New Strategic Initiatives Coming to the Delaware State AFL-CIO After 37th Constitutional Convention
Several new strategic initiatives are coming to the Delaware State AFL-CIO after the state federation held its 37th Constitutional Convention this past weekend on Oct. 11. The initiatives center around advocacy, electoral, and organizing priorities.
A total of five resolutions were passed during the convention. A resolution isn’t a formal policy, but it affirms ideals and values that can be used as a framework to pass policy at a later date.
The resolutions addressed the following initiatives:
- Recruit, equip, and empower union members in Delaware to run for office. The Delaware State AFL-CIO will establish its own version of the Path to Power Program that the national AFL-CIO is conducting in other states. The state federation will prioritize year-round member-to-member electoral work, create a leadership pool of union members, work with affiliate unions to unseat anti-union legislators, identify key seats to target, implement a statewide electoral strategy, and create a Delaware Labor Agenda with affiliates.
- Advocate, assist, and defend immigrant workers and their families. The Delaware State AFL-CIO reaffirmed its commitment to non-discrimination for all people regardless of their immigration status, condemned the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies for denying due process to immigrants, affirmed its support for policies that protect the human rights and dignity of all immigrants, commits to protect the First Amendment right of the public to observe and document any immigration enforcement activities, encourages employers to evaluate how they can support their immigrant employees, and commits to compiling and distributing best practices that can protect immigrant workers at their job sites.
- Escalate collective action leading up to May 1, 2028. The state federation will disseminate information to its affiliates about opportunities to participate in the nationally coordinated May Day campaign, and support affiliate unions who take escalating and coordinated action between now and May 1, 2028.
- Protect workers from harmful AI practices. The Delaware State AFL-CIO will pursue and support policy to implement guardrails and regulations on using AI and automated decisions in the workplace, partner with the AFL-CIO’s Technology Institute to provide trainings on AI, and create an AI-use policy for the organization.
The fifth resolution was to honor our Brothers and Sisters of the state federation and affiliate unions who have departed from us this year. After the resolution was passed, everyone in attendance observed one minute of silence in their memory.
“These new resolutions provide the necessary framework we need as a state federation to continue improving pay, benefits, and working conditions for all union and non-union workers in the state,” said Nelson Hill, President of the Delaware State AFL-CIO. “The next step is the necessary work of organizing with our affiliate unions to implement this ambitious agenda.”
Guest speakers included David Carpio, a representative from the AFL-CIO who spoke about the Path to Power program, Dr. Michelle Taylor, the President and CEO of the United Way of Delaware, and Stacy Hofert, a representative from family health care provider Progyny, who spoke about fertility benefits for union members.
###
About the Delaware State AFL-CIO:
The Delaware State AFL-CIO unites more than 40,000 active and retired members across every industry in our state to secure dignity, fairness, and opportunity for all. Through collective bargaining, civic engagement, and community partnerships, we fight for the rights of workers to organize and for equality in the workplace and beyond.