AFL-CIO Blog

  • Worker Wins: Corporate Greed is No Match for Working People
    Worker Wins: Corporate Greed is No Match for Working People Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life. UAW Members at Detroit Axle Ratify Contract: UAW members at Detroit Axle overwhelmingly voted on Saturday to ratify their new contract with Daimler Truck North America. The agreement covers more than 400 staff who build axles and transmissions for the automotive parts manufacturer. Wins include profit-sharing and cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) benefits, as well as wage increases up to 50% through the life of the agreement for some workers. “I would like to congratulate the hardworking membership and bargaining committee at Detroit Axle on this major win. This agreement brings long overdue financial gains for our membership at Detroit Axle,” said UAW Region 1A Director Laura Dickerson in a press release. “UAW members in Region 1A are showing that corporate greed is no match for working people. When we stand together, we win!” PrimeFlight Fuelers in Orlando Vote to Form Union: Fuelers at Orlando International Airport (MCO) who are employed by PrimeFlight Aviation Services voted unanimously on Monday to form a union with the Transport Workers Union (TWU). PrimeFlight serves many of the major airlines that operate out of MCO, including Southwest, Delta, American and United. Workers handle a number of critical jobs that keep flights running on time like operating fuel trucks, connecting hoses and more. The newly minted TWU members have cited concerns like low pay, unfair working conditions and high workplace turnover as core motivations for organizing. “We are ready to negotiate a first contract that will address significant issues with wages, benefits, and working conditions for PrimeFlight Fuelers,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “PrimeFlight is a company worth billions of dollars yet basic needs for workers go unmet. These workers deserve better, and today’s vote shows they want the TWU to fight for them at the bargaining table.” Hockey Players’ Unions Join the AFL-CIO: Today, two of professional hockey’s North American players’ associations—the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA)—announced they are formally affiliating with the AFL-CIO and joining its Sports Council. “Whether our work is on the rink, in the classroom or on the factory floor, every worker deserves a voice on the job and the power that comes with union membership,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “We are thrilled to welcome the NHLPA and the PHPA into the federation and our Sports Council, and we look forward to supporting their work to ensure strong union contracts, fair wages, safe working conditions and professional development opportunities for professional hockey players. On the heels of SEIU’s affiliation last month, America’s labor movement is more unified than ever. We will continue to channel that strength and momentum into the fight for workers’ rights.” Read the full statement from the AFL-CIO here. GE Appliances Workers Ratify New Contract: After months of negotiations, members of IUE-CWA Local 83761 in Louisville, Kentucky, have secured a new contract with GE Appliances. IUE-CWA represents approximately 5,000 production workers at the dishwasher, refrigerator, and washer and dryer manufacturer. Their new contract includes wins such as a 60% decrease in insurance deductibles, an additional holiday off, provisions establishing a career progression system that helps workers get regular raises with additional built-in wage increases at major milestones and more. “Trying to equally distribute what we can negotiate is hard...but everybody is getting contractual wage increases every year and that’s something we can continue to build on,” said Local 83761 President Dino Driskell. “We went through the four years so workers could see what their personal gains would be....We knew we’re going to take it, or we were going to be on strike.” WGAE Members Ratify Contract with ABC News: Members of the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) who work at ABC News overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract that contains powerful language protecting workers from the encroaching presence of artificial intelligence (AI). The unit secured meaningful provisions that prevent the news outlet from laying off any current staff as a result of generative AI usage and require management to alert members if the company plans to make the use of this technology a requirement in their jobs. Additionally, ABC News is obligated to bargain with the union over the impacts of any new AI practices. Other wins in the agreement include 5% annual wage increases, more paid time off and more. “Now more than ever, we need journalists who can report and present the news while they are protected in their workplace,” said WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen in a press release. “A union contract is the only thing that ensures that protection. Our members and staff fought hard for this contract, and they deserve everything they won.” Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/06/2025 - 12:02 Tags: Organizing — Feb 6
  • Black History Month Profiles: Charron Carter
