For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States.

Here's who we've featured so far:

• Ashley Page of AFGE
• Eliana Holgate of AFSCME

Tags: Pride

For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Eliana Holgate of AFSCME.

Eliana Holgate has been a leader for AFSCME Local 6359 since its inception. She was an organizing committee lead for Howard County Library Workers United and bargained their first contract. She has been devoted to defending members’ rights, working as a union steward, chapter chair and local vice president.

Tags: Pride

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.

Swedish Medical Group hospitalists have voted to join Northwest Medicine United, AFT Local 6552, making history as the first physicians in the Providence system to unionize in Washington.

Swedish Medical Group is part of Providence Swedish, Providence’s health system in the western part of the state. Approximately 115 medical professionals across five campuses in the Seattle area participated in the union election.

“Physicians at Swedish Medical Group are organizing because they want a stronger voice in the decisions that affect patient care, physician autonomy and the future of healthcare,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in a social media post. “I'm proud to stand with these hospitalists as they work to protect quality care and physician autonomy.”

Tags: Organizing

For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Ashley Page of AFGE.

Ashley Page, an esteemed Transportation Security Administration professional since 2019 and AFGE member for seven years, rose as a steward in 2023 and led as a coordinator for young, Black and LGBTQIA+ members. Today, she is honored to serve as the national AFGE Pride secretary, a beacon of equity, leadership and service.

Tags: Pride

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 District W24 members overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract with Weyerhaeuser, securing major economic gains for 1,160 union members across Washington and Oregon.

The settlement covers 14 individual contracts involving members from IAM locals W130, W246, W261 and W536 working across sawmills, trucking operations, export yards and logging camps throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The contract includes an 11% total wage increase over the life of the agreement, a $3,000 signing bonus for members, locked-in health care costs with only minimal increases, strengthened pension and retirement benefits, increased flexibility in vacation scheduling and expanded bereavement leave language.

“This agreement shows what can happen when members stay united and engaged throughout the bargaining process,” said Brandon Bryant, District W24 president and directing business representative, following ratification.

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.

Over 3500 Nevada State Admin Workers Join Union After Vote: “More than 3,500 administrative and clerical workers with the state of Nevada will join a union after a recent vote. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) announced that the staffers will now be part of Local 4041. ‘I am proud of my coworkers for coming together to organize our union,’ Maria Behic, an administrative assistant at the Florence McClure Women's Correctional Center, said in a statement. ‘As admin assistants, we are the backbone of our offices—nothing happens without us. And we deserve the dignity and respect that comes with having a unified voice on the job.’”

Minuteman Press Employees Join Union: “Athens’ local printing shop employees are once again union members: Minuteman Press announced May 22 that its workers have joined the Communication Workers of America Union. Minuteman Press owner Eva Bloom told the Independent the two-decades-old business had previous union representation under its first owner, too. Minuteman is a franchise with just over 1,000 locations worldwide. ‘It was previously owned by William Bowers, and then I purchased the business in October [2025],’ Bloom said. Previously, the shop’s workers were members of the Graphic Communications Conference. ‘When Bill sold the business, we were then not unionized, and then we kind of looked at our options to rejoin a union, and settled with Communication Workers of America,’ Bloom said. ‘The reason we ended up with Communication Workers of America specifically is because they had some really great additional benefits for the team.’”

Steelworkers Ratify 3-Year Contract with Arconic: “United Steelworkers (USW) at four Arconic plants, including Davenport Works in Riverdale, have a new labor contract with the aluminum maker after union members ratified the tentative agreement on Wednesday, May 27. The three-year master contract covers roughly 3,400 workers across the four operations. In addition to Davenport Works, the contract covers union members at Lafayette Operations in Lafayette, Indiana; Tennessee Operations in Alcoa, Tennessee; and Massena Operations, USW Local 420, Massena, New York. ‘The unity of our membership across all of the Arconic locations gave us power to negotiate more secure jobs with improved wages and excellent benefits,’ USW International Vice President Ramirez said in a news release issued Wednesday night after the votes were counted. ‘When union workers stand together in the name of fairness and justice, there are no limits to what we can accomplish.’ The USW members cast their votes throughout Wednesday with USW Local 105 voting at the Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center. The union did not release specific vote totals.”

