Northwest Illinois Central Labor Council

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‘Striketober’ Isn’t a Sign of Chaos—It’s a Healthy Development for the Country

The picket line has been crowded lately.

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.

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Recent News

The Badass 50: #21 Liz Schuler

InStyle Magazine on Wednesday, January 12 - 10:28am

"We are building pathways and support structures to grow a bold, inclusive, and transformative movement — I think that's pretty badass," says Shuler, the first woman elected president of the AFL-CIO in the labor federation's history.

Richard Trumka: The Labor Leader Who Told Hard Truths

Timothy Noah on Monday, January 3 - 1:13pm

here weren’t many strikes in recent decades in which working people scored big victories, but the 1989 Pittston strike was one. Two years earlier, the Pittston Coal Company, in Pennsylvania, dropped out of a trade group that had negotiated a union contract with the United Mine Workers, and the company demanded cuts to miners’ health benefits.

U.S. Labor Movement's Next Frontier is the Tech Industry, AFL-CIO's Shuler Says

Nandita Bose on Monday, December 13 2021 - 11:01am

The U.S. tech sector is the next frontier for labor organizing, and its workers are starting to understand the collective power unions have, President of the AFL-CIO Liz Shuler said on Friday at the Reuters Next Conference.

Meet the Woman on the Brink of Transforming Labor in America for the Young and Reshuffling Workforce

Juliana Kaplan on Thursday, December 2 2021 - 10:33am

When Liz Shuler rides on an airplane, she often has an experience that will be familiar to most travelers: Her seat mate asks, "What do you do?"

Five years ago, after saying she worked for a labor union, Shuler said, most people would put their noses back in their books. Today, she's met with reactions like "awesome" and "amazing."

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