AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka today joined AFT, community members and allies at a rally against policies that would decimate communities and destroy the basic supports our families need. Numerous Congress members joined AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFSCME President Lee Saunders in opposing the health care and education cuts proposed by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has announced that he will schedule a vote the week of July 24 on so-called repeal and delay legislation that would repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and push off coming up with a replacement plan until sometime in a future Congress. While he and others are trying to sell this as a way to buy more time for developing a replacement plan—something Senate Republicans have failed to do for seven years—this plan would actually have a devastating impact on health care for millions of people right away.

Mary Potter calls Trumpcare "the canary in the coal mine," warning that President Donald Trump and Republican leaders "may be stalled on this, but they are busy, busy, busy on other issues."

She said the GOP also aims to deep-six "senior citizens programs, youth programs."

While the past several years have been full of major victories for the LGBTQ movement, there are still many battles to be won. In the past several years, the work of the LGBTQ movement’s opposition has turned to so-called religious freedom exemption laws. Notable examples of these laws and their backlash had been seen in states like Indiana (Senate Bill 101), under then-Gov. Mike Pence.

At the Washington State Labor Council's annual convention, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler gave a speech about the future of the labor movement. Among the key things Shuler discussed is the labor movement's efforts to modernize using the best technology and techniques and a renewed focus on unity as a driving principle necessary for a successful path forward.