The people who maintain the radar, navigation aids, communications equipment and automation systems that air traffic control depends on have been understaffed for years. In May, the FAA delivered a workforce plan — required by Congress — that commits to hiring 750 new technicians over two years, establishes advance-of-retirement hiring authority and draws a formal line between certified technicians and trainees.

On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, PASS National President Dave Spero breaks down what is in the plan, what still needs work and what a $12 billion air traffic control system upgrade means for the technicians who will maintain it long-term — including a training gap that is leaving some newly installed equipment in contractor hands because PASS members have not yet been certified on it. He also addresses why flat aviation safety inspector hiring projections over the next decade are incompatible with the emerging reality of unmanned aerial systems regulation.

If you have a background in military electronics, radar or navigational aids, the FAA has an active job advertisement for ATSS technicians right now. Visit passnational.org to learn more.

Two conversations. One theme: workers fighting for what they deserve — and winning when they stand together.

First, IAM Union retired International President Tom Buffenbarger joins as the independent labor voice to cover three urgent stories. A Washington Post-covered study reveals the United States spends just $4,000 on average training a skilled tradesperson against a needed investment of approximately $50,000 — and calls for a $9 billion infusion into trades training programs now, as AI-driven infrastructure expansion creates a surge in demand for exactly the workers whose apprenticeship programs were gutted, starting with Jack Welch's GE. Buffenbarger also discusses the IAM District 776 Lockheed Martin contract ratification, delivering historic wage increases for 5,000 Fort Worth workers who build the nation's most advanced fighter aircraft. And he weighs in on the Faster Labor Contracts Act passing the House, using Amazon's Staten Island workers — organized in 2022 with no contract four years later — as Exhibit A for why it matters.

Then, SEIU Local 1021 Chapter President Barbra Lynn Hamilton and Union Steward Shelly Martin describe a contract fight at Vacaville Unified School District that was about far more than wages. Workplace violence reports jumped from 67 to 266 in a single year — a figure that remains an undercount because management discouraged filings. A Cal/OSHA investigation is now underway. Paraprofessionals and behavior assistants who support special needs students are going unfilled while the district ends the year 31% over budget and hires more administrators. After 200-plus members showed up to a board meeting with a strike vote, the district found money it had claimed did not exist. A two-year contract has been signed. The fight continues.

Visit goiam.org for IAM Union updates and seiu1021.org for more from SEIU Local 1021.

Construction workers make up 7.4% of the U.S. workforce but account for nearly 18% of all suicides with a reported industry classification. The data on the problem is established. The root causes have never been comprehensively studied. That may be about to change.

On today's trades day episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Mechanical Insulators LMCT Executive Director Pete Ielmini joins from Phoenix, where the insulators are holding their national apprenticeship conference and crowning an apprentice of the year tonight. He provides a Federal Mechanical Insulation Act update — the House bill in suspension and Senate Bill 4312 building co-sponsor support with a December deadline in view — and highlights a new bill from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund a comprehensive study of why construction workers are suffering from disproportionately high rates of suicide and substance abuse.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988. Visit mechanicalinsulatorslmct.com for more.

On this episode of the America's Work Force Union Podcast brings together two conversations that could not be more timely — one on the state of the labor movement heading into a critical political year, and one on keeping union members safe and covered during peak travel season.

First, North Coast Area Labor Federation President Pat Gallagher joins fresh from the AFL-CIO convention in Minneapolis to share what he saw and heard. The convention set a bold goal of organizing 2 million new union members across affiliated unions over the next five years and featured a demonstration of AI deep fake technology so advanced that delegates could not tell a fabricated video of a real union representative from the genuine article — a sobering preview of what labor and democracy face heading into the fall elections. Gallagher also breaks down two trade policy fights: the Trump administration's Jones Act waiver extension through mid-August and what it means for American maritime dominance, and the steel dumping fight heading into USMCA renegotiation this summer, including the definitional standard — steel melted and poured in the United States — that would close the transshipment loophole once and for all.

Then, Merrilee Logue of the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Labor Office and Lynn Pina of Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Solutions join for a practical summer travel conversation every union member heading abroad needs to hear. From why domestic health plans often fall short outside the United States, to the critical difference between travel insurance and travel medical insurance, to what 24-hour global support, telemedicine access and provider finder tools mean in practice — this is the pre-departure checklist every traveler should run through before leaving the country.

Visit aflcio.org for AFL-CIO updates and follow @BlueLabor on LinkedIn and X for more from the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Labor Office.

