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.
On Friday, Braxton Winston II was elected by delegates at the North Carolina State AFL-CIO’s annual convention as the next president of the state federation.
Winston is a member of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 322, served three terms on the Charlotte City Council and was the Democratic nominee for North Carolina's commissioner of labor in 2024. He succeeds President Emeritus MaryBe McMillan who dedicated more than 20 years of service to the state federation. Her tenure heavily emphasized the importance of organizing Southern workers and building worker power in the region.
“For too long working people in North Carolina and across the South have been told to work harder and accept less,” said President Winston. “But we are here to declare something different—that every worker deserves dignity, security, and power. Every worker deserves a union!…We are no longer waiting for change. We are the change. We are the revival!”
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler was also in attendance and addressed the conference.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein also gave remarks at the North Carolina State AFL-CIO convention, he loudly and proudly championed the importance of building up the “Tar Heel State’s” unions and union workforce.
“A stronger North Carolina requires that we invest in our people so that folks have the skills and knowledge to succeed in an ever-changing economy,” Stein said. “A stronger North Carolina supports working families struggling with the rising cost of living.”