Teachers’ Union Urges Schools to Curb A.I. Chatbots and Screen Time: “Warning that young people ‘are drowning in tech,’ Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, called on schools on Wednesday to stop giving digital devices like iPads to children in prekindergarten through second grade. In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, Ms. Weingarten also urged elementary schools to avoid using artificial intelligence tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Khan Academy’s Khanmigo with children. And she called for new national privacy and safety standards for A.I. tools in all schools.”

Dark Horse Employees Form Union: “A supermajority of staff at comics publisher Dark Horse Media, including its retailer Things From Another World, announced today their intent to unionize with Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 7901. Dark Horse Workers United said its members have sent a letter, signed by 59 eligible employees, to interim CEO Jay Komas requesting voluntary recognition of the union by June 3. In the absence of that recognition, Dark Horse Workers United will petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election.”

ALA Workers Vote Yes on Union: “American Library Association (ALA) employees voted overwhelmingly to approve the formation of ALA Workers United (ALAWU), a new union representing staff at the 150-year-old association. The final vote count, tallied on May 27, was 77–4, with 81 out of 87 votes counted. (Six votes were challenged.) The National Labor Relations Board will now certify the union, a process that may take approximately 10 days, allowing workers to begin collective bargaining.”

Lobbyists Are Silencing the Voice of Working Kentuckians: “Twenty years ago, when I started my apprenticeship as a bricklayer, I never imagined my career would lead me to Frankfort as a part-time lobbyist for working people. Throughout my career in construction, I witnessed things that changed how I see the world. I’ve seen everything from minor injuries to a fatal fall from 65 feet. I’ve seen workers forced to work 16-hour days and then sleep in cargo vans on the job site because they were undocumented and had no other choice. I’ve seen workers develop debilitating illnesses after years of exposure to hazardous chemicals.”

AFL-CIO Community Services to Help Kids Feel Ready Ahead of the School Year by Distributing Tennis Shoes: “With the FIFA World Cup just around the corner, AFL-CIO Community Services is making sure local kids and future soccer players have a good pair of shoes for the school year. Through its Soles for Christ shoe distribution program, the organization will once again provide brand-new tennis shoes to students across northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas. Nicki Seckinger, executive director, said this is the 24th year they have been doing the program.”

Labor Unions Celebrate World Court’s Ruling That Enshrines the Right to Strike: “‘At a moment when workers’ organizations face sustained attacks around the world, this opinion reaffirms that the freedom to withhold one’s labor is not a privilege granted by the powerful, but a fundamental human right grounded in international law,’ AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement.”

Weingarten and Wolfson: Higher Education Must Be Rebuilt to Restore Public Trust. Here’s How: “Last month, Yale University released a striking report acknowledging that public trust in higher education is eroding—and that universities themselves bear responsibility. The report’s authors offer a candid recognition of the depth of this crisis, citing a recent Pew Research Center poll indicating that 70% of Americans believe higher education is heading in the wrong direction. Reports like Yale’s point to real issues: cost, transparency and questions about academic culture. But recognition is not the same as a reckoning.”

Please Stop Touching the Flight Attendants: “Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said there may be several factors at play. Passengers and crew are in close quarters on a plane. Travelers may feel like flight attendants are ‘a part of the furniture.’ People are out of their ordinary routines. ‘All of those things sort of come together to also create this dynamic where you might do something that you would never think to do in another situation,’ Nelson said. Flight attendants would prefer that passengers interact with them like they would with employees at any other place of business, said Sam Wilkins, a flight attendant for 28 years and first vice president of TWU Local 556, the union that represents Southwest flight attendants.”

