Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Michael Fong

For Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Michael Fong of the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

Michael Fong worked as a co-costume designer on two seasons of “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.” for Disney+. In the future, Fong hopes to create a program that helps connect LGBTQ+ youth and educate them about what a career in Hawaii’s film and television industry is like. “I have learned a lot from my fellow union members about working in the entertainment industry,” he said. “Being in the union is like being a part of a family.”

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 05/13/2026 - 10:10

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Paul Snow

For Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Paul Snow of the Nevada State AFL-CIO.

Paul Snow has been a Teamster since 2018 and is a guest service ambassador at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Snow fights for working people across Las Vegas and sits on the board of Teamsters of Nevada. Passionate about electing pro-labor candidates, he canvasses and phone banks during every election cycle to ensure Nevada’s working-class families prosper.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 05/12/2026 - 11:15

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: San Diego Musical Theatre Crew Join IATSE

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.

Production workers at the San Diego Musical Theatre (SDMT) voted overwhelmingly to organize with the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 122.

The unit includes wardrobe department staff, stitchers, dressers, audio technicians, spotlight operators, deck crew, stage managers and assistant stage managers.

“Building the theatre community has always been a priority for our Local,” said Robert Morales, business representative for IATSE Local 122. “By organizing SDMT, we continue to build union density which in return helps us negotiate better contracts for everyone and uplift the industry.”

The newly organized crew will now negotiate their first collective bargaining agreement with San Diego Musical Theatre. The company conducted an anti-union campaign, including unsuccessful attempts to hold a captive audience meeting and personal appeals from management to reject the union.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 05/12/2026 - 11:11

Tags: Organizing

A Long and Lasting Relationship: The Working People Weekly List

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.

MU Librarians Vote to Join LIUNA 955: “Librarians at the University of Missouri voted to join LiUNA Local 955, a union that represents a number of public employees in the Mid-Missouri area. LiUNA announced in a Thursday social media post that library workers voted to join the union. Workers had announced their intent to unionize in December. MU librarian Taira Meadowcroft said the preliminary results came in on Thursday and that it will take a few days to certify.”

Capital Times Agrees to Recognize Reporters Union: “The Capital Times Co. agreed Thursday to voluntarily recognize a union formed by its reporters. As a result of the company’s decision, the eight staff reporters agreed to withdraw a petition for an election submitted to the National Labor Relations Board. The reporters, organized as the Cap Times News Guild, presented the petition to their managers April 30. They had already filed the petition with the federal labor board at that point, but in a letter to managers the reporters wrote that they preferred to ‘build a long and lasting relationship with the company’ and would withdraw the document if recognized before an election would take place.”

Strip Casino Reaches New Deal with More Than 100 Union Workers: “More than 100 workers at a Strip megaresort secured a new, multi-year labor deal, the employees’ union announced Thursday. Members of International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 501 working at The Cosmopolitan hotel-casino voted to ratify their second union contract with the property, according to a news release. The agreement, which covers engineers, support engineers and laborers, will expire in 2029. The union had been negotiating with The Cosmopolitan since January.”

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562, Glaziers Local 513 Volunteers Partner with Rebuilding Together to Help Needy St. Louis Homeowners: “Volunteers with Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562 and Glaziers Local 513 spent their day April 25, repairing and updating plumbing, installing water heaters and repairing and replacing windows for those less fortunate, marking 31 years of partnership with Rebuilding Together-St. Louis. ‘This morning is about a lot of things, but it’s 100% about the homeowners we’re going to, the life they live, where they are in their life and how we’re going to change their life today,’ Local 562 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer John O’Mara told the huge group volunteers who turned out to help at Local 562’s offices and training center in Earth City, Mo.”

