Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: Mine Workers

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 63 of our affiliates. Next up is the Mine Workers (UMWA).

Name of Union: United Mine Workers of America

Mission: To empower workers with a strong voice on the job and financial security at home. The union fights for safe working conditions, fair wages, quality benefits and strong, effective representation for all working families.

Current Leadership of Union: Cecil E. Roberts currently serves as international president. A sixth-generation coal miner from Kanawha County, West Virginia, Roberts began his mining career at Carbon Fuels' No. 31 mine in Winifred, West Virginia. He was first elected international vice president in 1982 and re-elected several times before being elected president in 1995. Now serving his fifth full term, Roberts will retire in October 2025 after three decades of dedicated leadership as UMWA’s international president.

Following Roberts’ retirement, International Secretary-Treasurer Brian Sanson will assume the role of international president. The UMWA leadership team also includes nine vice presidents: Chuck Knisell (District 2), Steve Earle (District 12), Brian Lacy (District 17), Larry Spencer (District 20), Michael Dalpiaz (District 22), Mike Payton (District 31), Rick Altman (At-Large), James Gibbs (At-Large) and Don Barnett (At-Large). In addition, the UMWA has three International auditor/tellers: Jody Dukart (Canada), Tanya James (East) and Bob Butero (West).

Members Work As: Coal miners, manufacturing workers, clean coal technicians, health care workers, corrections officers and public employees.

Industries Represented: The mining industry, public employees, manufacturing, health care, the Navajo Nation, and retirees throughout the United States and Canada.

History: Founded in 1890, the United Mine Workers of America has been a driving force in the American labor movement for more than 130 years. From securing the eight-hour workday to leading strikes that demanded safer working conditions, fair wages and dignity on the job, the UMWA has always stood on the front lines for working families.

The UMWA didn’t just help build the labor movement; it created it. As a founding force behind the AFL-CIO, the UMWA helped form the foundation of the largest and most powerful federation of unions in the United States. Without the UMWA, we wouldn’t have the labor powerhouse we know today.

Through generations of struggle and solidarity, from the Ludlow and Matewan massacres to the Pittston strike, the UMWA has remained a symbol of strength, resilience and unwavering commitment to workers, especially in rural America.

Watch this video to learn more:

Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: Preserving Coal Country, Powering Saskatchewan’s Future, Silica Dust Kills, UMWA associate memberships. 

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

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 07/28/2025 - 15:01

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Legal Aid Society Workers Reach Tentative Agreement, Keeping 1,100 Attorneys on the Job

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.

Workers at the Legal Aid Society reached a tentative agreement with management, avoiding a strike authorized by 1,100 public interest attorneys, members of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys (ALAA/United Auto Workers Local 2325).

ALAA authorized a strike at the end of June as its contract with management expired. Attorneys demanded higher pay, lighter workloads, and greater retirement benefits. After a stalled bargaining process, the union terminated its collective bargaining agreement and set a strike deadline for this Friday, promising to walk off the job without a contract. The tentative agreement will head to union membership for a vote. 

“While we are proud of these historic gains on workload protection to increase retention, a first-of-its-kind student loan fund, 20 weeks parental leave, retiree health benefits, and more, we were fundamentally left behind by Mayor Adams and our employers on salaries and pensions,” said Local 2325 chapter Chair Jane Fox. “Our members will vote on this contract next week, but regardless if they vote it up or down, we won a reopener guaranteeing no matter what, we will be back to win the salaries and pensions we deserve next year.”

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 07/28/2025 - 09:20

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: PrimeFlight Fuelers in Orlando Unanimously Ratify First TWU Contract with 15% Raise

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.

Members of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 504 successfully negotiated their first contract for PrimeFlight Fuelers working at Orlando (Florida) International Airport.

The new contract locks in a 15% raise and replaces a management-controlled paid time-off (PTO) system with guaranteed sick and vacation time. It includes a grievance and arbitration procedure process and a discipline policy, and PrimeFlight Fuelers are no longer “at-will” workers with the new contract. Local 504 members approved it unanimously.