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 the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA).

Name of Union: Women’s National Basketball Players Association

Mission: To leverage the collective wisdom and vision of WNBA players and fully commit to affirming, defending, and advancing player interests on and off the court.

Current Leadership of Union: Nneka Ogwumike serves as president. Kelsey Plum serves as first vice president, Elizabeth Williams serves as secretary, Brianna Turner serves as treasurer, and the WNBPA has three vice presidents: Alysha Clark, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart. Each team's players select a primary player representative and an alternate. There is a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. Terri Carmichael Jackson serves as the union's executive director.

Current Number of Members: 180

Members Work As: Professional basketball players.

Industries Represented: Women's professional basketball.

History: The WNBPA was created in 1998 to protect the rights of players and assist them in achieving their full potential on and off the court. It is the first labor union for professional women athletes. 

Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: The WNBPA secured a transformational new CBA on March 19, 2026. The WNBPA monitors and enforces the CBA, files grievances on behalf of its members’ interests, and counsels players on benefits and post-WNBA career opportunities. The WNBPA also serves as a resource for current players competing internationally during the offseason. The WNBPA screens the backgrounds of agents, certifies them to work with WNBA players and monitors all player contracts. The Union offers resources for continued education, workers’ compensation, retirement, travel, and other opportunities. In addition, the WNBPA supports the off-the-court passions of its members by working with social justice and civil rights organizations, uplifting foundations that various players have formed, and promoting products sold by players in the Players' Market. The WNBPA forms partnerships with corporate sponsors to promote players through its group licensing business. 

Learn More: Website, Instagram

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.

Feature animation production workers, members of The Animation Guild (TAG) (Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 839), ratified their first contract with Netflix. Some 89% of members of the bargaining unit voted on the contract, with 89% in favor. 

The new contract includes wage minimums, dismissal pay and workplace protections for production workers.

“Every production group to negotiate has built upon the foundation of those that came before them, and the [Netflix Animation Studios (NAS)] production contract really showcases that,” said TAG organizer Allison Smartt. “NAS workers have won the highest production assistant rates in any TAG production agreement. In just five years since we organized the first group of animation production workers, this rate sets the highest bar yet, and it wouldn’t have happened  without workers fighting together in solidarity.”

Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.

Massachusetts Rideshare Drivers Certify First Union: Massachusetts rideshare drivers in the App Drivers Union (ADU) have made history by becoming the first statewide union of its kind to win official recognition. This major milestone was made possible with support from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ and IAM Union (IAM). The union was certified by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations last week, marking the largest private sector bargaining victory since the 1940s. “For too long, the gig economy was built on a fools’ bargain: the companies got rich and workers scraped by. The rules were rigged,” said April Verrett, international president of SEIU. “But Massachusetts rideshare drivers flipped the script….They are steering the future of the labor movement and taking their destiny into their hands." “Massachusetts rideshare drivers just made labor history,” said Brian Bryant, IAM international president. “What started with the IAM Union organizing black car drivers in the 1990s has grown into a groundbreaking partnership with SEIU 32BJ that is now reshaping the future of work in America. This victory proves that no matter how powerful Big Tech becomes, workers still have the power to organize, demand fairness and win a real voice on the job.” “The Massachusetts AFL-CIO is proud to congratulate our siblings in the App Drivers Union on their historic victory as they become the exclusive bargaining representative of rideshare drivers across the Commonwealth,” said Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “We will proudly stand with our siblings in ADU as they fight for a first contract, and we are thankful to all of the workers, 32BJ SEIU, IAM, allies, elected leaders, and advocates who have joined with us in fighting Big Tech and proving that when we fight, we win.”  

