These are some noteworthy labor headlines we read this week.

Weekly Labor Reads:

TOP STORY

Labor and allies denounce Trump attack on Venezuela

This week, progressive U.S. lawmakers and labor groups, including the AFL-CIO and its constituency group for Latino workers, denounced President Trump’s capture and overthrow of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The AFL-CIO and its Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) spoke out against U.S. actions in Venezuela, citing a statement from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) also strongly condemned the incident, characterizing the events as “imperialist intervention.” Meanwhile, over the weekend, working people in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas and other U.S. cities turned out in large numbers to voice their dissent.

People’s World 

Mark Gruenberg

LABOR ENFORCEMENT

A new California law gives the state more power over workplaces. Trump is suing to block it

CalMatters 

Levi Sumagaysay

LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

NLRB poised for major policy shifts in 2026 with new Trump-appointed majority

Reuters

Daniel Wiessner

WORKER WINS



Despite Trump’s War on Workers, Labor Movement Notched Crucial Wins in 2025

Truthout 

Michael Arria 

WORKER HEALTH AND SAFETY

California study has lessons for efforts to protect workers from excessive heat

NPR

Alejandra Borunda

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.

Raise L.A. Coalition Victory, 2014

Progressive coalitions in Los Angeles are once again rallying to raise minimum wages, this time to $30 an hour for hospitality workers by 2028. In 2014, the “Raise L.A.” campaign passed a law making large nonunion hotels in Los Angeles raise their minimum wage to $15.37 by 2015. The campaign was part of a multi-year strategy led by LAANE and UNITE HERE Local 11 to establish a living wage across the hotel industry. This video from our archives takes viewers behind the scenes on the 2014 Raise L.A. campaign and city council vote.

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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.