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 64 of our affiliates. Next up is AFSCME.

Name of Union: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Mission: AFSCME members provide the vital services that make America happen. They work to ensure dignity and security for public service workers across the country. By organizing new members, they build their capacity to strengthen public services, improve working conditions, negotiate decent wages, and safeguard pensions and health benefits.

Current Leadership of Union: Lee Saunders was elected AFSCME president in 2012, the first African American to hold that position, after previously serving as secretary-treasurer and in many other roles with AFSCME since 1978. He was raised in a union household in Cleveland. His mother was a member of the American Association of University Professors, a teacher at a community college and a community organizer. His father was a union bus driver for the city. Elissa McBride serves as secretary-treasurer. AFSCME has 34 international vice presidents serving different regions.

Members Work As: With hundreds of job categories, members work in behavioral health, corrections, early childhood education, emergency services, environmental stewardship, health care, higher education, home care, child care, housing, human services, K-12 schools, law enforcement, libraries, museums and other cultural institutions, nursing, probation and parole, public administration, public works, legal services, transportation, sanitation, and more. 

Industries Represented: States, cities, counties, other local governments and schools, as well as the federal government and private employers performing public services.

History: During the depths of the Great Depression, a group of state employees in Madison, Wisconsin, formed what would later become the Wisconsin State Employees Union/Council 24 in an effort to defend the state’s civil service system and stand up to political cronyism. Four years later, in 1936, the American Federation of Labor granted a charter for AFSCME, which united the Wisconsin group with numerous others that had formed across the country after the success in Madison.

At the end of 1936, the union had 10,000 members. Growth was difficult at first, but by 1946, the union stood at 73,000 members. The merger that formed the AFL-CIO brought AFSCME another 40,000 members.

AFSCME was active in the struggle for racial justice in the 1960s, during the presidency of Jerry Wurf. The 1968 strike of AFSCME sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, was a signature moment in civil rights and labor rights history. It was in Memphis, in support of the sanitation workers’ struggle, that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

AFSCME continued to grow during the 1970s and 1980s, with a focus on bringing together independent associations of public employees in an effort to harness the collective power of so many voices. Almost 60 associations, representing 450,000 people, joined AFSCME by affiliation or merger, pushing total membership past the 1 million mark.

AFSCME’s growth across the country gave the union a more powerful voice when it came to fighting injustice. In September 1981, AFSCME’s 60,000-member delegation, the largest from any single union, led the march at the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Day, a massive demonstration in Washington, D.C., demanding fair treatment for workers. That same year in San Jose, California, AFSCME Local 101 staged the first strike in the nation’s history over the issue of pay equity for women. The action attracted national media attention and helped spark the pay equity movement.

For decades, corporations, billionaires and their allies have engaged in a coordinated and well-financed effort to weaken the power of public sector unions such as AFSCME. In 2018, in a case called Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, the most business-friendly Supreme Court in history ruled in favor of anti-worker forces, overturning decades of precedent to make the entire public sector “right to work.” Many pundits predicted this would be a death blow. But because of the work put in by AFSCME, together with other public sector unions and the AFL-CIO, AFSCME has emerged in the strongest possible position. No politician or judicial decision can contain the collective power of working people. Hundreds of thousands of fee payers have converted to AFSCME members since early 2014.

Current Campaigns: AFSCME People works to elect candidates who will fight for AFSCME members and priorities. The AFSCME GO campaign is the union’s response to the attacks on public services and public service workers by anti-union lawmakers, the new administration and billionaires. The AFSCME Cultural Workers United campaign has given 50,000 workers at museums, libraries, zoos and other cultural institutions a voice on the job.

Community Efforts: From credit cards to credit counseling, AFSCME Advantage offers union members and their families a wide array of financial products to meet their everyday needs. AFSCME awards several scholarships for members and their families. AFSCME provides members with training and education. AFSCME publishes a daily news blog. AFSCME sells merchandise in their online store.

Learn More: Website, Facebook, X, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, blog

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.

The editorial staff at Slate Media ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) that establishes guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the newsroom. The 55-member bargaining unit unanimously approved the latest three-year contract, which marks the third since the staff unionized in 2018.

The contract establishes protections against the implementation of AI as well as guidelines for the development of a public-facing editorial policy on its use. Management will be required to provide advance notice and details before introducing any generative AI tool in an editorial capacity, and members can remove their byline from any AI-related editorial asks that they believe would compromise editorial integrity. The company must also work directly in consultation with the union to develop editorial guidelines and review processes for the use of AI in an editorial context. Any unit member whose position is materially affected by the introduction of editorial generative AI will receive an additional three weeks of severance and another month of insurance.

