AFL-CIO Blog

  • National Native American Heritage Month Profiles
    National Native American Heritage Month Profiles Throughout National Native American Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Native Americans have made to the labor movement and toward expanding the rights of working people.  Check out the members we've featured so far: Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 11/20/2024 - 10:54 — Nov 20
  • National Native American Heritage Month Profiles: Kota Aranda
    National Native American Heritage Month Profiles: Kota Aranda Throughout National Native American Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Native Americans have made to the labor movement and toward expanding the rights of working people. Today's profile features Kota Aranda of the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Kota Aranda has worked as a camera and lens technician since joining IATSE Local 600 in 2020 and enjoys amplifying diverse voices through Local 600’s BIPOC group in Atlanta. “My proudest moment was seeing my name in the credits of my first full run,” Aranda said. “That was a really rewarding experience. It’s just a name with a long list of others but to me that name in the credits represents the early mornings, late nights, long days, hard work and perseverance that it took to get the job done.” Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 11/20/2024 - 10:45 — Nov 20
  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: St. Louis University Graduate Workers Vote to Join UAW
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: St. Louis University Graduate Workers Vote to Join UAW 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. Late last week, St. Louis University graduate students overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining the United Autoworkers (UAW). The Graduate Workers of St. Louis University Union-UAW (GWSLUU-UAW) unit covers more than 500 people who work for the school as teaching and research assistants. This landslide victory came right before the National Labor Relations Board reported Monday that more than 50,000 students who work at U.S. universities have unionized during the past two years, proving that this win is part of a much larger national effort to organize increasingly precarious higher education institutions. Members cite the need for better working conditions and increased pay as core motivators, saying that before the organizing effort, graduate workers had not received a raise in more than a decade. Concerns around uncertainty in science funding and unstable regulation of visas were also issues that spurred the campaign. “This feels like the greatest achievement of our lives,” said Zach Davis, a doctoral candidate in American studies. “For the first time in this university’s history, grad workers will have a seat at the table in all decisions that affect them. There will no longer be any conversations about us in which we are not an active participant and so long as this union is around, that is not going to change.” Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 11/20/2024 - 10:39 — Nov 20
  • National Native American Heritage Month Profiles: Kassy McDowell
    National Native American Heritage Month Profiles: Kassy McDowell Throughout National Native American Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Native Americans have made to the labor movement and toward expanding the rights of working people. Today's profile features Kassy McDowell of the Heat and Frost Insulators (HFIU). Kassy McDowell is a proud Indigenous woman who champions diversity and inclusion for all underrepresented groups in the trades. As a certified journeyperson, she passes on her skill and knowledge to help future generations on their path to a career in the insulation trade.  Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 11/19/2024 - 09:59 — Nov 19
  • Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Rite Aid Workers Secure Tentative Agreement
    Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Rite Aid Workers Secure Tentative Agreement 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. Rite Aid workers in Southern California, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), secured a tentative agreement (TA) on Friday after months of intense negotiations with the drugstore chain. The deal covers more than 3,500 UFCW members across locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442. Workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike a month ago, building on months of strategic actions, rallies and community conversations. Their endurance has paid off—the Rite Aid TA includes improved wages, health care benefits protections and pension security. “This tentative agreement would not have been possible without the strength we showed during the bargaining process,” the UFCW Rite Aid Bargaining Committee said in a joint statement. “We stood up to the company’s unfair labor practices and showed them we were willing to fight for the contract we deserved. The power we showed at our stores translated to power at the bargaining table. Our solidarity and this victory will send a strong message to workers everywhere – when we fight, we win! Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 11/19/2024 - 09:19 — Nov 19

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