Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips

MUST WATCH

President Shuler Outlines Her Agenda on Bloomberg TV

Bloomberg TV

August 20, 2021

Newly elected AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler discusses the future of the labor movement.

MUST LISTEN

Liz Shuler On Her Vision As New AFL-CIO President

NPR

August 21, 2021

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Liz Shuler, the newly elected president of the AFL-CIO, about her goals for the organization and the future of the labor movement.

LIZ SHULER ELECTION

Liz Shuler elected as AFL-CIO’s first woman president

The Washington Post

By Amy B Wang

August 20, 2021

The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the country, announced Friday it has elected Liz Shuler as the first woman to serve as its president. Shuler succeeds Richard Trumka, who served as president of the federation from 2009 until he died unexpectedly earlier this month at age 72. In a statement, Shuler said she was “humbled, honored and ready to guide” forward the AFL-CIO, which is composed of 56 unions and 12.5 million members.

Liz Shuler Is Named President of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.

The New York Times

By Noam Scheiber

August 20, 2021

The A.F.L.-C.I.O. has chosen Liz Shuler, its acting president since the death of Richard Trumka this month, to lead the federation until it holds elections next year. Ms. Shuler had served as secretary-treasurer, the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s second-ranking official, since 2009.

AFL-CIO elects first woman president; first African-American for No. 2 job

Reuters

By Reuters

August 20, 2021

The AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor organization, on Friday elected Liz Shuler, a longtime trade unionist, to serve as the federation's first woman president, succeeding Richard Trumka, who died unexpectedly earlier this month. The AFL-CIO's executive council also elected Fred Redmond, a United Steelworkers (USW) union official as secretary-treasurer, making him the first African-American to hold the organization's No. 2 office.

‘It’s a huge day’: AFL-CIO names Shuler as first female president

Politico

By Eleanor Mueller

August 20, 2021

The AFL-CIO’s executive council voted Friday as expected to appoint Liz Shuler as the federation’s president following the unexpected death of Richard Trumka. Shuler is the organization’s first female leader, a historic moment for organized labor in the U.S. She will serve as the nation’s top union official until summer 2022, when the AFL-CIO’s 50-plus affiliates can gather for their annual convention to vote on a permanent successor. Executive council members also elected United Steelworkers International Vice President Fred Redmond to succeed Shuler as secretary-treasurer. Redmond, the first Black American to hold the office, will lead a racial justice task force. "We have the most diverse leadership team in the history of the AFL-CIO," Shuler said. "It's a huge day."

Largest U.S. labor organization elects first female president

Axios

By Oriana Gonzalez

August, 20, 2021

"This is a moment for us to lead societal transformations — to leverage our power to bring women and people of color from the margins to the center — at work, in our unions and in our economy, and to be the center of gravity for incubating new ideas that will unleash unprecedented union growth," Shuler said following her election.

AFL-CIO Elects First Woman, African American Man To Top Leadership Positions

WESA

By Katie Blackley

August 20, 2021

For the first time, the AFL-CIO has elected a woman and an African American man to leadership positions. Longtime trade unionist Liz Shuler will head the AFL-CIO, the group announced Friday. The federation also announced that Fred Redmond will be its next secretary-treasurer. “I believe in my bones the labor movement is the single greatest organized force for progress,” Shuler said in a statement Friday afternoon.

AFL-CIO elects Liz Shuler as its first female president

Spectrum News

By Rachel Tillman

August 20, 2021

The nation’s largest federation of labor unions on Friday announced it has elected Liz Shuler, a longtime labor advocate, as president of the organization. Shuler will be the first female to hold the position since the AFL-CIO was founded in 1955.

Biden calls newly elected AFL-CIO president

The Hill

By Alex Gangitano

August 20, 2021

President Biden called newly announced AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler on Friday to congratulate her on her new position. Shuler is the first woman to lead the labor federation and replaces long-time president Richard Trumka, who died of a heart attack on Aug. 5 at age 72. “They discussed the work that the President and AFL-CIO will partner on to create good-paying union jobs, increase union membership, and pay workers a living wage. The President expressed his condolences to Liz on Rich Trumka’s passing,” a White House official said.