Other highlights include guaranteed raises for unit members in 2026, an increase in the lowest minimum salary from $58,000 to $66,000, minimum severance tripled from two to six weeks, bereavement leave doubled from five to 10 days, parental leave increased from 13 to 16 weeks, hostile environment training and antidoxxing tools, and guaranteed severance and coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for separation from the company due to editorial differences.

“The Slate Union is proud to ratify a new contract with management,” the unit members said in a joint statement. “We’re thrilled to have secured better parental leave and severance, raised salary minimums and annual increases, added new positions to the unit and introduced a brand new AI article. This contact improves the livelihoods of all our members, and we hope it helps set even better standards for all of those in our industry.”

Tags: Organizing

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

Providence Saint John’s Health Center Nurses Ratify New Contract with Improved Benefits: California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) members who work at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract on Friday. The three-year deal contains major wins like education investments, improvements to staffing, commitments to workplace equity and inclusion, 100% match contributions for 401(k) plans and more. “We now have a contract that will make it easier to recruit and retain experienced nurses. This is essential to patient safety,” said Liz Wade, a registered nurse in the labor and delivery unit and member of the negotiating team. “Expanded education for nurses will ensure that we stay current with new developments.”

IAM Union Members Approve New Agreement, Securing 3.5% Raises: After two weeks on strike in freezing conditions, members of IAM Union Local 1211 secured a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with manufacturing company Parker Lord. Workers bravely held the line in the local’s first work stoppage in more than five decades, when members walked out against the former Lord Corporation. Since Parker Hannifin acquired the company in 2019, members say that conditions have worsened and wages have failed to keep up with the cost of living. This new deal establishes yearly 3.5% raises, additional paid holidays and parental leave, improved retirement eligibility and more. “These gains represent real progress for working families,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. “This agreement proves what IAM members can accomplish when they stand together and refuse to back down. The members of Local 1211 showed remarkable solidarity, and their unity delivered real economic improvements and renewed respect on the job.”

Environmental Defense Fund Workers Win Union Election: Workers at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) overwhelmingly voted Friday to form a union with the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild (WBNG), Local 32035 of The NewsGuild-CWA. This victory marks a major industry win: The bargaining unit, EDF Together, is now the largest environmental nonprofit union in the United States. Workers publicly launched their organizing efforts on Dec. 2 and, despite lack of voluntary recognition from management, displayed powerful unity in their election victory. “Supporting staff from the ground up gives us the foundation we need in order to address the complex challenges of the climate crisis,” said Jess, a program coordinator. “With this result demonstrating a clear mandate from staff, my colleagues and I are excited to move swiftly into bargaining our first contract.”

Production Workers at Arena Stage Vote to Join IATSE: Backstage production workers at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage have overwhelmingly voted to join the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). The stagehands, wardrobe staff, scenic workers, makeup professionals and hair crew who make world-class performances at one of the country’s leading regional theaters will be represented by IATSE locals 22, 772, 798 and United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829. This victory has been four years in the making, and members are eager to bargain for the fair working conditions, job security and a collective voice they deserve. “This is an amazing step for the workers at Arena Stage and Washington, D.C. in general,” said Nicholas Arancibia, vice president of Local 22. “This is the third regional theater in the Washington D.C. area to win recognition with IATSE in the last six years. Workers are stepping up and making sure everyone is taken care of and has a path forward for a better life through a union.”

Cleveland Institute of Music Faculty Approve First Collective Bargaining Agreement: Faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music—who are members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 4—have ratified their first union contract. Instructors at the private conservatory voted to form a union back in 2024. Their inaugural two-year deal includes major wins around compensation, workload size, job security and professional support. “The consistent solidarity demonstrated by the faculty is the bedrock of this historic agreement,” said Leonard DiCosimo, president of AFM Local 4. “It is a tremendous honor to represent the world-class musical artists that live and work in Northeast Ohio.”

Oregon Unions Launch New Clean Energy Labor Coalition: Labor leaders from across the building trades in Oregon gathered for a press conference on Wednesday to announce the launch of Climate Jobs Oregon. This new coalition advocates for policies to increase the number of union tradespeople to help meet the state’s clean energy targets and lower utility bills. Labor partners in this campaign include the Oregon AFL-CIO; Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council; Electrical Workers (IBEW) Locals 48, 125 and 932; Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 701; Ironworkers Local 29; Laborers (LIUNA) Local 737; Oregon and Southern Idaho District Council of Laborers; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 16; and United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 290. Labor leaders collaborated with the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations Climate Jobs Institute to produce a range of policy recommendations, including increasing investments in union apprenticeship programs, collaborating with labor unions to expedite site permitting for clean energy development and more. “To meet our climate goals, Oregon needs a massive increase in workers, and those workers must be trained to the highest caliber, and safety standards, where they have a meaningful voice on the job, where they have career pathways for advancement and they have wages, benefits and a retirement plan to support their families and get them into the economy long term,” said Graham Trainor, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. “Let’s be crystal clear: Those are union jobs.”  