“This first contract for PrimeFlight Fuelers in Orlando provides significant economic gains for workers and their families,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “The new contract immediately turned the Fuelers represented by the TWU from the lowest-paid Fuelers on property to the highest-paid, and provides workers with both sick time and vacation instead of a management-controlled PTO system.”

Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 07/24/2025 - 09:56

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Shaw’s Warehouse Workers Win New Contract with More Than $5 an Hour in Raises

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.

Workers at the Shaw’s Distribution Center in Wells, Maine, overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract that includes pay increases and pension improvements.

The contract includes a $5.05 per hour raise over four years, increased employer pension contributions and streamlined workflows. Nate Jordan, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 791 vice president and chief steward at the Shaw’s Distribution Center, said it is the best contract they have won since they formed a union in 1998. The local represents between 250 and 275 workers at the distribution center.

“Our last contract for 2022 to ’25 was the best contract that we've seen and this one here beat it, so we’ve done really well the last couple of contracts,” Jordan said.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 07/25/2025 - 09:40

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: University of Pennsylvania Postdocs and Research Assistants Vote Overwhelmingly 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.

Postdoctoral scholars and research associates at the University of Pennsylvania voted in favor of forming a union, Research Associates and Postdocs United at Penn (RAPUP-UAW), with a vote of 95% saying, “Union, yes!”

“We are thrilled with tonight’s results, and ready to work with the university towards a more democratic workplace,” said Emily Perkins, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology. “We love our jobs, but the increasing threats to international scholars coupled with inadequate compensation made a union the obvious choice. We’re ready to speak in one voice for fair pay, better job security, and a more equitable university.”
 

Postdocs and research associates form the backbone of research at Penn, performing groundbreaking studies in laboratories and offices across campus. Their work attracts hundreds of millions of dollars in funding each year. But despite these contributions, many struggle to make ends meet, with very limited job security, no meaningful protections against harassment and discrimination, and spotty benefits that are not guaranteed.

Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 07/23/2025 - 09:37

We Got the Power: 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.

'We Got the Power.' Union Members Rally in Atlanta for Workers' Rights: “Union members from across the Southeast gathered in Atlanta on Tuesday evening for a Workers Over Billionaires rally. Atlanta is the latest stop on the AFL-CIO’s ‘It’s Better in a Union’ bus tour. Speakers discussed federal funding cuts, ongoing lawsuits against the Trump administration, and the future of labor organizing.”

'The System Is Rigged': CEOs Made 285 Times More Than Their Workers in 2024: AFL-CIO Report: “‘Corporate CEOs are raking in millions, and now they'll get another kickback from President Trump's tax cut gift and anti-worker agenda,’ said Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO.”

American Postal Workers Union President Sounds Alarm on Privatization: “‘There is an intensified effort really coming from the billionaires and Wall Street about privatizing the public United States Postal Service,’ APWU president Mark Dimondstein said in an interview with the Daily Montanan. ‘Which means either breaking it up in whole or piecemealing it out whole or in part to private companies that then decide who gets mail under what conditions, based on whether somebody can make a profit.’”

AFL-CIO Message for Workers: ‘It’s Easy to Get Discouraged, but We Have Something They Don’t’: “We caught up with AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler shortly after the event and asked her what the organization hopes to accomplish with the tour. ‘People feel kind of powerless right now,’ she said. That’s a direct result of GOP attacks on the laws and structures that have long provided some protections to workers. ‘We’re trying to uplift the impacts on working people, make them real, because we’re bringing the human face to what’s happening out there, and then channeling workers’ frustrations and anger into action.’”

New AFL-CIO Campaign Hosts Town Halls, Panels to Advocate for Workers' Rights in South Carolina: “The South Carolina AFL-CIO has launched a new campaign aimed at advancing workers' rights and equity across the state by unifying them, their families, organizations, and elected officials under a common banner in the face of challenges posed by new federal legislation. The Advancing Workers Advocacy Rights & Equity (AWARE) Campaign kicks off with a town hall and panel on Thursday, July 24 in Rock Hill, marking the beginning of a short tour around the state with several different events and guests aimed at building connections and strengthening statewide collective advocacy efforts, according to the South Carolina AFL-CIO. Thursday's panel will feature South Carolina AFL-CIO Vice President Lindsay McClelland, Brandon Upson with the organizing group The New Progressive South, Catawba Central Labor Council President Jason Wells, and Rev. Jason Myers with the Chester Worker Center.”

