2026 Labor Notes Conference: Full Schedule

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10:00am CDT

From Israel’s Genocide to U.S.’s Deportation Sweeps: Workers Organize for a Better World

Friday June 12, 2026 10:00am - 11:45am CDT

Companies like Palantir, Amazon, and Google have long used Palestine as a testing ground for surveillance tech. Now these militarized technologies are being exported globally—including to the United States to enable anti-immigrant violence. Hear how workers are taking on these tech giants, from nurses defending their co-workers and patients from ICE terror, to painters and tech workers calling for divestment.

Moderators

Muna Abhari

BDS Movement

Speakers

Dan Albright

Painters

Jeffery Dix

SEIU Local 1021

Ramah Kudaimi

Action Center on Race & the Economy

Alex Samburov

No Tech for Apartheid

Friday June 12, 2026 10:00am - 11:45am CDT
Grand Ballroom H

Politics

10:00am CDT

Tax the Rich! State Campaigns and Success Stories

Friday June 12, 2026 10:00am - 11:45am CDT

Rosemont CD

So you want to tax the rich in your state? Hear about successful campaigns in Massachusetts and Washington and campaigns-in-progress elsewhere. What does it take to win? What obstacles will you encounter?

Moderators

Max Page

Educators for a Democratic Union, Massachussetts Teachers Association

Speakers

Jackson Potter

Chicago Teachers Union

Ariana Jacob

American Federation of Teachers-Oregon

Jeron Mariani

Massachusetts Fair Share

Mike Yestramski

Washington Federation of State Employees

Friday June 12, 2026 10:00am - 11:45am CDT
Rosemont CD

Politics

1:00pm CDT

Building a Tax the Rich Campaign: The Nuts and Bolts

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT

Sky Harbor

Learn from the winning campaign in Massachusetts! Get practical advice and Q&A on building a coalition, developing legislation or a ballot proposal, raising money, building a grassroots campaign, making sure the tax money collected gets spent the right way, and defending a victory against billionaire blowback.

Moderators

Max Page

Educators for a Democratic Union, Massachussetts Teachers Association

Speakers

Colette Berard

Andover Education Association

Eve Weinbaum

Massachusetts Society of Professors

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT
Sky Harbor

Politics

1:00pm CDT

Running Labor Candidates for Public Office—What it Takes to Win

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT

Grand Ballroom H

Union members are often encouraged to run for office—whether as independents, third-party candidates, or progressive, pro-labor Democrats. But making the transition from labor activism to electoral politics is not easy in a two-party system dominated by big money, where few working-class people hold public office. We’ll address the challenges of recruiting candidates and campaign volunteers, raising money, getting endorsements, and winning elections, using the skills and experience of past local union leadership or staff. Hear about running inside and outside the Democratic Party, at the state, local, and federal level.

Moderators

Steve Early

Labor for Bernie activist

Rand Wilson

Labor for Bernie activist

Speakers

Aleena Starks

Ohio Working Families Party

Francisco Ortiz

United Teachers of Richmond, California

David Marshall

CWA Local 6215, Texas AFL-CIO

Scott Houldieson

UAW, Indiana state senate candidatenRepresentative, Working Families Party

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT
Grand Ballroom H

Politics

1:00pm CDT

Untapped Pension Power

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT

Int’l Ballroom D

Public pensions hold more $6 trillion, money that billionaires are using to raise your rent, intensify the climate crisis, and fuel ICE deportations. Learn how you can take back control of your retirement savings and use your pension dollars to help your community.

Moderators

Jay O’Neal

Pension Power

Speakers

Vicki Kurzydlo

Chicago Teachers Union

Dan Nicolai

Climate Finance Action

Mullissa Willette

SEIU Local 521

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT
Int’l Ballroom D

Politics

1:00pm CDT

Can Political Strikes Restore Labor's Power?

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT

Grand Ballroom B

Strikes can demand a lot more than a raise. Minnesota unions and community organizations held a mass strike in January, demanding to kick out ICE, deny it further funding, and hold officers accountable for killings. The Chicago Teachers Union won a demand to make May 1 a day of civic action, allowing educators and students to participate in the national day of no, work, no school, no shopping. Hear from organizers who were on the front lines, pushing boundaries of what a fighting labor movement can win.

Moderators

Alex Han

May Day Strong

Speakers

Matt Bach

Massachusetts Teachers Association

Jackson Potter

Chicago Teachers Union

Kieran F. Knutson

Communications Workers Local 7250

Marcia Howard

Minneapolis Federation of Educators

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT
Grand Ballroom B

Strikes Strategy Politics

3:05pm CDT

Fighting Against War from the Shop Floor

Friday June 12, 2026 3:05pm - 4:50pm CDT

Grand Ballroom F

The wars waged by the U.S. are deeply unpopular at home and abroad, but workers are still testing out how to use shop floor power to bring them to a halt. Hear from worker activists who are challenging militarism. We'll discuss what strategies can succeed, what fails, and how these efforts relate to everyday "troublemaking" around working conditions.

Moderators

Ven

Speakers

Joshua Arnold

Machinists District 837

Rebecca Gross

United Auto Workers Local 4811

Nancy Lessin

Steelworkers, retired

Friday June 12, 2026 3:05pm - 4:50pm CDT
Grand Ballroom F

Politics

5:10pm CDT

Winning Back Working-Class Voters

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT

Vienna

In the U.S. and across the world, working-class voters are increasingly being won over by right-wing populist appeals. What are some possible elements of a labor political program that can both win back workers from the forces of reaction, and force elected officials to address the needs of working people? Hear about initiatives including the Maine AFL-CIO’s campaign to develop a Contract with the Working Class and the Grassroots Power Project’s Solidarity Wins member-to-member political education program.

Speakers

Margarita Hernandez

Grassroots Power Project

Cynthia Phinney

Maine AFL-CIO

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT
Vienna

Political Education Politics Overcoming Divisions

5:10pm CDT

Dismantling the War Machine: Lessons from Pro-Peace Organizing

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT

LAX

Despite promising to be the “peace president,” Trump is using our tax dollars to wage illegal wars and regime change operations in Latin America and the Middle East, bringing suffering to our fellow workers abroad and endangering everyone’s future. Join a discussion with an intergenerational group of unionists who have been at the forefront of labor’s antiwar organizing at key moments in our recent history—from Reagan’s nuclear arms buildup to Bush’s invasion of Iraq to the ongoing Gaza genocide.

Moderators

Politics

10:00am CDT

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1:00pm CDT

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3:05pm CDT

5:10pm CDT

5:10pm CDT

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