Geisinger Hospital Workers Ratify New Contract, Secure Raises: Members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Pennsylvania at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital have overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract. The three-year agreement includes victories like wage increases ranging from 9.25% to 20%, enhanced workplace safety, improved scheduling practices and more. Members of the bargaining unit perform a wide range of essential roles such as nursing assistants, environmental services workers, dietary aides, patient transporters, sterile processing staff, anesthesia technicians and maintenance employees. “This new contract will help us attract and keep staff so we can do the best job possible,” said Angel McConaughey, a certified environmental services specialist and union delegate. “Now I’m looking forward to working together with my coworkers to continue building our unity and strength.”

Tags: Organizing

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.

After two weeks on strike in freezing conditions, members of IAM Union Local 1211 secured a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with manufacturing company Parker Lord.

Workers bravely held the line in the local’s first work stoppage in more than five decades, when members walked out against the former Lord Corporation. Since Parker Hannifin acquired the company in 2019, members say that conditions have worsened and wages have failed to keep up with the cost of living. This new deal establishes yearly 3.5% raises, additional paid holidays and parental leave, improved retirement eligibility and more.

“These gains represent real progress for working families,” said IAM Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. “This agreement proves what IAM members can accomplish when they stand together and refuse to back down. The members of Local 1211 showed remarkable solidarity, and their unity delivered real economic improvements and renewed respect on the job.”

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.

Arizona AFL-CIO:

We stand with immigrant and Indigenous workers! The Arizona AFL-CIO condemns escalating ICE enforcement that puts our communities at risk. We demand an end to the violence created by ICE enforcement and leave our communities and workplaces immediately!https://t.co/l3EmPmyEbQ

— Arizona AFL-CIO (@ArizonaAFLCIO) January 27, 2026

California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO:

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.

Labor leaders from across the building trades in Oregon gathered for a press conference on Wednesday to announce the launch of Climate Jobs Oregon. This new coalition advocates for policies to increase the number of union tradespeople to help meet the state’s clean energy targets and lower utility bills.

Labor partners in this campaign include the Oregon AFL-CIO; Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council; Electrical Workers (IBEW) Locals 48, 125 and 932; Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 701; Ironworkers Local 29; Laborers (LIUNA) Local 737; Oregon and Southern Idaho District Council of Laborers; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 16; and United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 290. Labor leaders collaborated with the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations Climate Jobs Institute to produce a range of policy recommendations, including increasing investments in union apprenticeship programs, collaborating with labor unions to expedite site permitting for clean energy development and more.

“To meet our climate goals, Oregon needs a massive increase in workers, and those workers must be trained to the highest caliber, and safety standards, where they have a meaningful voice on the job, where they have career pathways for advancement and they have wages, benefits and a retirement plan to support their families and get them into the economy long term,” said Graham Trainor, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. “Let’s be crystal clear: Those are union jobs.”

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.

Backstage production workers at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage have overwhelmingly voted to join the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

The stagehands, wardrobe staff, scenic workers, makeup professionals and hair crew who make world-class performances at one of the country’s leading regional theaters will be represented by IATSE locals 22, 772, 798 and United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829. This victory has been four years in the making, and members are eager to bargain for the fair working conditions, job security and a collective voice they deserve.

“This is an amazing step for the workers at Arena Stage and Washington, D.C. in general,” said Nicholas Arancibia, vice president of Local 22. “This is the third regional theater in the Washington D.C. area to win recognition with IATSE in the last six years. Workers are stepping up and making sure everyone is taken care of and has a path forward for a better life through a union.”

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:

Join union members across NYC to mourn and celebrate the life of Alex Pretti and call for justice for all victims of ICE and Border Patrol.

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.

‘We Have to Stand Together’: Minnesota Economic Blackout Organizers Push to Take Demonstrations Nationwide: “One of the largest labor unions in the U.S. is pushing to expand Friday’s economic blackout over the surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota. Organizers are urging Minnesotans not to work, shop or go to school tomorrow, as part of demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the region, and the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good. They are now planning actions beyond the state, and nationwide.”

Cleveland Institute of Music Faculty Ratify First Union Contract: “Faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music have ratified their first union contract. The three-year agreement between CIM and the American Federation of Musicians Local 4, which represents about 120 members of the conservatory’s faculty, sets standards for compensation, workload, job security and professional support.”

Strengthening Labor Leadership: East Central Illinois AFL-CIO Elects 9 New Officers: “Union workers in Central Illinois now have new representation. The East Central Illinois AFL-CIO swore in nine new officers on Wednesday night. They represent more than 18,000 union members across 11 counties in Central Illinois. They advocate for their members and their families as far north as Iroquois County and as far south as Jasper.”