AFL-CIO elects first woman as president

The Hill

By Karl Evers-hillstrom

August 20, 2021

The AFL-CIO on Friday elected longtime labor advocate Liz Shuler as its new president. Shuler, who served as the organization’s secretary-treasurer since 2009, is the first woman to lead the AFL-CIO in the organization’s history. The election comes after Richard Trumka, who led the labor federation for more than a decade, passed away earlier this month. “This is a moment for us to lead societal transformations—to leverage our power to bring women and people of color from the margins to the center—at work, in our unions and in our economy, and to be the center of gravity for incubating new ideas that will unleash unprecedented union growth,” Shuler said in a statement Friday.

Oregon labor leader Liz Shuler elected as first woman to head AFL-CIO
The Oregonian

August 20, 2021

Liz Shuler, an Oregonian who rose quickly through the ranks of U.S. organized labor, was elected president of the AFL-CIO Friday. She is the first woman to hold the post, generally considered the top job in American unions. The AFL-CIO is a federation of 56 unions with 12.5 million members. “It’s still settling in,” Shuler told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “It’s bittersweet.” The election was staged earlier than originally planned because Richard Trumka, longtime president of the federation, died unexpectedly early this month.

AFL-CIO’s Shuler Says Priority Is Overhaul of U.S. Labor Laws

Bloomberg

By Katia Dmitrieva

August 20, 2021

The newly appointed head of the largest U.S. labor federation said the group’s top priority is an overhaul of the country’s labor laws, along with a grass-roots campaign, to help increase union membership. “Working people have had enough -- they know the labor laws are broken in this country,” Liz Shuler, who took over as president of the AFL-CIO earlier Friday, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV’s “Balance of Power” With David Westin. “We need the PRO Act to make sure that people who want to come together and have a voice on the job and fight for better wages and better benefits and a decent living to support their families can do it without fear.”

Liz Shuler Becomes The 1st Woman To Lead The AFL-CIO

NPR

By Wynne Davis

August 21, 2021

Liz Shuler will serve as president of the AFL-CIO, following the death of longtime president Richard Trumka earlier this month. The AFL-CIO executive council elected her to the position on Friday. Shuler is the federation's first woman president. Following Trumka's death, Shuler was serving as acting president, and had served as secretary-treasurer, the No. 2 office, since 2009.

AFL-CIO elects first woman, African American man to top leadership positions

WHYY

By Katie Blackley

August 21, 2021

JOINING TOGETHER

Hundreds gather to support Nabisco bakery workers in Portland on 12th day of strike

OPB

By Sam Stites

August 21, 2021

Bakery workers at the Nabisco cookie plant in North Portland entered their 12th of a strike on Saturday after union members walked out on Aug. 10 following the breakdown of contract negotiations. Representatives of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers’ International Union Local 364 (BCTGM) said that workers decided to strike after three weeks of negotiations with Mondelez International, the Chicago-based owner of Nabisco, failed to yield an agreement. Union organizers and politicians such as Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor, state Rep. Rachel Prusak, D-West Linn, and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan were in attendance.

GIG ECONOMY

Court rules California gig worker initiative is unconstitutional, a setback to Uber and Lyft

The Sacramento Bee

By Jeong Park

August 20, 2021

A California judge on Friday ruled that a 2020 ballot measure exempting rideshare and food delivery drivers from a state labor law is unconstitutional because it infringes on the Legislature’s power to set workplace standards. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch wrote Proposition 22 is unconstitutional because “it limits the power of a future Legislature to define app-based drivers as workers subject to workers’ compensation law.” That makes the entire ballot measure unenforceable, Roesch said. Roesch further wrote that a provision in the initiative that prevents the Legislature from granting collective-bargaining rights to drivers is unconstitutional because it “appears only to protect the economic interests of the network companies in having a divided, ununionized workforce.”