2026 Labor Notes Conference

2026 Labor Notes Conference

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8:00am CDT

Recovery/Sobriety Meeting JFK

10:00am CDT

Labor Notes 101: Conference Orientation Grand Ballroom GKari Thompson • Sekia Royal • Samantha Sprole Building a Union Culture at Amazon Int’l Ballroom FAlethia Jones • Wajdy Bzezi • Kat Cole • Maricruz Delgadillo • Peyton Richardson Rockin' Your Rally and Picket Line United ACharlotte Kelly • Leander Londres Bargaining Tactics: Using Unfair Labor Practice Charges Strategically Grand Ballroom ADon Taylor Continuous Bargaining United BTrish Creech • Ashlee Fitch Winning a Strong Contract Rosemont BGillian Kingsley • Will McMahon App Workers on the Move LambertRay Cheng • Jakob Mathiassen • Luis Fernando Mora Reyes • Antonio Solis • Brian Winkler What to Do When the Union Breaks Your Heart Rosemont ATori "TT" Westman • Laura Wadlin Overcoming Divisions Grand Ballroom BPaul Prescod • Angela Bonilla Sexual Harassment: What It Is and How to Stop it DFWEmily E. LB. Twarog Organizing Worker Cooperatives HeathrowAna Guajardo • Martin Unzueta Trainings That Engage and Inspire DaVinciKristyn Joy When Costs Rise, So Should Our Pay LAXEmma Cohn • Connor Lewis Whose Railroads? Our Railroads! Public Ownership Around the World LondonAdam Barrington • Gary Pollock • Conor Price • Tabitha Tripp • Nick Wurst From Israel’s Genocide to U.S.’s Deportation Sweeps: Workers Organize for a Better World Grand Ballroom HMuna Abhari • Dan Albright • Jeffery Dix • Ramah Kudaimi • Alex Samburov Tax the Rich! State Campaigns and Success Stories Rosemont CDMax Page • Jackson Potter • Ariana Jacob • Jeron Mariani • Mike Yestramski Fundraising for Union Reformers Sky HarborJohn McGough • Lisa Xu Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Beating Apathy O'Hare BallroomBo McClung • Zack Pattin Between the One-on-One and the General Meeting MidwayJacksyn Bakeberg • Sam Hogan • Jeff Sisson • Lucia Vilallonga Bring the Union Meeting to the Members Int’l Ballroom AJoe Fahey Inoculación NaritaOlivia Najera-Garcia • Viviana Costales, Assertive Grievance Handling Grand Ballroom CBillie Adeosun • Fabiola Casas From Defense to Offense: Developing Power and Strategy for the World We Want HartsfieldStephanie Luce Lessons from Health Care and Hospital Strikes ViennaMichelle Gonzalez • Goodness Iheanachor • Beth Loudin • Gina Ottinger • Kristen Perez

1:00pm CDT

Singing Resistance and More Songs for Protests and Pickets United AMichael Laslett • Bela Sanchez • Pam Rogers Surveillance, Technology, and Speed-Ups: How to Identify Them and Fight Back United BBrendy Fountaine • C Moline Before, During, and After Negotiations: Step-by-Step Strategies Int’l Ballroom ACollin Heatley • Rebekah Tobin Bargaining When the Boss Says They're Broke MidwaySamantha Winslow • Jon Truong • Lynley Closson • Christina Christman • Sam Cleare Beyond Bread and Butter: Expanding What We Bargain For Grand Ballroom CKim Kelly • Arleigh Atkinson • Yajaira Cuapio • Jane Fox • Maya Ragsdale Winning a Strong Contract Rosemont BWill McMahon • Emilly Pike Asian Unions Resisting Authoritarianism ParisKevin Lin • Kim Jongtae • Keisuke Fuse • Christopher Mung How to Spot an Unfair Labor Practice and What to Do with It Grand Ballroom AGay Semel Fighting Oligarchy: Unionizing the Biggest Corporations Rosemont CDSuresh Naidu • Benjamin Estrello • Parul Koul • Sabrina Perez Taking on Goliath: Tactics to Bring Amazon to Heel Grand Ballroom GSasha Hammad • Kell Errera • Daniel Indias Valentin • Manny Martinez • Connor Spence • Samuel Padilla Race and Labor NaritaEthel Everett • Kass Ottley Health Care Is Broken But Not Broke LAXSarah Buckley • Jodi Huang • Paula Hickman Building a Tax the Rich Campaign: The Nuts and Bolts Sky HarborMax Page • Colette Berard • Eve Weinbaum Running Labor Candidates for Public Office—What it Takes to Win Grand Ballroom HRand Wilson • Steve Early • Aleena Starks • Francisco Ortiz • David Marshall • Scott Houldieson Untapped Pension Power Int’l Ballroom DJay O’Neal • Vicki Kurzydlo • Dan Nicolai • Mullissa Willette How to Expand Your Reach as a Troublemaker DFWBecca Roskill • Domanick Moss Democratic Rights of Union Members: Free Speech Int’l Ballroom BWill Bloom • Cathy Highet Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Beating Apathy O'Hare BallroomBen Zucker • Memo Durgin Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Growing Your Leadership Team Rosemont AJulian Meltzer • Leslie Fine Building a Healthy, Activist Local Union LindberghAl Davidoff Mexican Workers Fight for Justice/Trabajadores Mexicanos luchan por justicia Int’l Ballroom FWillebaldo Gomez Zuppa • Hector de la Cueva • Jesus Iturbero • Alejandra Morales Reynoso • Jaime Pulido • Cristina Ramirez Secretos de un organizador exitoso 1: Vencer a la apatía Int’l Ballroom CLeandra Diaz • Rosa Ponce Assertive Grievance Handling HeathrowLillian Stone • Bill Zoda Decoding Your Contract HartsfieldDawn Tefft Building Power in Grocery and Meatpacking Int’l Ballroom EErrol Schweizer • Kathleen Scott • Frank Halstead • Alexandra Piper • Nathaniel Mann Chokepoints for Supply Chain Workers LondonGifford Hartman • Peter Olney • Sam Levens • Billy Randel Can Political Strikes Restore Labor's Power? Grand Ballroom BAlex Han • Matt Bach • Jackson Potter • Kieran F. Knutson • Marcia Howard

