Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where I am getting ready to travel next week to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York to give a talk about baseball players’ resistance to racism during World War Two.
$800 Needed for Cooperstown Trip
It's a big honor to get invited to speak at the Baseball Hall of Fame about speaking at the Baseball Hall of Fame, but I’m not getting paid for the speech and need to pay my way there.
I need to pay for a flight to Syracuse, train/bus ticket to Cooperstown, 4 nights Cooperstown,, ground transportation, and food for once I get there. I figure I will need about $700 to pull off the trip.
We have an amazing story coming out on Memorial Day that’s over 4,000 words long that I will be presenting at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Donate to help me cover the costs of this trip. Please, if you can, sign up as one of our recurring donors today
Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis Vetoes Pro-Union Bill
In Colorado, Democratic Governor Jared Polis has vetoed a pro-union bill, the Worker Protection Act. The bill would repeal a Colorado law that required unions to win a second union election with 75% in order to bargain over closed shop union status, unique to Colorado.
“It would be political suicide if I were to sign the bill,” Polis told the Colorado Sun. “Because obviously I said we were going to veto it. Labor knew when they introduced it where we were. My governorship would be over if I were to sign it. I’m sure they understand that.”
Unions in the state denounced the bill and vowed to continue fighting.
“While this veto is a setback, it’s not the end of the road — it’s the beginning of the next phase,” Colorado AFL-CIO Executive Director Dennis Dougherty said in a statement. “Working people are taking this fight directly to the ballot in 2026, where Coloradans can choose to stand with workers and finally end unjust firings and union-busting tactics. This ballot measure will be a defining moment in our fight for fairness and dignity on the job and help create a more just and sustainable Colorado for everyone.”
For more on the bill, check out the Colorado Sun
New Jersey Transit Workers Reach Deal to End Strike
On Friday, New Jersey Transit rail operators went on their first strike in 40 years. Yesterday, they announced that they reached a tentative agreement to end the strike.
The union says that the agreement will boost hourly pay higher than what the union previously rejected in April and what New Jersey Transit offered as “their last, best, and final offer” on Thursday.
The strike was able to proceed because Congress did not invoke the Railway Labor Act, allowing them to strike.
“This should be a lesson for other railroad disputes. Nothing would have been gained by kicking the can down the road. Allowing strikes to happen encourages settlement rather than stonewalling,” BLET (Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen) National President Mike Wallace said in a statement.
None of EPA’s 15,000 Employees Snitched on Co-Workers for DEI Work
When Trump took office in January, he required all federal employees to report on other federal employees secretly doing “diversity, equity, and inclusion” work. They even set up a tip line for EPA employees to use.
However, a public records request by ProPublica showed that not a single EPA employee actually used the hotline. From Pro Publica:
The optimist in me would like to believe that maybe it is because, as an agency, we are generally dedicated to our mission and understand that DEIA is intrinsic in that,” a current EPA employee who requested anonymity said. “On the flip side, they’ve done such a good job immediately dismantling DEIA in the agency that folks who are up in arms might have just been assuaged.”
Although DEI programs are often internal to a workplace, the administration also put a target on environmental justice initiatives, which acknowledge the fact that public health and environmental harm disproportionately fall on poorer areas and communities of color. Environmental justice has been part of the EPA’s mandate for years but greatly expanded under the Biden administration.
Research has shown, for example, that municipalities have planted fewer trees and maintained less green space in neighborhoods with a higher percentage of people of color, leading to more intense heat. And heavy industry has often been zoned or sited near Latino, Black and Native American communities.
For more, check out ProPublica.
News & Headlines Elsewhere
- House Republicans include “no tax on tips” in new tax bill
- ICE agents swarm Lowell gas station, round up workers from vans
- IATSE VFX members overwhelmingly ratify first three contracts with major studios in the US
- Waffle House workers to strike for safer working conditions
- Dartmouth College student workers strike over pay, conditions
- Belgian public sector workers to go on mass strike on Thursday
- Finally, USA Today has a look at fired federal employees considering running for public office
Alright folks, that’s all for today. Keep sending tips, comments and complaints to melk@paydayreport.com
Donate to help me travel to Cooperstown to talk at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Please, if you can, sign up as a recurring donor today.
See yinz tomorrow,
Melk
