AFL-CIO Blog

  • Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Esthela Hernandez
    Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Esthela Hernandez Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to the labor movement. Today's profile features Esthela Hernandez of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Esthela Hernandez began her career in 1993 as a zero operator in GTE’s (now Verizon) first bilingual Spanish services group, launching a 32-year journey through major telecom companies, including a return to Verizon in 2025. She rose through various departments while adapting to industry changes and earned a bachelor's degree in business management. A dedicated union advocate, she has served as a union steward at three locals and contributed to numerous CWA committees. Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 09/17/2025 - 10:02 Tags: Hispanic Heritage Month — Sep 17
  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Delaware DOJ Workers Form Union with AFSCME Council 81
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Delaware DOJ Workers Form Union with AFSCME Council 81 orking 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. Professionals at the Delaware Department of Justice (DOJ) who perform a number of duties to support the state’s attorneys voted with near unanimity to join AFSCME Council 81. The bargaining unit includes nearly 200 staff at the department, including clerks, code enforcement officers, maintenance workers, accountants, administrative assistants and others. Their union election was certified at the end of August, and workers are now focused on negotiating a contract with provisions around higher pay, better training and increased promotion opportunities. “We’re considered the backbone of the department,” said Monica Walker, a legal assistant in Delaware’s Special Victims Unit. “We make sure all the paperwork, files, copies and videos are ready, and that our attorneys are fully prepared for their court cases.” “We work for the largest law firm in the state, and we want to be compensated fairly,” added paralegal Liz Ghione. “We want to be a part of the conversation and have a seat at the table.” Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 09/17/2025 - 09:52 — Sep 17
  • Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month: In the States Roundup
    Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month: In the States Roundup It's time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations on X. Alaska AFL-CIO: California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO: Colorado AFL-CIO: Connecticut AFL-CIO: Illinois AFL-CIO: Maine AFL-CIO: Massachusetts AFL-CIO: Michigan State AFL-CIO: Minnesota AFL-CIO: Missouri AFL-CIO: Nevada State AFL-CIO: New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO: New York State AFL-CIO: North Carolina State AFL-CIO: Ohio AFL-CIO: Oregon AFL-CIO: Pennsylvania AFL-CIO: Texas AFL-CIO: Virginia AFL-CIO: Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO: Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 09/16/2025 - 13:17 — Sep 16
  • Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Zabdiel Martinez
    Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Zabdiel Martinez Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to the labor movement. Today's profile features Zabdiel Martinez of AFSCME. Zabdiel Martinez is an economic support specialist in Dane County, Wisconsin, helping families access food assistance and Medicaid. A proud AFSCME Council 32 member, Martinez fights for strong public services. He’s even taken that fight to Washington, D.C., meeting with lawmakers to show how cuts to Medicaid and SNAP hurt communities like his. Back home in Wisconsin, he continues to advocate for the resources working people in his community need. Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 09/16/2025 - 10:24 Tags: Hispanic Heritage Month — Sep 16
  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Florida Nurses Decisively Vote to Join NNU
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Florida Nurses Decisively Vote to Join NNU 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. Registered nurses at HCA Florida Fort Walton–Destin Hospital voted last week to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), marking yet another victory for medical professionals at HCA Healthcare hospitals. HCA Healthcare is the largest for-profit operator of medical facilities in the country. Based on Medicare cost reports, the corporation’s Florida-based hospitals made nearly $15 billion in profits, including $616 million at Fort Walton-Destin Hospital from 2019 to 2023. Nurses cite concerns around unsafe staffing levels, broken equipment and workplace violence as core motivators for forming a union. “I am absolutely overwhelmed and elated that we are now part of National Nurses United,” said Paige Campbell, a registered nurse in the emergency department. “We now have the opportunity to make real changes at our hospital so we can provide the highest quality of care to each and every one of our patients. We know that with a seat at the bargaining table, management must address our concerns. And while we rejoice in this victory, we know in the end, it is our patients who will be the biggest winners.” “We are so proud to welcome the hundreds of nurses at Fort Walton-Destin Hospital to our NNU family,” said Marissa Lee, a registered nurse in Kissimmee, Florida, who is also an NNU vice president. “Now when nurses stand up to advocate for better patient care, they are not standing alone. They are standing with 10,000 other HCA nurses and more than 225,000 registered nurses across the country.” Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 09/16/2025 - 10:15 — Sep 16

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