News

Liz Shuler Elected AFL-CIO President

The AFL-CIO Executive Council today elected Liz Shuler, a visionary leader and longtime trade unionist, to serve as president of the federation of 56 unions and 12.5 million members. Shuler is the first woman to hold the office in the history of the labor federation. The Executive Council also elected United Steelworkers (USW) International Vice President Fred Redmond to succeed Shuler as secretary-treasurer, the first African American to hold the number two office. Tefere Gebre will continue as executive vice president, rounding out the most diverse team of officers ever to lead the AFL-CIO.

In Memoriam: Richard L. Trumka (1949-2021)

Our brother and leader Richard Trumka passed away on August 5, 2021, at the age of 72.

AFL-CIO Unveils Executive Paywatch Report

2020’s growth in pay inequity between workers and CEOs confirms the “executive base salary reductions” touted during the COVID-19 crisis were just lip service, per this year’s AFL-CIO Executive Pay

Biden's 'Buy American' Manufacturing Order Called 'Good First Step' by Labor

“This executive order will close loopholes that allow agencies to sidestep Buy American requirements and increase the thresholds for domestic content,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in a statement. “This order is a good first step in revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, which [President Donald] Trump’s policies failed to do over the past four years,” Trumka said. The order will modify the rules for the Buy American program, reports the Associated Press, making it harder for contractors to qualify for a waiver and sell foreign-made goods to federal agencies.

Union Family Member Aspires to Become Orthopedic Surgeon; Union Plus Scholarship Application Deadline Is Jan. 31

Makaelah Murray, a student athlete at Howard University in Washington, D.C., is among the 2020 Union Plus Scholarship winners. Murray is a biology major at Howard and a member of the women’s soccer program. She graduated with honors from San Joaquin Delta College and aspires to become an orthopedic surgeon to help other athletes like her recover from their injuries. While at Delta, she completed, with distinction, the Leadership Education for Aspiring Physicians (LEAP) program at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Trumka: 'Biden is committed' to strengthening unions

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka discusses why America needs a strong labor movement and how the Biden administration is committed to strengthening unions.

Watch the video on Yahoo! Finance.

Biden must pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act

So America today needs more than anything solidarity and human dignity — the church's core teachings. The teaching that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, that we are not commodities whose value is determined by a flawed and arbitrary market, but human beings, souls, created in the image of God, and each of our worth is beyond price. And it is high time our nation's laws promoted solidarity and human dignity.

Democracy and the labor movement are one and the same

Our Constitution says that after a presidential election, Congress shall meet on Jan. 6 to count the electoral votes cast for the president and vice president. It is a solemn ritual of democracy.

But it is only that — a ritual. This ceremonial custom is not how our president and vice president are chosen. They are chosen by us, the people.

Of course, President Donald Trump and senators like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz know this. But it did not stop them from inciting an insurrection. Acting out of nothing but unprincipled ambition, they put democracy in danger.

AFL-CIO Calls on Trump to Resign or Be Removed from Office 'at Once'

The AFL-CIO called on President Trump to resign or be removed from office “at once, whether through impeachment or the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” following the riots at the U.S. Capitol this week. The labor group’s general board released the statement Friday, saying it is not one America's labor movement makes lightly. “The deadly storming of the U.S.

Trumka Says Walsh Will Be 'Exceptional' Labor Secretary

The president of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of unions, praised President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) for secretary of Labor, calling the mayor an “exceptional” choice. “Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will be an exceptional Labor secretary for the same reason he was an outstanding mayor: he carried the tools.

Trumka Calls Trump Protest ‘One of the Greatest Assaults on Our Democracy Since the Civil War’

Prominent union leaders of the AFL-CIO and United Auto Workers are publicly condemning President Donald Trump’s supporters for storming the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called it “one of the greatest assaults on our democracy since the Civil War.” 

Read the full article on CNBC.