    Black History Month Profiles: Charron Carter For Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently actively making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Charron Carter of AFGE . Charron Carter is the president of AFGE Local 727 and vice president of the Metropolitan D.C. Area Chapter of Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). She works for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency and was pivotal in starting a petition for her and her co-workers to join the bargaining unit and become AFGE members. She was appointed chief shop steward in 2017 and was elected to a second term in 2019. She has been the local president since December 2022. Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/06/2025 - 10:20 — Feb 6
  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: AFL-CIO Launches the Department of People Who Work for a Living
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: AFL-CIO Launches the Department of People Who Work for a Living Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Today, the AFL-CIO has launched the Department of People Who Work for a Living (DPWL), a new campaign to hold Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, accountable and make sure the federal government is responsive to working people and not just to the whims of an unelected CEO like Musk. In today’s New York Times, reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan note that  “The AFL-CIO campaign is one of the first organized efforts by unions to focus on the people affected by the work force cuts that the Trump administration is proposing. The labor group aims to highlight what Mr. Musk’s department is doing, arguing that its actions—which are opaque and accountable only to Mr. Trump—are potentially dangerous to the public depending on the jobs in question. The group is also seeking to highlight the chasm between Mr. Musk’s wealth and that of the people he has urged to move on from federal jobs.” “The government can work for billionaires or it can work for working people—but not both,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “Elon is just getting started. And he has already tried to force workers doing essential services—including at the FAA and air traffic controllers even after the tragedy at Washington National Airport—to retire, gained access to the Treasury Department’s payment system with everyone’s private data, and is declaring entire government agencies like USAID shut down and blocking workers from accessing the building and their email. We will hold DOGE and Elon Musk accountable because we are certain that the people who keep our food and medicine safe know more about how to make government efficient than an outsider whose companies benefit from the very agencies he is infiltrating.” Read the full statement from the AFL-CIO here.  Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/06/2025 - 10:02 — Feb 6
  • Committed to Protecting Your Rights: What Working People Are Doing This Week
    Committed to Protecting Your Rights: What Working People Are Doing This Week Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing across the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week. Actors' Equity: AFGE: AFSCME: Alliance for Retired Americans: Amalgamated Transit Union: American Federation of Teachers: American Postal Workers Union: Association of Flight Attendants-CWA: Boilermakers: Bricklayers: Communications Workers of America: Department for Professional Employees: Electrical Workers: Heat and Frost Insulators: International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers: Labor Council for Latin American Advancement: Labor Heritage Foundation: Laborers: Machinists: Maritime Trades Department: Metal Trades Department: Mine Workers: Musical Artists: National Air Traffic Controllers Association: National Association of Letter Carriers: National Domestic Workers Alliance: National Federation of Federal Employees: National Nurses United: NWSL Players Association: NFL Players Association: North America's Building Trades Unions: Office and Professional Employees: Painters and Allied Trades: Professional Aviation Safety Specialists: Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union: Roofers and Waterproofers: SAG-AFTRA: Service Employees International Union (SEIU): The NewsGuild-CWA: Theatrical Stage Employees: Transport Workers Union: Transportation Trades Department: UAW: UNITE HERE: United Food and Commercial Workers: United Steelworkers: Utility Workers: Writers Guild of America East: Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 02/05/2025 - 12:31 — Feb 5
  • Black History Month Profiles: Andrea Winzer
    Black History Month Profiles: Andrea Winzer For Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently actively making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Andrea Winzer of the United Steelworkers (USW). Andrea Winzer of USW Local 8599 is proud to educate students as a library specialist within the Fontana Unified School District in Southern California. Her goal is to make the library a fun place where students can immerse themselves around storytelling. One way she does this is by organizing bookmark design contests during each heritage month. She also loves to serve her community, including volunteering with her church to help the homeless and veterans in her neighborhood. Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 02/05/2025 - 10:35 — Feb 5