3:05pm CDT

Open Mic: Great Labor Arts Exchange United AKimmon "MacGyver" Williams The Labor Notes Podcast: Live! LAXDanielle Smith • Natascha Elena Uhlmann • Tera Arnold • Dakota Massman Working with Media to Tell Our Stories Int’l Ballroom DKaren Sanchez • Maximillian Alvarez • Randy Furst • Kim Kelly • Amie Stager FILM: Partners: The Campaign to Organize Starbucks Rosemont BClarissa Redwine • Marilyn Lett • Nick Parker-Smith Approaches to Bargaining Over Tech Changes MidwayTony Perlstein Open Bargaining Grand Ballroom ABrian Hodge-Rice • Leah VanDassor Simulated Bargaining: Techniques for New and Experienced Negotiators ParisRebekah Tobin • Collin Heatley • Miche Dreiling Continuous Bargaining DFWTrish Creech • Ashlee Fitch Unions, Climate, and the Fight for Affordability LambertBatul Hassan • Stephanie Holsinger • Jay Oak-Schiller • Conor Price How to Build a High-Participation Contract Campaign Grand Ballroom CAndrew Gorry • Nellie Taylor From Contract Struggle to Shop Floor Power at UPS Grand Ballroom GWillem Morris • Justin Alo • John Gascey • Ben Reynolds Tactics to Build Power DaVinciClare Hammonds • Sara Gia Trongone • Laura Wadlin • Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez • Jacob Chapin The Biggest Union-Busting Effort in U.S. History: Federal Workers Fight Back Rosemont CDJacob Morrison • Paul Osadebe • Suzanne Englot • Laura Griffin • Micah Niemeier-Walsh Fight ICE, Build the Union Grand Ballroom HSasha Hammad • Evan Church • SatKartar Khalsa • Amelia Pedrego • Alex Rivers Immigrant Workers Unbossed, Rising Up and Organizing FlorenceSonia Singh • Pablo Acuna • Yolanda Barron Carmona • Walter Hernandez Auto Workers of the World, Unite! Int’l Ballroom FCiro D’Alessio • Koo Jinsung • Valmir Mariano • Alejandra Morales Reynoso Cross-Border Solidarity Int’l Ballroom BCarolina Bank Muñoz • Ryan Brazeau • Sam Levens • Jack Cobb • Jesus Iturbero • Borys Olenski Using the Railway Labor Act to Our Advantage LondonJoe Burns Graduate Worker Organizing LindberghLevin Kim • Beth Holden • Udayan Tandon • Marta Struve The Hidden Impacts of A.I.: Building Power in the Semiconductor Supply Chain HartsfieldRand Wilson • Brenda Rodriguez • Ray Cheng • Carmelita Perrien Naccarato • Lennon Ying-Da Wang Organizing in the Multiethnic Workplace Int’l Ballroom EBianca Cunningham • Gustavo Ajche • Maricruz Delgadillo • Greg Gorman • Aboubaca Ki • Grady Johnson Fighting Against War from the Shop Floor Grand Ballroom FVen • Joshua Arnold • Rebecca Gross • Nancy Lessin For Elected Leaders: Building Democracy vs. Administering Bureaucracy Int’l Ballroom ARyan Olds • Christopher Zimmerly-Beck Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Growing Your Leadership Team O’Hare BallroomMitch Israel • Jacob Clary Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Turning an Issue into a Campaign Rosemont ASofya Aptekar • Evan Rothman Building Density in the Open Shop BarajasDave Schneider • Bryan Trafford How to March on the Boss HeathrowMichael Marchman • Toby Madrone • Dreux Potvin • Sonya Mogilner Teatro de los oprimidos / Theater of the Oppressed Sky HarborMagaly Licolli • Julia Valentina Ortiz Secretos de un organizador exitoso 2: Armar el equipo de tus sueños Int’l Ballroom CCody Eaton • José Huerta Building a Strong Stewards Network NaritaMikel Herb • Martha Williams • Geoffrey Paquette Dealing with Difficult Supervisors ViennaAdeeba Khan • Daniella Pagan Stewards' Skills: Organizing To Defend Our Rights Grand Ballroom BNate Franco • Pam Galpern What Will It Take to Win? A Conversation with Labor Movement Veterans United BMegan Svoboda • Gay Semel • Peter Olney • Vanessa Coe

