Texas AFL-CIO

THE VOICE OF LABOR IN TEXAS

We are teachers, firefighters and farm workers, actors and engineers, pilots and public employees, painters and plumbers, steelworkers and screenwriters, doctors and nurses, stagehands, electricians and more. We believe that people who work make Texas work and that together, we are better.

 

237,000+

460+

20,000+

Affiliated MembersAffiliates & LocalsActivists

 

What We Care About

Workplace Rights

We are at a moment when a fighting union organization could kindle the imagination of millions of workers and inspire a new labor movement.

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Support Working People’s Freedom!

Working people must come together to defend our rights and fight for a fair economy that works for everyone.

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Better Pay and Benefits

There is something fundamentally wrong with our economy. The rich keep getting richer while working people are working longer hours just to make ends meet. Despite year after year of increased productivity, we are not sharing in the fruits of our labor.
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Sign the Petition: Raise the Wage in Texas

The state minimum wage of $7.25 an hour condemns hundreds of thousands of working people to poverty, costs taxpayers and shuts out business customers. It is high time for Texas to join 29 other states in raising the minimum wage above a federal level that has become a victim of congressional gridlock after decades of bipartisan support for a decent wage floor.

Sign the Petition

Trade/Manufacturing

A strong manufacturing sector is essential to our nation’s economic success and to our ability to raise wages and provide family-supporting jobs. But decades of devastating trade policy and attacks on unions have taken their toll.

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NAFTA Needs to Work for Working People

Renegotiations of the failed North American Free Trade Agreement are underway and the recently released objectives are vague and unambitious. Sign the petition calling for a new NAFTA that prioritizes working people.

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Immigration

Since our nation’s founding, immigrants and refugees have enriched the fabric of our communities, our workforce and our labor movement.

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Pledge to Stand United

Pledge to oppose the "show me your papers" law, SB 4 - which will drive immigrant workers further into the shadows. Immigrants will be more afraid to speak up when employers manipulate and exploit them, which will drive down standards for all Texans. Working people are stronger when we stand together.

Take the Pledge

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Get Involved. We Need Your Voice

Every Texan who is willing to work hard and do their part deserves a fair shot to get ahead. 

It's time we hold politicians accountable and demand they stand up for policies that help working families.

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Fair Shot Agenda

Fighting for Texas Working Families 

Join the Fight

Sign the 2019 Union Pledge

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Our Campaigns 

Featured Stories

Legislative Lowdown-Mar. 1, 2019

Today is Day 53 of the regular session of the 86th Texas Legislature. 87 days to go.

Amid Game Industry Layoffs, AFL-CIO Says It’s Time for Workers to Organize

On Feb. 15, just days after massive layoffs at Activision Blizzard, the AFL-CIO issued a powerful public statement of support to game developers in the United States. Its message, published in an open letter at Kotaku, was both simple and profound.

Legislative Lowdown-Feb. 22, 2019

Today is Day 46 of the 140-day regular session of the 86th Texas Legislature.

Recent News

Unions Stole The Show At Last Night's GDC Awards

“I’m not anti-union, but I don’t really think we need them, right?” said Double Fine head Tim Schafer while hosting yesterday evening’s Game Developers Choice Awards in San Francisco. “We’re all great here and in this show. No one here is union and...” Then the stage lights went out.

“Oh, right,” said Schafer after the lights went out. “Except for the lighting crew. I forgot they’re all union.”

Trump Is Scaling Back Obama's Expansion of Overtime Pay

A four-year fight to expand overtime pay to millions of workers may soon be over. About 1.2 million workers will win and 2.8 million will lose.

The Department of Labor is scaling back an Obama-era rule that would have doubled the maximum salary for a worker to qualify for overtime pay, according to a proposed rule the agency sent to the Office of the Federal Register for public review.

Black Women in the Labor Movement Have Long Defended American Workers

Black leaders, activists, and organizers formed the backbone of the U.S. labor movement. Even when the forces of structural racism and segregation sought to stifle their contributions, their resolve to fight for workers’ rights alongside the cause of civil rights remained unshakable. Black women, in particular, have played an enormous role in the movement’s legacy and development.

Union Leaders: Keep Protection for TPS and Dreamers Permanent!

Union leaders want Congress to make protections for TPS holders and Dreamers permanent and won’t stop lobbying on their behalf.

More than 30 national unions and labor institutions sent a letter to Washington, D.C., urging Congress to stand by TPSers and Dreamers.

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Follow Us

David Lopez Jr. • IUEC Local 21

I fight to expand access to job training and registered apprenticeship programs.

Areli Zarate • Texas AFT 2048

Our union has kept me going. It has given me hope.

Paul Arebalo • IATSE 205

Being in a union means I have a voice. Whether it's regarding safety, pay or even work practices, my voice will be heard and that's one of the greatest rights I can think of.

Kristie Veit • CWA 6137

Being a union member is one of the most treasured privileges I have in my life. Working with and for a group of folks who want to promote and develope workers rights is an amazing experience.

Cheryl Eliano • AFGE District 10

The labor movement means solidarity.

Rebecca Stamm • AFSCME

Being a union member is one of the most treasured privileges I have in my life. Working with and for a group of folks who want to promote and develope workers rights is an amazing experience.

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Our Campaigns 

Strategic Corporate Research Summer School

June 9-14, 2019
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Register to Vote

Click here to register to vote, confirm your voter registration, or change your voting address. To vote in the 2018 election, you must register by October 9.

PowerTools

A resource for union members and organizers.