U.S. Union Leader Tells Davos Elites ‘You’re Gonna Have a Revolution’ if AI Wipes Out Jobs: “The leader of the AFL-CIO, the largest union federation in the U.S., told elites and others gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday that rapid advances in artificial intelligence risk turbocharging the worst inequities of the existing economic order, displacing workers en masse while enriching those at the very top. Liz Shuler, the AFL-CIO’s president, said during a panel discussion that if the billionaires and corporate titans currently directing AI developments are ‘looking to just deskill, dehumanize, replace workers’ and ‘put people out on the street with no path forward—then absolutely you’re gonna have a revolution.’”

American Hockey League and Professional Hockey Players’ Association Ratify CBA: “The American Hockey League’s Board of Governors and Professional Hockey Players’ Association's full membership have ratified a collective bargaining agreement that ensures labor peace in the top layers of the sport in North America for the foreseeable future. The AHL and PHPA announced the final step in the process Wednesday. The CBA, like that of the NHL and ECHL, is good through the summer of 2030.”

One Year In: 53 Ways the Second Trump Administration Is Harming Women and Families: “In what has been called ‘the biggest attack on the labor movement in history,’ the Trump administration issued an Executive Order to eliminate collective bargaining rights for tens of thousands of federal employees working across agencies under the guise of ‘national security concerns.’ In reality, the order attempts to strip unionized employees of protections that both support the workforce and help the federal government be more productive and efficient. The order makes it clear that the Trump administration’s main intention was to retaliate against unions such as the AFGE and National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) that are taking actions to protect federal employees from the administration’s constant, legally dubious attacks. The order has been subject to multiple legal challenges, and in December 2025, a bipartisan group of House Representatives voted to restore collective bargaining rights for federal employees, though that legislation has not passed the Senate.”

Labor Leaders Cheer Reversal of NIOSH Cuts: “Last week’s reversal of cuts to a federal organization behind miner safety programs drew praise from labor leaders. About 1,000 employees of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health—representing about 90% of the agency’s workforce—were placed on administrative leave in April. About 30% of those cuts had been rescinded the next month.”

NABTU Applauds Court Decisions Restarting Major U.S. Offshore Wind Projects: “North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement: ‘We applaud this week’s federal court rulings restarting U.S. offshore wind projects. These decisions mean many NABTU members can finally return to job sites and continue building critical domestic energy infrastructure. Today’s ruling in the Eastern District of Virginia on Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, along with recent decisions in the District of Columbia on Ørsted’s Revolution Wind and Equinor’s Empire Wind projects, clears the way for construction to resume on essential domestic power generation development.”

MLK and the Labor Movement—A Natural Partnership: “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday in January, is known globally as a principal leader of the modern American civil rights movement. But he often said the civil rights and labor movements were natural allies. ‘The labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth,’ King told the 1961 AFL-CIO convention. In 1968, he was assassinated in Memphis where he had gone to stand in solidarity with striking sanitation workers who were members of the AFSCME.”

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 64 of our affiliates. Next up is the National Lacrosse League Players’ Association (NLLPA).

Name of Union: National Lacrosse League Players’ Association

Mission: The Association works to establish improved working conditions, job security and economic benefits for all members through its role to act on behalf of all members as the collective bargaining unit. The NLLPA cooperates and collaborates with other labor organizations to advance the interests of its members. The NLLPA’s mission is to promote, unite and represent the interests of all its collective members. The Association gives its members a voice and promotes loyalty among its members.

Current Leadership of Union: Zach Currier serves as president. Reid Reinholdt is the vice president and executive director. Gee Nash serves as treasurer. John Rosa is the secretary. Each team also selects a player representative. See the full list.

Current Number of Members: 400

Members Work As: Professional lacrosse players

Industries Represented: Men’s professional lacrosse

History: The National Lacrosse League Players’ Association is the exclusive bargaining representative for players of the National Lacrosse League with respect to wages, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment. The Players’ Association was founded in 1992, and the union was certified on May 7, 1993, by the National Labor Relations Board as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League Players’ Association (MILLPA). In 1997, the MILLPA became the Professional Lacrosse Players’ Association (PLPA) when the Major Indoor Lacrosse League amalgamated with several private owners to become the National Lacrosse League (NLL) beginning with the 1997–98 season. The PLPA was renamed the National Lacrosse League Players’ Association in 2022. The Players’ Association has negotiated 11 collective bargaining agreements to date on behalf of its players. 

Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: The NLLPA tells the stories of its members. It also works with numerous partners and sponsors and spotlights businesses owned by players.

Learn More: Website, X, Instagram