Dover Council Approves Firefighter Contract, TIF Changes: “Dover City Council suspended the rules to approve Emergency Ordinance 18-26 at its May 4 meeting, finalizing a contract with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 324, AFL-CIO, which represents Dover Fire Department personnel. The contract covers Feb. 16, 2026, through Feb. 16, 2029. Firefighters will receive a $2 raise in the first year, a 3% increase in the second year and a $1.10 raise in the third year.”

Bulletin, Union Agree on Labor Contract: “The Bulletin and its employees who are members of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild agreed on a three-year labor contract Friday. The negotiation between the company and the union took nearly two years to complete. But reporters, photographers and news assistants at the Bulletin and Redmond Spokesman now have their first union contract. It became official on Friday. Like most union contracts, the biggest hurdle was finding a middle ground on the economic package, including wages, according to Bulletin management.”

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 05/11/2026 - 11:19

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Andy Misiluti

For Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Andy Misiluti of the Laborers (LIUNA).

Andy Misiluti, an 18-year member of Laborers Local 242, is a Pacific Islander who moved from American Samoa to Washington state in 2000 and built a remarkable career with Skanska USA. Starting as a laborer in 2007, he advanced from carpenter tender to concrete nozzleman and then to general foreman at Boeing Renton. Today he’s a LIUNA trainer, mentoring others. “Being a laborer gave me purpose, stability, and a path to become someone I never thought I could be,” he said.

Kenneth Quinnell Sun, 05/10/2026 - 10:41

Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: UNITE HERE

This is the next post in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates. The series will run weekly until we’ve covered all 65 of our affiliates. Next up is UNITE HERE.

Name of Union: UNITE HERE

Mission: UNITE HERE believes that one job should be enough. Too often, workers are forced to hold down two or three jobs just to get by, but being a union member changes people’s lives. Over the years, UNITE HERE has fought to win good union contracts with competitive wages and necessary benefits for its members in the hospitality industry across the United States and Canada. It is also growing: In recent years, UNITE HERE has been the fastest-growing private sector union in the United States.

Current Leadership of Union: UNITE HERE is governed by five elected general officers, an elected Canadian director, an elected executive committee, and an elected general executive board with representation from across the union. Gwen Mills is the president of UNITE HERE and the first woman to lead the union in its 130-year history. Nia Winston is secretary-treasurer and the first Black person to serve in that role.

Current Number of Members: 300,000

Members Work As: Hotel housekeepers; bellmen; porters; front desk agents; concierges; banquet servers; airport concessions workers; airline catering workers; cocktail and food servers; cooks; pastry chefs; dishwashers; bartenders; baristas; casino slot attendants; laundry and textile workers; graduate workers; postdoctoral researchers; service attendants, food specialists and chefs aboard Amtrak trains; and more.

Industries Represented: The hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation and airport industries.

History: UNITE HERE is the product of many unions coming together, and its roots date back more than 130 years. In 1891, waiters and bartenders were tired of working 15 to 16 hours every day serving food and drinks, with barely a moment to eat a meal themselves. They came together to form what would later become the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE).

A few years later, immigrant women led the way to form the first garment workers’ union in North America, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU). The ILGWU is one predecessor to the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile workers (UNITE). In the early days of industrialization, many immigrants toiled in dangerous sweatshops for meager wages. Such conditions led to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911, which killed 146 workers in New York City. The fire was a turning point in the union and in the labor movement, as workers—led by young immigrant women—fought to win safe workplaces and union rights that continue to benefit workers today. Together, the union’s ancestors laid the groundwork to make textile, garment, laundry and hospitality jobs good, safe, family-sustaining jobs. 

In the 1960s, New York’s HERE locals marched in support of lunch counter sit-ins to end segregation in the South. Forty years later, UNITE HERE helped lead the labor movement to reverse its position on immigrant labor and advocate for immigration reform, organizing the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride in 2003 to counter anti-immigrant bigotry and xenophobia in the wake of 9/11.

Soon after, in 2004, UNITE and HERE joined to form UNITE HERE: workers in the hospitality and garment industries fighting together for a different and more just life, both inside and outside the workplace.

