Last night, President Trump spoke to the nation about a country in a “golden age” for workers, where jobs are bountiful, consumer prices are dropping and Medicaid cuts have somehow enabled Americans to afford private health insurance. But for people who have had to spend 2025 working, driving, buying groceries, caring for children and paying rent, this rosy picture is clearly nothing beyond pure fantasy. 

Over the last year, Trump stripped more than a million workers of their collective bargaining power while defunding the only agencies that protect workers’ rights. Our low-income neighbors have lost access to the government programs that previously helped their families pay for food, housing and healthcare while the minimum wage remains so low that those earning it live in poverty. We have seen the reckless imposition of tariffs on countries around the world for the purported purpose of bringing jobs back to the United States, which has led to nothing more than economic instability, surging prices and the slowest annual job growth outside a recession since 2003. 

But the State of the Union was more than just a two-hour lie meant to obfuscate an agenda that prioritizes tax cuts for the billionaires Trump surrounds himself with from The White House to private Caribbean islands. It was yet another reminder of the relentless bigotry of this administration, which continues to scapegoat our immigrant and transgender neighbors while fomenting illegal wars in countries like Venezuela and Iran, all to enrich his friends and distract from the reality that this is the most destructive era for the rights of American workers in modern history. 

Workers aren’t buying this again and continue to join unions despite the myriad political forces stacked against them. The 90,000 members of OPEIU know the true state of the union because they live it each day. We will continue to organize until the successes Trump claims he has brought Americans become a reality. 

Forming a union — the most reliable pathway to the middle class — is hard enough in this country, but unfortunately it’s harder in Colorado than many states thanks to a one-of-a kind law that places unnecessary, redundant hurdles on workers.

At a time when federal worker protections are under attack, the National Labor Relations Board is being gutted, and Americans live with such financial stress that they are often too intimidated to speak up at their workplaces, it’s time for state leaders to make it easier for working people to win the lifechanging benefits of a union

OPEIU mourns the loss of Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose legacy as a civil rights leader continues to inspire the civil rights and labor movements. A protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Jackson’s life’s work expanded the scope of possibilities for a broad, multiracial working-class coalition to impact domestic policy in the United States. 

His two presidential campaigns opened the door for more Black participation in our electoral system, inspiring champions of organized labor to run for public office. A critic of so-called “right-to-work” laws, Rev. Jackson worked behind the scenes to build support for halting the expansion of anti-union laws that leave working people worse off. As leader of the Rainbow Coalition, Rev. Jackson organized for social, racial and economic justice for all, building a broad movement of working people and extracting concessions from some of the nation’s largest companies to hire more Black workers. 

OPEIU honors the life and legacy of Rev. Jesse Jackson and sends our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and all working people he inspired and uplifted throughout his storied life. 

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New York, NY -- Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) members at 13 International Rescue Committee (IRC) offices ratified their first union contract today, bringing wage increases, just cause protections and permanent employment to nearly 700 workers dedicating their careers to supporting refugees, immigrants and people in conflict zones. 

These OPEIU members help the world’s most vulnerable people access healthcare, education and economic opportunities, all amidst escalating immigration crackdowns and global conflict. Now, they are on the path to achieving a dignified workplace and adequate salary that acknowledges the importance of their work.

“This contract means I don’t have to beg in order to be treated fairly. It means now I have policies in place at the worksite that I helped craft that are worker-centered, that are realistic expectations made by people who are actually doing the work,” said Grace Aguirre, crisis case manager at IRC’s Oakland office. “I can now show up to my job, which is to care for children and their families, knowing there is a contract and union taking care of me.”

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