It's Better in a Union! Liz Shuler on the Power of the People: “Early this month, the AFL-CIO launched the ‘Better in a Union Bus Tour’ where union leaders and members will be traveling to stops in 26 states across the country in order to amplify workers’ voices. Now, Jen is joined by Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, to discuss the bus tour, how cuts to the federal government hurt working Americans the most, and why the labor movement is the backbone of democracy.”

Northampton County Announces New Contract with AFSCME Employees: “Northampton County and its county employees union have reached a new three-year contract for employees in four bargaining units, officials announced Monday. The new agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1265 covers 911 center supervisors, many union employees working for the county court and youth care workers running the juvenile justice center, among others.”

AFL-CIO Bus Tour Stops in Michigan at Rally vs. ’Big Bad Bill’: “Trade unionists and retirees gathered at noon Thursday outside the headquarters here of United Auto Workers Region 1 as part of the AFL-CIO’s ‘Better In A Union’ bus tour. The federation’s tour will crisscross the country over the next several weeks leading up to Labor Day to denounce the billionaire-backed Trump administration’s attacks on working families and trade union freedoms. Especially on workers’ minds here is the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ just passed by the Republican-controlled Congress. The bill slashes worker protections, guts safety nets and healthcare for millions, eliminates environmental protections, and locks in indefinite, massive tax cuts for the capitalist class.”

Union Workers at Corning Nursing Home Ratify Three Year Contract, Wage Increase: “Union nursing home workers at Corning Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare ratified a new labor contract on July 4. Workers received wage increases and benefits expansions in the contract. The previous contract for Corning Center union members expired April 30. Health care workers at the nursing facility, represented by the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, will receive increases in new hire and longevity wages, shift differentials and employer-provided pension contributions.”

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 07/28/2025 - 10:00

Worker Wins: Unions Are the Backbone of This Country

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

Shaw’s Warehouse Workers Win New Contract with More Than $5 an Hour in Raises: Workers at the Shaw’s Distribution Center in Wells, Maine, overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract that includes pay increases and pension improvements. The contract includes a $5.05 per hour raise over four years, increased employer pension contributions and streamlined workflows. Nate Jordan, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 791 vice president and chief steward at the Shaw’s Distribution Center, said it is the best contract they have won since they formed a union in 1998. The Local represents between 250 and 275 workers at the distribution center. “Our last contract for 2022 to ’25 was the best contract that we've seen and this one here beat it, so we’ve done really well the last couple of contracts,” Jordan said.

PrimeFlight Fuelers in Orlando Unanimously Ratify First TWU Contract with 15% Raise: Members of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 504 successfully negotiated their first contract for PrimeFlight Fuelers working at Orlando (Florida) International Airport. The contract locks in a 15% raise,  replaces a management-controlled paid time off (PTO) system with guaranteed sick and vacation time, and includes a grievance and arbitration procedure process and a discipline policy. With this new contract, which Local 504 members approved unanimously, PrimeFlight Fuelers are no longer “at will” workers. “This first contract for PrimeFlight Fuelers in Orlando provides significant economic gains for workers and their families,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “The new contract immediately turned the Fuelers represented by the TWU from the lowest-paid Fuelers on property to the highest-paid and provides workers with both sick time and vacation instead of a management-controlled PTO system.”

Brooklyn Cannabis Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Join RWDSU-UFCW Local: Last month, cannabis workers at Gotham Dispensary in Brooklyn, New York, voted overwhelmingly to join Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), a part of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). The workers voted 18–3 to join the union. This win comes after months of organizing, during which Local 338 filed unfair labor practice charges against Gotham, alleging the company unlawfully terminated strong union supporters. “I wanted to join Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW so that everyone at Gotham would have a collective voice,” said Cara Behar, a budtender at Gotham. “Unions are the backbone of this country, and their presence is more important now than ever. We’re demanding fair scheduling, equitable treatment of part- and full-time workers, and basic protections. Watching my coworkers be fired for organizing only strengthened our resolve.”  Local 338 now represents approximately 600 cannabis workers statewide, part of a growing movement of cannabis workers across New York. “The solidarity and strength the workers at Gotham displayed over the last six months of this unionization campaign has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Joseph Fontano, secretary-treasurer of RWDSU-UFCW Local 338. “They came together to advocate for each other, even in the face of unfair labor practices. This win shows the power of organizing and the vision we had when we helped shape cannabis legalization in New York. We’re proud to welcome Gotham workers into our union family and look forward to winning them a strong first contract.”

University of Pennsylvania Postdocs and Research Assistants Vote Overwhelmingly to Join UAW: Postdoctoral scholars and research associates at the University of Pennsylvania voted in favor of forming a union, Research Associates and Postdocs United at Penn (RAPUP-UAW), with a vote of 95% saying, “Union, yes!” These workers form the backbone of research at Penn, performing groundbreaking studies in laboratories and offices across campus that attracts hundreds of millions of dollars in funding each year. But despite their contributions, many struggle to make ends meet, with very limited job security, no meaningful protections against harassment and discrimination, and spotty benefits that are not guaranteed. “We are thrilled with [these] results and ready to work with the university towards a more democratic workplace,” said Emily Perkins, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology. “We love our jobs, but the increasing threats to international scholars coupled with inadequate compensation made a union the obvious choice. We’re ready to speak in one voice for fair pay, better job security, and a more equitable university.” 

SEIU Janitors in Kansas City Ratify New Union Contract with Three Years of Raises: Some 800 janitors in Kansas City, Missouri, members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1, ratified a new contract. They won raises over the contract's three-year lifespan, enshrined paid vacation time, a labor management committee, improved bereavement leave, language protecting workers’ reassignment rights and a requirement for good-faith efforts by employers to translate training materials for non-English-speaking workers. “It was really inspiring to see so many members come out in force to rally to demand fair wages,” said Chris Rak, vice president and Missouri director of Local 1. “The companies had been offering a 1.5% increase, which wasn’t nearly enough for people who are already scraping by on poverty wages. By taking the streets and taking actions, they were able to win a much better settlement.”

WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital Workers Agree to New Contract with Management: WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital and the union representing 1,400 hospital workers, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, reached an agreement on a new contract. The three-year contract with union members includes a wage package of a 3.5% annual increase, protections against job outsourcing, two emergency days for newer employees and the preservation of all benefits from the previous contract. “Not having to strike, we really appreciate just being able to go to work,” said Gayle Alleman, RN. “The commitment to this community is just phenomenal and outstanding.”

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 07/25/2025 - 12:32

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profile: Rosa Serai

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans 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 Rosa Serai of NATCA.

Rosa Serai began a remarkable 32½-year career as an air traffic controller in Honolulu. As a dedicated member of NATCA, she became pivotal in the organization—helping to plan the construction of a new facility, training new controllers, serving as a subject matter expert, contributing to labor relations and designing simulation problems. She also served as the safety representative for the Honolulu Control Facility. Today, Serai continues to serve the labor movement as a retiree.

Kenneth Quinnell Sun, 05/25/2025 - 15:22

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profile: Annawa Naing

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans 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 Annawa Naing of AFT.

Annawa Naing is a United Federation of Teachers (UFT) chapter leader and member of the New York State United Teachers, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA) and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). As a teacher and a unionist, Naing believes in advocacy work—such as fighting for special education services for the students at her school and advocating for fellow members to make sure their union rights are not being violated.

Kenneth Quinnell Sat, 05/24/2025 - 10:03

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profile: Jacob Kaleikini

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans 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 Jacob Kaleikini of AFSCME.

United Public Workers (UPW/AFSCME) Hawaii member Jacob Kaleikini is a lead pipefitter at the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, where he has worked for more than 30 years. Kaleikini's passion for his job and colleagues motivated him to get more involved, and he was elected chief steward of his unit. He then took on the role of chair of UPW’s election committee.

Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 05/23/2025 - 10:03