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AFL-CIO Chief Economist on July Jobs Numbers
Aug 01, 2025
AFL-CIO Chief Economist Dr. Darrick Hamilton issued the following statement on the July jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Average job growth over the past three months has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade. Core sectors of the economy—manufacturing, government, retail and mining—are hemorrhaging jobs. Without modest gains in the health care and social assistance sectors, we’d be facing three straight months of net job loss. And yet, in the midst of this instability, the administration has pushed through what will likely be the largest health care cut in American history. And this data doesn’t yet capture the ripple effects of mass federal layoffs or the full force of recent budget cuts.
Over the past two months, the Black unemployment rate has jumped by a full percentage point and now stands at more than 7%, nearly double the national rate of 4.2%. For Black workers, the picture is not only a reflection of persistent racial bias—it may also be a harbinger of something more ominous. This disparity isn’t new—it’s a long-standing feature of a racialized economy. But historically, sharp economic distress in Black communities has often preceded broader downturns. If that pattern holds, we’re not just looking at a crisis for Black workers—we’re staring down a warning for the entire economy.
This isn’t a neutral stagnation. It’s the product of policy choices: disinvestment in public infrastructure, attacks on the safety net and a governing strategy that protects concentrated wealth while leaving working people increasingly vulnerable.
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AFL-CIO President on International Workers’ Day: ‘An Injury to One Is an Injury to All’
May 01, 2025
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement on International Workers’ Day, or “May Day”:
On International Workers’ Day, working people around the globe are taking action to stand up to the billionaires who are threatening our rights and freedoms. Here at home, President Trump and Elon Musk have slashed thousands of union jobs, ripped up union contracts, cut essential services and are attacking our fundamental freedom to organize for a better life.
The Trump administration also has illegally targeted our fellow workers—union members like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was separated from his family in Maryland and sent to a prison in El Salvador without due process, and Rümeysa Öztürk, detained while walking to dinner in Massachusetts and thrown into a detention center thousands of miles away, despite neither of them having committed a crime. An injury to one is an injury to all. When Trump targets immigrant families like Kilmar’s and Rümeysa’s, he targets all workers.
This May Day, working people are standing together, unified in our commitment to a better future for all workers. We won’t allow billionaires to divide us—especially when it’s based on where we’re from. We’ll fight to protect all workers from the Trump administration’s illegal attacks on our jobs, our unions, our contracts and our freedoms. Our solidarity is our strength.
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Labor and Democracy Partners Announce Rise Up: Legal Defense Network for Fired Federal Workers
AFL-CIO, We The Action, Democracy Forward, AFGE, ACS, NFFE-IAM, NTEU, Partnership for Public Service, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and others will connect federal workers fired and mistreated by the Trump administration with free, direct legal support.
Apr 16, 2025
The labor movement and allies announced the formation of Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network today, a new project to connect federal workers whose rights have been violated by the Trump administration with free legal support.
Since January, thousands of federal workers have been abruptly fired and thrown out of jobs their families and communities rely on. They have an urgent need for legal support, which will only escalate throughout the spring as “reduction in force” plans go into effect. Federal workers’ unions and allied organizations are already fighting back in court, but thousands of federal workers still need individual legal advice and representation. Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network will mobilize and train thousands of lawyers to provide pro bono legal guidance to federal workers.
“Attacks on federal workers are attacks on all workers and on the essential services that our communities rely on daily,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “Getting these workers the justice they deserve in the face of this onslaught will take all of us. I’m so proud to announce the formation of Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network with our partners today. This new network is a critical tool empowering federal workers to fight back. When we come together, we are stronger than any of us alone.”
The Legal Defense Network is powered by the AFL-CIO and We The Action with Democracy Forward, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the American Constitution Society (ACS), the Partnership for Public Service, and others.
“This is a moment for lawyers to support the federal workers who serve us all,” said Anna Chu, executive director of We The Action. “We The Action was founded on the fundamental premise that lawyers have the power to do good. At a moment when our federal workforce is under attack, lawyers are uniquely positioned to take action. We’re honored to power the Federal Workers Legal Defense Network and mobilize our community of volunteer lawyers to help federal workers get the justice they deserve.”
“Our nation’s civil servants are the backbone of our democracy—and they’re under attack for doing their jobs. Democracy Forward is committed to working alongside partners to defend these workers and the public institutions they serve,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which launched Civil Service Strong in the wake of the Trump inauguration. “The Rise Up Network will build on existing efforts to ensure federal workers have the legal support they need to fight back, continue to serve the American people and our Constitution, and support our communities.”
“AFGE is proud to partner together with allies across the nation to ensure patriotic American civil servants under relentless attack by this administration have access to the legal resources they need,” said Everett Kelley, AFGE’s national president.
“It is critical that federal workers have access to legal recourse as the Trump administration threatens and unlawfully terminates hundreds of thousands of proud civil servants,” said Randy Erwin, NFFE-IAM’s national president. “We are incredibly grateful for the attorneys and allies in our communities who stand with federal workers delivering essential services to the American people.”
“The Federal Workers Legal Defense Network is a welcome resource for federal employees whose careers and livelihoods are impacted by the administration’s attack on the federal workforce,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald. “NTEU applauds the thousands of attorneys across the nation willing to volunteer their time to advocate on behalf of career civil servants. Programs like this demonstrate a basic truth about the federal workforce: Civil servants, the work they do and the services they provide, matter deeply to this country and American taxpayers. We’re proud to partner with the AFL-CIO, We The Action, and our other allies on this critical tool to advocate on behalf of those who swore an oath to the Constitution.”
“As this current administration continues to lead with lawlessness and cruelty, there’s a need for humanity and action to assist the people being affected. We are proud of lawyers in the ACS network and beyond who are stepping up to meet this moment for federal workers across the country through this critical network,” said Zinelle October, American Constitution Society’s interim president.
“Labor rights are civil rights and workers deserve dignity and fairness, including federal workers who serve us all,” said Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “The Leadership Conference, a coalition of more than 240 diverse national organizations, is dedicated to protecting, advocating for, and enforcing civil rights for everyone. We will not remain silent, and we will not stand by while this administration—or anyone else—violates the civil and constitutional rights of the people who keep our communities and our country functioning.”
For more information on Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network, visit workerslegaldefense.org.
Federal workers looking for legal support can begin the process here.
Lawyers interested in joining the Legal Defense Network can sign up here.
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AFL-CIO President Celebrates Reintroduction of the PRO Act
Mar 05, 2025
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement on the reintroduction of the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act:
Americans believe in the power of unions, and tens of millions of working people would become union members tomorrow if they could. But American labor law is broken, weighted on the side of the bosses and against the workers. In too many workplaces, in too many industries across the country, big corporations and billionaire CEOs still retaliate against us for organizing. They refuse to negotiate our contracts, force us to sit through hours of anti-union propaganda and engage in illegal union-busting every day. Now they have an unelected, unaccountable union-buster trying to illegally fire tens of thousands of our fellow workers in federal jobs and an administration rolling back the workplace protections.
The PRO Act is long overdue, and the American people agree. We urge the elected leaders of both parties to move this critical legislation forward so that all workers have the chance to stand together and build better lives for themselves and their families.
We know it won’t be easy, but the labor movement never backs down from a righteous fight. And in today’s economy, where our workers’ hard-earned paychecks are covering less of what they need while still facing unsafe conditions and a lack of respect on the job, there’s no fight more righteous than ensuring that every single worker who wants a union has a fair shot to join or form one.
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