5:10pm CDT

Labor Arts Meetup United AChris Garlock Picket Signs that Pack a Powerful Punch United BKaren Sanchez • Verraine Fritz Bargaining Tools: Using Your Caucus Time Powerfully Int’l Ballroom ACollin Heatley • Rebekah Tobin Building Trades: Jobsite Action O’Hare BallroomPaul Steiner • Cullen Gaston Best Practices and Tools for Building a Multilingual Union Int’l Ballroom BJessie Cruz Pineda Asian and Asian Diaspora Meetup Rosemont B Building Rank-and-File Unionism Around the World FlorenceLaura Gabby • Ritsu Takagi • Jamie Woodcock • Angelique Grosmaire LGBTQ+ Meetup DaVinciKeturah Johnson Breaching the Non-Union Citadel: Southern Auto Workers Organize Int’l Ballroom EJane Slaughter • Randall Coggins • Robert Kennedy • Quichelle Liggins • Joe Murphy • Frederica Owens Getting Unions Involved in New Organizing Campaigns Int’l Ballroom FYana Kalmyka • Gillian Kingsley • Will McMahon • D. Pound • Zack Pattin Keeping the Momentum in a First Contract Fight HartsfieldMaximillian Alvarez • Aithne Feay • Trey Runyan • Jessica Roberson • Ava Robins Black Workers Meetup Rosemont A Building Unity Across Job Classifications TegelVirgilio Goze • Tyler Condo • Marissa Evans • Scarlett Morsmith • Teanna Tillery Disabled Workers Meetup Midway Winning Back Working-Class Voters ViennaMargarita Hernandez • Cynthia Phinney Dismantling the War Machine: Lessons from Pro-Peace Organizing LAXJeff Schuhrke • Gene Bruskin • Eugene Carroll • Arlette Jacome • Olivia Katbi Strategies for Reforming International Unions LambertCaitlyn Clark • Nick Livick • Eric Marcuz • Ken Paff Developing the Leaders Your Union Needs NaritaJorge Maldonado • Emma Bally • Sarah Dowd • Beth Loudin • Karine Raymond Secretos de un organizador exitoso 3: Convertir un problema en una campaña Int’l Ballroom CMagaly Licolli Defending Your Co-Workers in Disciplinary Meetings HeathrowJack Dickey • Yuchen Jin Grievance Handling: Best and Worst Practices DFWRichard de Vries Big Strikes, Big Power Grand Ballroom BBarry Eidlin • Joshua Arnold • Sebastien Bouchard • Kim Cordova No Work, No School, No Shopping: Organizing for Mass Disruption Grand Ballroom CKip Hedges • Marcia Howard • Kieran F. Knutson • Dan Mendez Moore • Leah VanDassor

6:00pm CDT

Parent + Kids Meetup Sky Harbor

6:30pm CDT

Recovery/Sobriety Meeting JFK

7:00pm CDT

Friday Main Session Grand BallroomPaul Osadebe • Barbara Madeloni • Eva Lopez • Mara Solis • Tchelly Moise

8:30pm CDT

TDU Rosemont CD World Cup Watching Party United B

9:00pm CDT

Black Rose Anarchist Federation LAX FUN Solidarity Social powered by Federal Unionists Network DFW Labor Song Swap and Jam: Fri Conference Center Foyer UMass Labor Center Social Rosemont B

10:00pm CDT

UAW Member Action, Essential Workers for Democracy (EW4D) & IBEW CREW Reception Rosemont A