ACLU of DC Staff Win Landmark First Union Contract: After almost three years of negotiations, staff at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of DC have ratified a first contract as members of Washington-Baltimore News Guild (WBNG), Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 32035. This landmark agreement establishes a number of major wins, including an average raise of 11.5%, additional annual wage increases, student debt support, fully employer-paid health insurance premiums, layoff protections and much more. “We spent nearly three years at the bargaining table fighting for a contract that reflects the value of the work we do every day to protect civil liberties in the District,” said Yvonne Slosarski, bargaining committee chair. “This agreement delivers for every member of our unit, and it sets a new standard for what nonprofit workers can and should win.”

Starbucks Workers United Celebrates 700th Election Victory: Last week, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) announced that baristas at more than 700 locations across the country have now voted to join the union. The workers responsible for this major milestone are based out of stores in Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Chicago and Bolingbrook, Illinois; and Houston, Texas. While Starbucks executives continue to drag their feet on reaching a deal, more and more workers at the massive coffee chain are joining the fight for a fair contract. “Baristas are leading the fastest-growing union movement in modern history because Starbucks SHOULD do better,” SBWU said in a social media post that featured a video of workers at the 700th union location. “We work at a company with the highest CEO-to-worker pay gap, and despite this, baristas nationwide are seeing working conditions at our stores get worse while we deal with low pay, inadequate hours, inaccessible benefits, and more. It’s time to do something, and that’s why we’re organizing!”

Meatball Production Workers in New Jersey Ratify New Contract: United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 152 members at Casa Di Bertacchi in Vineland, New Jersey, ratified a new five-year contract late last month. Highlights of the agreement include guaranteed across-the-board wage increases, reimbursement for work boots, increased contributions to the employer-sponsored 401(K), and additional language to comply with the state’s Earned Sick Leave law, which allows workers to carry over sick days from one year to the next. “The Casa Di Bertacchi negotiations showed that fair wages aren’t an abstract idea—they’re grounded in real household costs and economic reality. This contract moves employees closer to stability and reflects what happens when workers speak with a united voice and insist that their wages keep pace with the real cost of living,” said UFCW Local 152 Director of Collective Bargaining Louis Faiola.

WildEarth Workers Ratify First Collective Bargaining Agreement: Staff members at WildEarth Guardians—who are represented by Denver Newspaper Guild, Local 37074 of the Communications Workers of America (CWA)—have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement (CBA). WildEarth Workers formed in 2023 and was quickly voluntarily recognized by WildEarth Guardians management. The bargaining unit covers members who perform a variety of work related to the preservation and restoration of the wildlife and ecological health of the American West. The contract includes wins such as annual cost of living and salary raise adjustments, increased paid time off, just cause protections, and more. “We are immensely proud of our bargaining team and all the great provisions our first CBA includes. We are now entering a new era at WildEarth Guardians with enthusiasm and renewed drive to accomplish our critical work,” said Adam Rissien, spokesperson for WildEarth Workers. “The CBA lays a foundation for a resilient workplace prepared to fight for the wild places, wildlife, and health of the American West while ensuring the safety, security, and longevity of our workforce.” “The workers of WildEarth Guardians are the voice for the voiceless and I am thrilled their jobs are protected and supported with a collective agreement,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “This contract is a strong foundation that will support the workers who protect our wildlife and our climate for generations to come.”

Hotel and Gaming Trades Council Wins New Industry-Wide Tentative Agreement: Ahead of the FIFA World Cup, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC) has reached a new tentative agreement with the Hotel Association of New York City that secures the biggest wage increases in the union’s history. The new contract would be active for eight years, and by the end of its lifetime, room attendants and other nontipped workers would be earning six figures. Other highlights of the deal include fully paid parental leave, artificial intelligence guardrails, additional protections for immigrant members and more. “Our union’s team carried out sophisticated and effective legal and political strategies, engaged in thousands of conversations with employers, and executed numerous bargaining strategies to create the leverage we needed,” said HTC President Rich Maroko in an open letter to the union’s members. “But in the end, we would not have won this agreement without the dedication of our members and the very real threat that we would strike. The threat of a strike or a picket line is our union’s most powerful weapon. In every contract fight, we need management to understand that if they won’t agree to a fair contract at the bargaining table, we will take our fight to the streets.”