Most workers in the United States lack enforceable legal protections against workplace heat. Only seven states have standards on the books. And the federal OSHA proposal that was supposed to change that is stuck in limbo — leaving millions of workers exposed to preventable illness and death as summer temperatures climb.

On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, NRDC Senior Advocate Juanita Constible breaks down the state of heat safety policy, the state-by-state campaigns moving forward in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Mexico and what strong heat standards actually require beyond the basics of water, rest and shade. She also discusses how unions — from the Teamsters' landmark UPS contract win to IBEW, USW and SEIU's legislative advocacy — are among the most effective forces for getting enforceable protections on the books.

For heat safety resources, visit nrdc.org and protectworkersfromheat.org.

One in five Americans lives with a mental health condition. Employee assistance programs have existed since the 1940s. And the field is now entering a third wave — one that asks not just how to help workers after they are struggling, but how to build workplaces where fewer people reach that point.

On today's episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Carelon Behavioral Health Medical Director Brian Keefe traces the full history of EAPs from their origins in labor-management alcoholism programs to today's proactive whole-person model. He also addresses the fast-growing behavioral addiction crisis around legalized sports gambling and introduces Carelon's Workforce Mental Health Complete — a partnership with Lyra Health that uses AI-assisted matching to connect employees with a compatible licensed provider within a day or two, while also addressing social determinants of health, financial counseling, caregiver support and critical incident response under a single integrated platform.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988. Visit carelonbehavioralhealth.com to learn more.

Episode 122 of America's Work Force Union Podcast brings together two important conversations — one looking back at the founding of the nation and one looking forward at a crisis that could reshape retirement security for 80 million Americans.

First, American Legion Media and Communications Director Jeff Stoffer joins for a farewell segment after 26 years at the Legion and a partnership with AWF dating back to 2009. Built around the American Legion magazine's July issue and the nation's 250th anniversary, the conversation covers the Declaration of Independence as a revolutionary document in global governance, two books that make the case for America's founding values as a living force in the country's moral history and a call for better civic education. Jeff also introduces his successor, Henry Howard — 14-year Legion media veteran, Be the One suicide prevention campaign leader and former newspaper editor — who will carry the monthly AWF American Legion segment forward beginning next month.

Then, Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director Rich Fiesta delivers an urgent warning about the Social Security trust fund's projected 2032 shortfall. If Congress does nothing, more than 70 million Americans — close to 80 million by 2032 — will face an average benefit cut of approximately 22%, or $500 per month. Fiesta explains why wage stagnation since the Reagan era accelerated the timeline by 15 years, what scrapping the $184,000 earnings cap would do to restore solvency and why November's elections are the most critical near-term variable in whether Social Security gets fixed before the cliff arrives.

Visit legion.org for American Legion updates and retiredamericans.org to look up your representatives' voting records on Social Security going back to 2001.

A nuclear reactor is under construction in Tennessee. A fuel fabrication facility has steel going vertical. And $10 billion in investment is projected to create up to 3,000 jobs across skilled trades, technical roles and professional positions in East Tennessee alone.

On this episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Tennessee Nuclear Network Director Bill Tindal breaks down why Oak Ridge has become the national center of the nuclear energy resurgence, what trades are needed right now — from electricians and pipefitters to instrumentation technicians — and how a workforce pipeline from high school dual enrollment through community college is being built to match the demand. He also addresses how today's Generation 3 and 4 reactor designs differ from the plants that scared the public in the 1970s and 80s and why US energy demand projections through 2050 make this a generational career opportunity, not a short-term construction cycle.

Visit eteconline.org to learn more about the Tennessee Nuclear Network.

Today's America's Work Force Union Podcast brings two major stories together in one conversation-packed episode.

Twenty-nine years ago, Dave Baker was told Iron Workers Local 44 was going to build a bridge. This week, drill shaft work on the Brent Spence Bridge companion project officially began.

On this episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Local 44 Business Manager Dave Baker discusses the decades of political and funding gridlock that stalled one of the most critical infrastructure projects in the Midwest, what finally broke the impasse and what 6 million projected building trades work hours and 1,200 peak construction jobs mean for iron workers, apprenticeship programs and the Cincinnati trades community.

He also shares his own story — four years working non-union before joining Local 44 in 1997 — and what the union difference has meant for his wages, retirement and family healthcare over 30 years.

Visit ironworkers44.com to learn more about Iron Workers Local 44.