Search

Search

3180 results found
Press Release

AFL-CIO Votes to Endorse President Biden for Re-Election

… of Biden–Harris The General Board of the AFL-CIO—representing 60 unions and more than 12.5 million workers—voted today to endorse President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for re-election in 2024. The endorsement vote marks the … our pensions and making historic investments in infrastructure, clean energy and education, we’ve never seen a president work so tirelessly to rebuild our economy from the bottom up and middle out. We’ve never seen a president more forcefully advocate for workers’ fundamental right to join a union. Now, it’s time to finish the job. The largest labor mobilization in history begins today, supercharged …
Speech

Shuler: ILA Women Have the Power

… AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler delivered the following remarks as prepared virtually to the International Longshoremen's Association Women's Conference: ILA Strong Global Power! Thank you, Dennis [Daggett] for … history and strategic thinking that went into this. Because we could all use some more wisdom and insight in our lives, right? These last two years…we have battled haven’t we? It felt like we were being hit from all sides…from politics to the … and your courage. There’s been all this talk about “essential workers” because people finally woke up and realized all the work and that their lives depend on a whole ecosystem of workers behind the scenes who make their world possible.  But let me …
Speech

Trumka Honors the Service of Peg Seminario

… Peg Seminario's retirement celebration:  Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. Thank you for being here. It is an honor to join you today to celebrate one of the greatest trade unionists in the history of the AFL-CIO—Peg Seminario. And I mean … legacy she’s crafted. Peg got her start under the tremendous George Taylor. And through his guidance, she took the work of safety and health to another level. No one has done it longer or better than Peg. Nobody has worked harder or … made an investment in a young woman named Rebecca Reindel. Maybe she saw some of herself in Rebecca. An upstart with the right mix of passion and values. Perhaps Peg remembered the opportunity she was given early in her career when she got …
Blog

Worker Wins

… of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.  … Machinists at Spirit AeroSystems Vote to Accept Improved Contract Offer:  Approximately 6,000 members of the Machinists (IAM) Local 839 at Spirit AeroSystems  voted to ratify an improved four-year contract . The IAM members went on strike on June 24 and will return to work on July 5. The new contract includes significant improvements over the previous offer—which was rejected—including wage … for the Culinary Union. “The San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority and Palms Casino Resort have done the right thing by respecting their employees and recalling workers back to work with their seniority intact. The Culinary Union …
Blog

Pride Month Profiles: Irene Soloway

… For Pride Month, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ Americans who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights. Our first profile this year is Irene Soloway. … As a young adult in 1978 , Irene Soloway moved from St. Louis to New York. She was working in a bar that had a significant clientele who were roofers. Soloway referred to the behavior of …
Blog

Unions Must Address Racism

… Ian Haney López is an author and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Unions must mobilize to defeat racism because it destroys solidarity and brutalizes union members, the demographics of working people are changing rapidly and morality demands action. But mobilizing all of labor to join the fight against racism will not be easy: Race fractures the labor movement itself. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said of Ferguson, Mo., “our brother killed our sister’s son,” and, in doing so, he spoke to the tragic facts and also to the internecine racial fault lines that shatter worker solidarity. For unions to recover, …
Article

Why Having a Union is Such a Powerful Tool for Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment

… industries, face an even greater threat. Working women with the benefit of a union on the job are in a stronger position to fight sexual harassment and to get it stopped when it happens. Here’s why: A union represents the collective power of … their unions with employers typically contain anti-discrimination language and language calling for dignity and respect at work. These contractual provisions are enforced through a grievance and arbitration process at the worksite—a process … health care and pension benefits, and greater protections against unfair treatment on the job). The law gives workers the right to decide whether to form or join a union without retaliation by their employer.  View PDF …
Blog

'Made In America' Week Should Be More Than Just A Slogan

… would ring truer if Trump brand products were made here in the United States. The Trump family has had many opportunities to make its products here at home and instead has chosen to do business in countries where labor is cheap and worker rights are few. 2. The administration had another opportunity to promote American-made products and jobs through its principles for the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade …
Blog

Economy Gains 130,000 Jobs in August; Unemployment Steady at 3.7%

… The U.S. economy gained 130,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, according to figures released this morning  by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  … In response to the August job numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs said: "The weak numbers show the Fed did the right thing to do a course correction and lower rates this summer. But they now need to consider more cuts to keep the slow … likely to quit looking than to get a job. The number unemployed more than 27 weeks increased (unemployed means looking for work, NOT drawing UI benefits) increased 77,000 @AFLCIO pic.twitter.com/UZHV4q8NBD — William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) September …