In modern times, UNITE HERE has held the line on strikes at the Las Vegas Frontier Hotel & Casino and in Atlantic City. The union also led in 2024, when more than 10,000 hotel workers were on strike at hotels nationwide. It has built political power to engage entirely new generations and demographics of voters and supported members through tragedies like the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the Great Recession, the 2017 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip and the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 100 years ago, the union’s immigrant founders led the historic Bread and Roses strike. Today—as they lead campaigns that take on some of the world’s most powerful billionaires and institutions—immigrant workers, Black workers and other people of color have been at the center of UNITE HERE’s efforts to end poverty and change lives.

Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: UNITE HERE consistently works toward building power for its members in their workplaces and their communities. It accomplishes this through implementing ambitious ground-up organizing campaigns; fighting for great union contracts for all of its members; and strengthening a political program that supports long-term, grassroots organizing and leadership development. Check out current projects of UNITE HERE and campaigns led by UNITE HERE locals. Find socially responsible union hotels at FairHotel.org.

Learn More: Website, Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 05/11/2026 - 14:14

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: IAM Local 778 Members Ratify New Contract at Olin Winchester, Winning Raises, Mandatory Overtime Relief

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.

IAM Union Local 778 members voted to ratify a new four-year contract with Olin Corp.’s Winchester division, ending their strike.

The victory for more than 1,300 skilled workers at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant was approved by the membership on May 6.

“This ratified agreement met the needs of our membership and they are ready to get back to work under these new terms,” said IAM Local 778 Directing Business Representative Scott Brown. “Our members fought for a contract that includes improvements to pay and relief to mandatory overtime scheduling.”

“I am proud of these members for their courage and sacrifice,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “The members of IAM Local 778 took the necessary action to make their workplace better and make each other’s lives better. ”

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 05/11/2026 - 11:04

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Waylon James Keahi Mudget

For Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Waylon James Keahi Mudget of the Bricklayers (BAC).

“Joining the union was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made 21 years ago,” said Waylon James Keahi Mudget, vice president of BAC Local 1 Hawaii. “Working with my union brothers and sisters, I learned craft skills that benefit me in and out of the field in my daily life. The trades men and women I have worked with have truly become a part of my Ohana. The union has made me who I am today and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Kenneth Quinnell Sat, 05/09/2026 - 10:41

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Sasha Kahele-Manners

For Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Sasha Kahele-Manners of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA).

Sasha Kahele-Manners is a flight attendant with Hawaiian Airlines and proud member of AFA-CWA. Kahele-Manners currently serves as the reserve committee chair for Council 43 in Honolulu, where she supports AFA-CWA members by helping them understand and navigate their collective bargaining agreement. Kahele-Manners’ union work is driven by a deep respect for the protections her contract provides—ensuring balance, preventing burnout and affirming the value of flight attendants’ work.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 05/08/2026 - 10:34

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Nonprofit Youth Action Fund Organizes with CWA

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.

Staff at the Generation Z-led organizing nonprofit Youth Action Fund organized with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

“Since 2023, Florida Youth Action Fund (FYAF) has emerged as a critical player in the Florida youth organizing landscape,” the workers said. “With the dedication and drive of our staff, FYAF has mobilized thousands of students across the country and trained hundreds to become skilled youth advocates.”

Youth Action Fund staff filed a petition for a union election to join CWA Local 3108 on May 1. They asked Youth Action Fund management to voluntarily recognize their union.

“We’re excited to, you know, to hopefully get workers’ protections,” said Giancarlo Rodriguez, a Central Florida campaign adviser for Youth Action Fund. “And to let young people know too—and people all across Florida, regardless of age—that you can form a union, and it’s possible. No matter what kind of worker you are, no matter what industry, you know, you deserve worker protections. We want to have better wages, better working conditions, job security—all these really critical things that unions can bring.”

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 05/08/2026 - 10:29