79th UE Convention: ‘One Voice, One Fight, One Future’ for Working Class

UE’s 79th convention was held in Chicago from August 24-28 with the theme “One Voice, One Fight, One Future.” The fifth UE convention to be held in the Windy City, this convention was also the largest in recent memory, with over 150 delegates and alternates, joined by more than 60 staff and guests. Full UE NEWS coverage of the convention has now been posted on the UE website, and videos of convention speakers and international guests have been uploaded to the UE YouTube channel.

Northwestern University ‘Postdocs’ Join UE

On August 25 and 26, approximately 1,200 postdoctoral workers, or “postdocs,” at Northwestern University voted by a margin of 515 to 13 to join the Northwestern University Postdoctoral Union-UE. Postdoctoral workers do crucial research work at our nation’s universities, often for low wages and with little job security.

“It’s beyond exciting to be part of something like this,” Julia Fadjukov, 36, a postdoctoral fellow researching ophthalmology, told the Chicago Tribune. “This job is our dream job. We love to do research and science for a living, but with everything going on in the U.S. at the moment, it has definitely felt like there’s this strong sense of fear,” said Fadjukov, who is from Finland. “I think many of us feel that with (the union), we can have a safe space to do our work.”

Learn more about NUPU-UE on their website. More extensive coverage of the organizing campaign will be published in a future edition of the UE NEWS Bulletin.

New Seasons Labor Union Affiliates with UE

In August, on the eve of the UE convention, the New Seasons Labor Union, based in Portland, Oregon, affiliated their independent, worker-led union with UE. NSLU was founded in the spring of 2022 by workers at one of the New Seasons Market chain of grocery stores. Since then, NSLU has grown to represent nearly a thousand workers at ten New Seasons stores. Learn more about NSLU-UE »

Tell Trade Negotiators: Protect Workers, not Corporations

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — also known as “NAFTA 2.0” — has failed to deliver any of its promised benefits to workers. Since the trade agreement was negotiated by President Trump during his first term, the U.S. trade deficit has skyrocketed. One major reason: the USMCA failed to add the provisions needed to prevent corporations from shipping good-paying jobs to Mexico to take advantage of ongoing labor rights violations, lax pollution controls, and abysmally low wages. Take action »

Local 267 Members Fight Third-Party Insurance Audit

After the University of Vermont (UVM) announced an audit in July to verify the eligibility of workers’ dependents to be on their health insurance plans, UE Local 267, which represents UVM’s service and maintenance workers, took immediate action. The local filed a step three class action grievance, demanding that UVM bargain over the unilateral change, and joined with other unions on campus to hold a rally to protest the audit.

UE Higher Ed Locals Call on Universities to Put Workers Over Deals

UE’s Higher Education Conference Board released a statement on Friday calling on universities to reject the so-called “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” being promoted by the Trump administration, which asks universities to exchange autonomy for preferential funding. On Monday at 7pm ET / 4pm PT, the conference board will be hosting a “Workers Over Deals” webinar to discuss how higher ed workers can push back through collective organizing. RSVP for the webinar »

Zenroren Hosts Local 506 Business Agent at Union and Peace Conferences

“I realized that we here at UE are not alone in our struggles,” writes UE Local 506 Business Agent John Miles, about his recent trip to Japan to represent UE at two international conferences. Read more »

UE Now on TikTok

UE’s newest social media account was launched after the 79th Convention, with a UE rendition of Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” sung by delegates and guests on the convention floor. The UE lyrics were written by Local 256 (MIT-GSU) members Nadia Zaragoza and Daniel Shen, based on the REI Workers Union version “GOT TO GO!” written by the Durham Labor Choir. Visit the UE TikTok channel »

‘If we’re going down, we’re gonna go down fighting’

On September 30, workers at Chasen Fiber Technologies closed their factory for what appears to be the last time, ending over 60 years of history with UE. The company was bought out in 2024 by Integreon Global, who decided to close the plant in November 2024. Integreon then reopened the plant in April 2025, claiming they would “try and make things work.”

During their time in UE Chasen workers have never shied away from aggressive struggle, even when all the odds were stacked against them.

Local 896-COGS to Celebrate 30th Anniversary in April

Next April, UE Local 896-Campaign to Organize Graduate Students, UE’s first graduate worker local, will be celebrating 30 years of representing the graduate workers at the University of Iowa. The April 16 event in Iowa City, Iowa will include speeches, music, and an exhibit featuring original art and material from their archives. Local 896 is encouraging all “COGS alums, family, and union siblings” to join them, and alums are especially encouraged to reach out ahead of the celebration to share stories, questions, and ideas at [email protected].