AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called out Donald Trump this week for dividing working people along racial and religious lines, and urged workers not to follow his divisive tactics. Examples include Trump’s talk of building a wall and deporting immigrant families. He’s also said that wages are too high already and that it’s okay to treat people differently based on their religion or beat up protestors at his rallies.

“I’ve been around a while and I’ve heard that kind of thing before,” says Trumka, “politicians trying to divide working people—talking about ‘us’ and ‘them.’ And here’s what I’ve learned: every time we listen to that kind of talk—coal mine, or an office or a factory in a voting booth—we end up weaker and poorer.”

Providing workers with six weeks of paid leave to care for newborn children has grown in the US, but there is still more work to be done. President Barack Obama signed an executive order giving federal employees parental leave. Additionally, similar policies were adopted for municipal workers New York City, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Austin, and some private employers and tech firms like M&T Bank and Netflix. The US is the only advanced country on earth that does not guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined the Boston Wydham Beacon Hill “hospital hotel” $12,000 for health violations. The hotel caters to outpatients and newly discharged patients from Boston’s hospitals. Workers at the hotel have complained about blood-sopped carpets, feces-soiled sheets and towels, as well as discarded needles in the rooms. Meanwhile, the workers were not provided with a place to properly dispose of needles during the night shift, adequate gloves, a way to isolate contaminated laundry, nor proper training in handling biological and medical waste. UNITE HERE filed a NLRB complaint for the nonunion hotel’s union-busting practices last May.

After many months of community unrest, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has finally expressed regret for poisoning the Flint’s water supply. Under a controversial state law, the Republican governor appointed an all-powerful city manager, answerable only to Snyder, to control the city due to its financial emergency. In order to cut costs, that manager switched Flint’s water supply from the city of Detroit to the polluted Flint River resulting in pollutants and lead entering the city’s drinking water. Exposure to the lead could cause permanent brain damage to an entire generation of youngsters.

Local 123 (Richmond, VA) member David Lowery has filed a class action lawsuit against Spotify alleging that the company unlawfully distributed copyrighted music compositions to more than 75 million users, but failed to identify or locate the owners of those compositions for payment, and did not issue a notice of intent to employ a compulsory license. The suit seeks $150 million in damages stating that the use of songs not lawfully licensed “creates substantial harm and injury to the copyright holders, and diminishes the integrity of the works.” The complaint notes that statutory judgments allow $750-$30,000 for each infringed work, and up to $150,000 per song. The complaint states that there is a well-defined community of interest in the litigation and that members of the proposed class can be easily identified from Spotify’s database.

On January 7, Local 257 (Nashville, TN) member Meghan Trainor won the People’s Choice “Favorite Album” Award for her debut album, Title. The album has reached platinum status, while the singer has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Artist category. Her song “All About that Bass” spent eight weeks in the top spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 during 2015. The song was also received the 2015 ASCAP Pop Music Award for “Most Performed Song.” In addition, she received three American Music Awards nominations and three Teen Choice Awards nominations.

While the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) continues to advertise internationally for its auditions, musicians are cautioned to steer clear of this symphony known for its egregious contract violations. The boycott began in 2012 when nine key musicians—among them the concertmaster, co-concertmaster, tutti first violin, tutti first viola, principal timpani, and principal trombone—were suddenly terminated. While no reason was given, it is suspected that it was an intimidation tactic before presenting the remaining musicians with a new contract that they were asked to sign and return within a few days.

Aside from trying to hire replacement musicians under far-inferior contracts (working for 25% less in some cases and two-year posts with “no expectation of renewal”), the symphony has since committed more assaults on worker rights. In order to take unpaid leave (for performances, auditions, etc.), not only do musicians lose salary, but they are required to pay expenses (air travel, accommodations, and salary) for the sub. At the start of the 2014/2015 season, members returned to a contract that redefines “legitimate” children for the purpose of benefits. Children from common-law marriages are no longer provided visas, health insurance, school subsidies, etc. This included two 16-year principal wind players who have a child together. They went as far as to tell the mother that she is no longer recognized by MPO as the child’s legal guardian.

For the last several years, artists have had to accept constant video recording and photo taking by fans during concerts. A new startup, Yondr, has created a device that will automatically lock these cell phones and tablets once the concertgoers enter the “no-phone zone” of a show. The app is already being used in a number of San Francisco venues.

In mid-December, musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra ratified a new contract. The deal is retroactive to August 31 and is effective through 2017-2018 season. Musicians had been working under a play-and-talk arrangement since August, when their previous contract expired.

The agreement provides increases in wages, and improves musicians’ working conditions while on tour. Musicians allowed for changes to recording and broadcast provisions, will contribute more toward their health insurance, and will donate 12 services over the duration of the contract. The pay gap between members of The Cleveland Orchestra and their peers at other major orchestras had widened over the past few years and this contract narrows that difference.

The orchestra also recently announced a surplus of $72,000 for fiscal year 2014—especially impressive considering it had increased its budget by more than $2 million. Higher attendance at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Festival, and the orchestra’s annual residency in Miami brought earned revenue to a record $21 million. At $11.1 million, annual gifts surpassed the record set last year, and The Cleveland Orchestra brought in $32 million in other donations. Its endowment grew by nearly $10 million.

The Cleveland Orchestra attributes its successes to efforts toward deepening the relationship between the institution and its community.

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO) board has threatened that the symphony could shut down at the end of January unless its musicians make significant concessions. Musicians and management have spent the past year in negotiations for a new contract.

In November, there was a step forward in the labor dispute. In response to an unfair labor practice complaint filed by Local 400 (Hartford, CT) on behalf of Hartford Symphony Orchestra musicians, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) sided with the musicians and called upon management to issue contracts for the current season.

Yet, the two sides are still at odds over a long-term agreement. HSO management has sought to cut wages by 30% and reduce the number of guaranteed services per season. In response, musicians are asking that management share in the sacrifice, a request that has been steadfastly refused.

Backed by the analysis of industry expert Tom Morris, the musicians maintain that their contract is not responsible for the organization’s financial difficulties. They have revealed that the orchestra’s management structure, under which one person serves as CEO of both HSO and the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, causes a conflict of interest. The musicians have also emphasized HSO’s shortcomings in fundraising, particularly that the board and staff failed to launch a $10 million endowment campaign that was promised in 2007.

“The inherent conflicts of interest in the current shared CEO arrangement and the underperforming stewardship is becoming increasingly clear,” says Michael Pollard, a member of the negotiating committee and a member of Local 400. “Continuing this relationship could prove fatal to the HSO.”