2026 Labor Notes Conference: Full Schedule

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9:00am CDT

Book Launch! Keep Going: A Guide to Organizing When It's Hard

Saturday June 13, 2026 9:00am - 10:45am CDT

When everything feels like it's falling apart, this book will be your lifeline. Drawing on 50 years of experience helping thousands of workers to navigate just about every imaginable organizing challenge, Ellen David Friedman has created a field guide to help you make sense of the everyday chaos and devise your next step in any situation. Hear from the author and four of the organizers featured, and nab your copy of our new book before it sells out!

Moderators

Alexandra Bradbury

Labor Notes

Speakers

Ellen David Friedman

Labor Notes

Scott Houldieson

UAW, Indiana state senate candidatenRepresentative, Working Families Party

Carlos Perez

Durham Association of Educators

Antonio Rosario

Teamsters Local 804

Kate Ziegler

Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists

Saturday June 13, 2026 9:00am - 10:45am CDT
Rosemont CD

Keep Going

11:05am CDT

Pre-K-12 Educators Meeting

Saturday June 13, 2026 11:05am - 12:35pm CDT

Rosemont CD

What are the challenges you are facing? How are you organizing to take these up? Come share your stories and strategies with other Pre-K-12 educators.

Saturday June 13, 2026 11:05am - 12:35pm CDT
Rosemont CD

2:15pm CDT

The Soul in the Machine: Resisting A.I. Pressure on the Character and Quality of Our Jobs

Saturday June 13, 2026 2:15pm - 4:00pm CDT

Rosemont CD

Your boss isn’t using A.I. just to write emails. Hear from workers across industries about what happens when employers use A.I. to surveil, transform, and automate work, and learn how workers and unions are defending their dignity and autonomy.

Moderators

Sean Fern

Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 153

Speakers

Vanessa Coe

National Union of Healthcare Workers

John Hasegawa

Mt. Hood Faculty Association

Aíne Lynn McEvoy

IATSE Art Directors Guild

Kinsley Searles

NewsGuild of New York

Saturday June 13, 2026 2:15pm - 4:00pm CDT
Rosemont CD

Automation and A.I.

4:30pm CDT

Opening Up Bargaining

Saturday June 13, 2026 4:30pm - 6:15pm CDT

Rosemont CD

Open bargaining isn’t a particular template or set of boxes to check. It’s more like an attitude towards democratic inclusion and power for rank-and-file members. We’ll hear from unions that have increased transparency and democracy in negotiations, along the spectrum of open bargaining, and discuss pitfalls that may occur as you close in on a tentative agreement.

Moderators

Bargaining

2026 Labor Notes Conference

9:00am CDT

Alexandra Bradbury

Ellen David Friedman

Scott Houldieson

Carlos Perez

Antonio Rosario

Kate Ziegler

11:05am CDT

2:15pm CDT

Sean Fern

Vanessa Coe

John Hasegawa

Aíne Lynn McEvoy

Kinsley Searles

4:30pm CDT

Maya Suzuki Daniels

Caressa Aamodt

Justin Brown

Alano De La Rosa

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