuing struggle for equality.

Immigrant Workers’ Convention at the L.A. Sports Arena (1999)

In 1999, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor held a public forum to encourage the AFL-CIO and its member unions to champion the rights of immigrant workers. Some 20,000 religious leaders, labor leaders and workers gathered in the L.A. Sports Arena in an incredible demonstration of solidarity. Speakers included in this excerpt include Miguel Contreras, Linda Chavez-Thompson and Kent Wong. The excerpt of Kent’s inspiring remarks begins at 2:38. This clip was featured on the IRLE and Labor Studies Instagram accounts as part of our new “Lessons from Kent Wong” series. Follow along in the coming weeks to hear more of Kent’s insights as we continue to honor his memory.

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UCLA's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) advances labor research and education for workplace justice. Through the work of its units – the UCLA Labor Center, the Human Resources Roundtable, the Labor Occupational Safety and Health program (LOSH) and its academic program, UCLA Labor Studies – the Institute forms wide-ranging research and agendas that carry UCLA into the Los Angeles community and beyond.