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A breakdown in contract negotiations between educators and the San Francisco Unified School District led teachers to launch their first strike in decades. The union is seeking higher wages, better healthcare coverage, and staffing increases, particularly in special‑education roles. District officials cite a significant budget deficit and say they cannot meet the union’s full demands, offering a smaller raise instead. Talks are ongoing as schools remain closed and both sides work toward a compromise.

Spain’s train drivers, represented by the Semaf union, are launching a three‑day national strike to protest what they describe as a dangerous decline in rail safety. The walkout comes after two deadly derailments in January that killed nearly 50 people and exposed widespread maintenance failures across multiple routes. Semaf argues that chronic understaffing, insufficient investment, and deteriorating infrastructure have created unsafe working conditions for rail employees and passengers alike. The union says the crashes mark a breaking point and is demanding immediate hiring, stronger safety protocols, and major upgrades to the network. While the government insists it has invested heavily in the system, workers maintain that the recent tragedies show those measures have not been enough to protect staff or the public.

Jess Berthelsen, the longtime head of SIK—Greenland’s largest labor federation—strongly rejected Donald Trump’s renewed push to annex the territory, emphasizing that Greenland’s workers and communities want control over their own future. Representing thousands of public- and private‑sector employees, Berthelsen said Trump’s claims about foreign military presence in Greenland’s waters do not match what workers and local industries actually see. He stressed that SIK’s priorities are improving wages, working conditions, and long‑term economic independence through agreements with Greenland’s government and Danish employers. Berthelsen warned that U.S. threats of force undermine the cooperative relationship Greenland’s labor movement has historically maintained with American partners. He reiterated that Greenland’s workforce is committed to self‑determination and will not accept outside attempts to dictate the island’s political or economic direction.

Nearly 900 Google employees signed an open letter urging the company to be more transparent about how its technology is used by U.S. immigration enforcement agencies. Workers expressed alarm that Google continues providing cloud services and other support to agencies like ICE and CBP, especially as recent federal operations have become more aggressive and resulted in civilian deaths. Several employees said they felt misled about Google’s involvement in government surveillance and enforcement work, arguing that the company is drifting away from its stated values. They also criticized leadership, including CEO Sundar Pichai, for not addressing the extent of Google’s government partnerships. The letter calls for Google to withdraw from all DHS‑related work, protect employees from immigration enforcement, and hold an all‑hands meeting to address concerns.

Roughly 3,000 additional pharmacy and laboratory technicians at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Southern California plan to strike, joining more than 30,000 nurses and other medical staff already on the picket lines. The walkout is part of a broader dispute over what unions describe as unfair labor practices and deteriorating working conditions. This expansion marks another escalation in a wave of labor unrest across the U.S. health‑care sector. Workers say staffing shortages and rising workloads have pushed them to a breaking point. The strike is set to begin Monday, adding further pressure on Kaiser during an already tense standoff.

Colorado lawmakers have revived a union-related bill nearly identical to one the governor vetoed last year. The proposed Worker Protection Act would overhaul the state’s long‑standing Labor Peace Act by eliminating the requirement for two separate union votes. Supporters argue the change would make it easier for workers to organize and secure better wages and benefits, especially given Colorado’s high cost of living. Business groups oppose the bill, saying it removes an important safeguard that ensures all employees have a say in whether dues are collected. Despite the controversy, the bill passed its first committee vote along party lines.

Employees at a North Carolina mining facility asked the National Labor Relations Board to overturn a regional decision blocking a vote to remove their union, arguing current NLRB policy allows unions to delay elections by filing unresolved labor charges. The case could prompt the board to reconsider its “blocking charge” policy, which critics say undermines workers’ ability to freely choose whether they want union representation.

Unionized Starbucks baristas extended a months-long strike by calling on customers to delete the company’s mobile app as a show of solidarity while negotiations for a first contract remain stalled. Starbucks Workers United says workers are demanding livable wages, stable schedules, and an end to union-busting, while the company downplayed the strike’s impact and said it remains open to bargaining.

Workers at two suburban Chicago high schools successfully removed SEIU Local 73 as their bargaining representative after a majority petitioned for a decertification vote. Before the National Labor Relations Board could hold the election, union officials withdrew their claim to represent the workers, effectively ending the union’s role and freeing employees from mandatory union fees under Illinois law.

Multiple unions representing federal workers sued the Trump administration seeking to block planned cuts of more than 10,000 jobs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, arguing the layoffs are unlawful and were not approved by Congress. The unions say FEMA plans to stop renewing temporary and on-call disaster response contracts, which could undermine emergency preparedness, and that the cuts violate a recent law barring federal layoffs through late January. The lawsuit is part of broader legal efforts to challenge mass layoffs across the federal government.