Worker Wins: ‘This Blue Wave Was Union-Made’

Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.

Labor Movement Organizing Powers Pro-Worker Majorities in Congress: Union voters mobilized in historic numbers to secure sweeping landmark victories up and down the ballot across the country, including a record number of union member candidates elected to office. The organizing was driven by the AFL-CIO’s largest-ever midterm mobilization, with a singular focus on the pocketbook issues voters said were their top priority. 

At the 30th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention in June, the nation’s largest labor federation set a goal of turning out at least 2 million more union voters in this election than in 2022. To reach that, AFL-CIO turned out tens of thousands of volunteers, who reached more than 16 million union voters. The program made a concerted effort by reaching out to several million disengaged voters, many of whom lived in a union member’s  household but had never previously been contacted by a union volunteer. 

As a direct result of this work, union voters turned out in historic numbers. Exit polls showed union households voted 21 points more for Democrats than Republicans nationwide, shaping results that were decisive for control of Congress. 

“This blue wave was union-made. The billionaires had the money in this election, but working people had the power,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “The people who make this country run issued a clear mandate last night. Speaking with a unified voice, workers demanded that their elected leaders fight to raise their wages and lower costs, expand access to health care and unions, hold billionaire CEOs accountable, and check the Trump administration’s attacks on their freedoms. The labor movement is ready to work with these newly elected members of Congress, governors and state legislators on a bold agenda to deliver real change for the working class.” 

The AFL-CIO’s program operated in 35 states and powered watershed election results: 639 union members and counting have been elected—which means a record high number of union members will be seated in elected office next year. Troy Jackson in Maine, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico in Texas, Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania, Brian Poindexter in Ohio, Sam Forstag in Montana and many other prominent candidates are card-carrying union members. The labor movement’s deep, year-round, nationwide infrastructure was behind further historic gubernatorial and congressional victories: Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Josh Turek and Rob Sand in Iowa, Adam Hamilton in Kansas, Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton in Ohio, Annie Andrews in South Carolina, as well as House districts. Working people overcame decades of brutal attacks on their rights to overhaul state governments across the country. They won trifectas in Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and took back the statehouses in North Carolina and Georgia. Union voters broke seven legislative supermajorities in Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina. 

A seven-figure paid digital and streaming media campaign that hyper-targeted union members and households in 39 key House and Senate races. The ads featured real union members’ voices that generated more than 221 million unique impressions across all races, with a 65% to 72% completion rate, showing strong engagement with the content. The AFL-CIO wasted no time in organizing and talking to working people about the pain they were feeling under President Trump’s economy—including in battleground states—kicking off at the beginning of 2025. Through our Department of People Who Work for a Living field hearings, a 26-state bus tour and door-to-door blitzes in key districts in spring 2026, union members built and deepened relationships through consistent, ongoing engagement with voters across the country. Since Labor Day, union volunteers have reached 14.9 million voters at the door, on the phone and in the worksite to solidify support for a pro-worker Congress. Every conversation had unique value, given the high degree of trust union families have with union members, who research shows are among the most credible messengers in the country. Union voters also were among the most enthusiastic in the nation to go to the polls. 83% of union members reported being “very motivated” to vote, a 10-point increase from 2022. Union P.O.W.E.R., a 50-state election protection program, trained more than 30,000 union volunteers, deployed 54 election protection coordinators across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, along with dozens of highly trained union lawyers to 24 states under particular threat from the Trump administration. These lawyers and volunteers were on the ground in the weeks leading up to and on Election Day, and they will continue to work in the field to ensure every ballot is counted.

Ushers at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills Joining IATSE: Ushers at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts voted overwhelmingly to join the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local B-192. The newly unionized unit covers 23 ushers at the Beverly Hills venue. The ushers first began organizing years ago, but the effort was renewed this spring with a majority of the group signing cards in August and the petition for an election being filed shortly thereafter. “Our Local has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, and we continue to find opportunities to organize and strengthen our Local by providing the benefits of union membership for thousands of workers in the Los Angeles area,” said Nicole Miller, president of IATSE Local B-192. “Welcoming the Ushers at The Wallis is indicative of workers rising up and recognizing the value of union representation, and of IATSE in particular.” An usher who voted in favor of joining Local B-192 described what the victory means: “IATSE representation gives us a newfound power to come together and make meaningful improvements to life as a Wallis Usher. For most of us, this is our second or even third job. We do it because we love being around theatre and music, and we are very much not in it for the money. At the same time, I believe that our work is important and we deserve to be paid a living wage. I am excited to begin the bargaining process and optimistic that we can work with management to achieve many of our goals and make the Wallis a better place to work.”

29 Graduate from Missouri Works Initiative Apprenticeship Programs: Twenty-nine students graduated Oct. 16 from the Missouri Works Initiative’s Apprenticeship Ready programs at the Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1 hall in St. Louis. Eighteen came from the Apprenticeship Ready in Construction (ARC) program, and 11 from the Apprenticeship Ready in Manufacturing (ARM) program. “I want to congratulate you guys,” said Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel. “We know this is a lot of work and a lot of effort to get here, but I can promise you that it’s worth it. These are life-changing careers, and it’s been amazing what you guys have been able to accomplish.” The five-week programs, supported by the Missouri AFL-CIO, are designed to address critical workforce shortages in the general supply chain, aerospace, manufacturing, transportation and construction sectors. The initiative connects underrepresented, underemployed and unemployed individuals with high-paying union jobs, offering resources, support and access to opportunities to build sustainable careers. “Not everybody can get up early in these conditions and put in the work that we do, but we’re cut from a different cloth so just have pride in your work,” said ARC graduate Jordan Ramsey-Williams, who is joining Ironworkers Local 396. Learn more about the Missouri Works Initiative and its ARC and ARM programs.

WGAE Members at RadicalMedia Ratify First Union Contract: Staff at RadicalMedia—who are represented by Writers Guild of America East (WGAE)—have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement. These WGAE members are behind popular nonfiction titles such as “This Is a Gardening Show,” “Conversations with a Killer,” “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” and more. Highlights of the contract include new rate minimums that increase 2% annually, paid holidays and bereavement leave, comp days for extra days worked, and more. WGAE Vice President of Film, Television and Streaming Michael Rauch said, “We’re thrilled RadicalMedia workers secured their first union contract. This agreement builds on protections nonfiction production workers have gone without for too long, including rest periods, pay when production is paused on short notice, paid holidays and health care contributions. With RadicalMedia joining a growing list of organized nonfiction shops, the message to the industry is clear: union standards are becoming the norm.” “We’re excited to have reached our first union contract with RadicalMedia and consider it an important milestone on the path to organizing the entire Nonfiction industry,” the bargaining committee said. “We’re especially proud to have won participation in the Flex Plan, as health insurance is often out of reach for those of us working in a freelance environment.”

Simmons University Adjuncts Reach Their First Tentative Agreement: After more than a year of contract negotiations, collective actions and growing community support, adjunct faculty at Simmons University, members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 509, reached their first tentative collective bargaining agreement. Highlights of the tentative contract include strong raises for all adjuncts; course assignment priority and pay increases for returning adjuncts; enforceable protections against discrimination, improper discipline and the erosion of academic freedom; an improved orientation and evaluation process; and expanded professional development funding and tuition remission benefits. Members of the union must still vote to approve the contract.