University of California IT Workers Join UPTE-CWA, Form Largest Tech Union in U.S.: More than 2,100 tech workers at the University of California have voted to join University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE)-Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 9119. With the addition of these system analysts, database administrators and other information technology (IT) workers, UPTE-CWA has become the largest tech union in the United States. “Millions of Californians rely on the University of California for their healthcare and education,” said Max Belasco, business systems analyst at UCLA. “Until now, we haven’t had the opportunity, as the people who understand AI, to say: we want a seat at the table. If the workers who provide these critical services to the people of California don’t have the power to demand transparency and advocate for the safe deployment of AI tools, there will be no safeguards in place to ensure AI will be used as anything more than a poor cost saving measure. Unionized healthcare workers have set new quality standards across UC hospitals that save lives—tech workers can play the same role when it comes to AI.”

School Food Service Workers in New York Ratify New Collective Bargaining Agreement: Members of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union-United Food and Commercial Workers (RWDSU-UFCW) Local 1102 who feed students in the Hampton Bays School District have ratified a new union contract. Highlights of the agreement include raises, longevity benefits and more paid time off, including improvements to holiday, sick and personal days. These major wins will help provide greater financial stability for members and reflect the important role they play in the local community. “Our Hampton Bays members should be proud of what they accomplished together through solidarity and unity,” said Local 1102 President Jack Caffey. “This agreement recognizes the essential work they do every day and delivers meaningful improvements that support them and their families.”

Workers at Planned Parenthood’s Largest Health Care Affiliate Vote to Join SEIU: More than 400 front-line health care workers at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte have voted to join Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 521. Members of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte Workers United (PPMMWU) perform essential roles at 30 clinics throughout mid-California and Nevada. This supermajority vote by staff of Planned Parenthood’s largest affiliated network comes in the midst of uncertainty around Medicaid funding and rollbacks on reproductive rights. “Securing our union secures decisions about our work like staffing, resources, and ensuring a sustainable level of care our patients depend on,” said Ryah Issa, a health services specialist at the Planned Parenthood San Jose clinic, in a press release. “While courts and politicians continue to police our work, our union gives us the power to defend clinical integrity and guarantees our patients receive the comprehensive care we all deserve. Many workers are patients in our clinics, too.”

Tags: Organizing

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:

We are excited to announce the League-Equity Audition Program ("LEAP"): a new kind of audition aimed at giving Equity members the chance to meet directors, choreographers, writers and casting directors who create new work so they can keep you in mind for future projects. https://bit.ly/4tRiNhP

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— Actors' Equity Association (@actorsequity.bsky.social) May 26, 2026 at 3:13 PM

AFGE:

AFGE is grateful to @SenatorHassan and @SenatorLankford for reintroducing the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2026 which would take government shutdowns off the table and force Congress to stay in town until their work is done. 

Thank you for standing up for AFGE members ✊

— AFGE (@AFGENational) May 21, 2026

AFSCME:

The workers at the Seattle Museum of Art are fighting for a voice on the job to improve their workplace. They’ve formed Seattle Art Museum Workers United, joining the wave of 50,000 cultural workers across the country who have formed unions through AFSCME. https://t.co/qYlQ7sVNVQ

— AFSCME (@AFSCME) May 26, 2026

Air Line Pilots Association:

Speaking up for aviation safety and for pilots is core to our mission. That's why we're calling on Congress to include the ADS-B In language from the Senate-passed ROTOR Act in final law. pic.twitter.com/q1RCDNXi40

— Air Line Pilots Association (@ALPAPilots) May 20, 2026

Alliance for Retired Americans: