Labor leaders view this year’s elections – and 2024’s – with special urgency, as a goal-line stand to preserve America’s democracy.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and some of his organization’s largest affiliate unions are getting behind Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. But others are pushing Michigan Rep. Andy Levin, a former Service Employees International Union organizer.
Union leaders hope Biden will be able to enact policies to reinvigorate the labor movement, bringing in more members, money, and political influence while dramatically expanding collective bargaining rights and protections from workplace abuse.
As schools prepare to open, in addition to safety measures, some unions are pressing for police-free schools, canceling rents and mortgages, and bans on new charter programs and standardized testing.
The president of the Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers says that going on strike is an option if teachers are forced back into the classroom this fall without proper precautions for COVID-19.
Several local unions have moved to oust police unions, despite the federation's approach that collective bargaining can be used for police reform.
Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants, has struck a chord with activists calling for her to run for labor’s top job: president of the AFL-CIO
Thousands of teachers gathered in Pittsburgh to discuss plan of action for new school year after strikes over pay and conditions
Leaders must also know when it’s time for a new person to take the helm. To keep new blood flowing through the labor movement, older leaders have to make room for their successors, RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, said.
“You have to get out of the way. You can’t just talk about it,” she said. “If you’re a leader, a strong leader, you step down and open that up to someone you believe reflects where this union needs to be.”
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