Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Wednesday, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler attended a public hearing in Charlotte, North Carolina, where local workers testified about how cuts to essential federal services and jobs have affected their lives. The hearing is one of a series of nationwide events being held as part of the AFL-CIO’s Department of People Who Work for a Living (DPWL), a labor movement–driven campaign to counter attacks on workers and essential social programs by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“When you think about these cuts we’ve seen the past few months—whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, Independent—the common thread is, they touch every single one of our lives, don’t they?” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
North Carolina State AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan spoke about veterans and how they will suffer greatly from the cuts. Maryann Ruiz, community organizer with the Carolina Migrant Network, talked about how immigrants deserve dignity and explained that immigrants want nothing more than a fair shot and a voice that’s heard. Jacqueline Sandle, a retired letter carrier, discussed how DOGE is threatening 7.9 million U.S. Postal Service jobs. Numerous other workers spoke about how the Trump administration’s attacks will harm them, but the overall theme was that Charlotte is ready to fight back and won’t put up with attacks on its communities and union contracts.