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

Immigration

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

Related Action

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

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.
Related Action

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.

Related Action

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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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.

Related Action

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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Take Action

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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Labor 2018

We are building political power for working families

Join the Fight

Sign the 2018 Union Pledge

Take Action

Our Campaigns

Featured Stories

Coalition Launches Paid Sick Leave Campaigns in San Antonio, Dallas

When working people in Austin achieved a historic paid sick leave ordinance, it was just the beginning.

New Poll Offers No Daylight to Restaurateurs Looking to Keep Minimum Wage Down

The labor movement has repeatedly done battle on the minimum wage and other fundamental labor rights with the big, powerful NRA.

Congrats to 5,000 Jet Blue Flight Attendants who chose UNION

Unions are not "third-party representation." They are the working people at a company who speak up together with one voice.

Senate Rejects License for Reservations to Ignore Basic Labor Laws

The U.S. Senate wisely chose not to roll back basic labor protections like the minimum wage and overtime pay for workers on Native American reservations.

Recent News

Senate Bill to Curtail Labor Rights on Tribal Land Falls Short

Organized labor managed an increasingly rare feat on Monday — a political victory — when its allies turned back a Senate measure aimed at rolling back labor rights on tribal lands.

The legislation, called the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, would have exempted enterprises owned and operated by Native American tribes from federal labor standards, even for employees who were not tribal citizens.

Forced Workplace Arbitration Disproportionately Affects Women, African-Americans and Texans

Women and African Americans are more likely to be subjected to forced arbitration over workplace disputes than other groups, the Economic Policy Institute reports.

Mike Siegel for Congress Joins Growing List of Unionized Campaigns

Mike Siegel’s campaign for the 10th Congressional District of Texas has recognized a union to represent its campaign workers, joining a growing movement of political campaigns with unionized staff.

How Does Your State Stack Up on Pay Equity for Women?

The notion of bringing home 80 cents for every dollar pocketed by a man on a national basis is unsettling enough. But it's even more startling when those lost wages are added up.

Overall, it amounts to $10,000 in lost wages a year, says Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. That chunk of cash could pay for 14 more months of child care, 74 more weeks of groceries and an additional 10 months of rent for the average woman.

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Mike King • IBEW 520

I'm proud to be Union. I believe in solidarity for all workers.

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

Read the Report

Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, 2017

PowerTools

A resource for union members and organizers.

Defend and Resist

A toolkit for organizers and advocates on workplace raids and audits.