The workplace throws us together regardless of culture, race, gender, and language. We may have little in common besides the need to earn a livelihood. But working shoulder to shoulder, we generate a union culture. Hear how Amazon workers have gone about building a union culture in the early days.
Bullying, conflict, and divisions weaken us. The more united our worksites are, the easier it is to solve problems. In this interactive workshop we'll talk about how discrimination shows up in our workplaces and our unions, and how we can find opportunities to increase respect among co-workers, build unity, and respond collecively to workplace problems.
This session will open with a brief song by: Elise Bryant, Joe Whitesell, and Elizabeth Rosenberg, DC Labor Chorus
What is sexual harassment? How can you create a safe and welcoming work and union environment? Find answers and learn how to engage in active bystander intervention when you witness sexual harassment. Through role-playing exercises, gain hands-on experience using realistic scenarios for the building trades work environment that can be adapted to any workplace.
How does racism show up in our workplaces and our unions? What are some strategies to confront it and build solidarity for a stronger, multiracial labor movement? And what can you say to union siblings who aren’t convinced racial justice has anything to do with union politics?
In these harrowing times, immigrant workers continue to fight for each other—and against the boss. Learn about their campaigns and tactics to overcome a climate of fear and build collective power.
Ever since workers in the U.S. started forming unions, we've had to overcome mistrust between groups and get co-workers with different cultures and languages working together. Hear how workers are making solidarity the norm—and building astonishing collective power—in a Kroger grocery warehouse, on a Minnesota university campus, at Amazon, and in food delivery on the streets of New York City. This panel will inspire you!
How can organizers foster communication between people who speak different languages? Language justice practices can expand participation in union life and strengthen organizing. Learn practical strategies for multilingual facilitation, collaborative translation, and using accessible digital tools. Leave with ideas and tools you can apply in union trainings, campaigns, and leadership programs.
Join Black activists to discuss what unions are doing and could do to address the issues affecting Black workers and our communities. How can we get our unions in gear, and how can we build stronger connections across unions?
Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT Rosemont A
Different groups of workers in the same workplace or union are easily pitted against each other, but we're all stronger when we have each other's backs. Hear how drivers and package loaders, teachers and paraeducators, nurses and housekeepers, electricians and factory workers are learning about each other's concerns, overcoming friction and mistrust, and building power together.
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.
The boss hopes we'll let language divides make organizing a nonstarter, but it doesn't have to be. Learn how to build member power across multiple languages in your union and forge winning campaigns in a multilingual workplace.
"These kids don't want to work any more!" "These boomers ruined it all for us!" Generational divides are played up in the media, and show up at our workplaces and in our unions. This session will explore what's behind generational conflict at work, and share strategies for building unity.
Authoritarianism and corporate power converge through the system of courts and prisons to keep wages low, undermine organizing, and make profit. A clip from the award-winning documentary "The Alabama Solution" opens this session, spotlighting incarcerated organizers who are leading work stoppages against brutal repression inside Alabama prisons. Panelists will discuss the continuum from prison labor on the inside to sub-minimum wage temp work on the outside. Hear why organizing criminalized workers—in and after prison—is essential to building working-class power.
Bullying, conflict, and other divisions weaken us. The more united our worksites are, the easier it is to solve problems. In this interactive workshop we’ll practice member-to-member communication tools that help increase respect among co-workers, fight oppression, and respond collectively to workplace problems.
Unionized publc sector employment has been a critical source of stability for Black workers both historically and today. Austerity and attacks on public workers are a threat to this pillar of racial justice. Hear from Black workers about their experience in the public sector and why it's so important for fighting racial inequality.
Many of us avoid talking politics at work... but how can labor change the world if we can't even talk to each other about it? Do you have differences of opinion with your co-workers on immigration, war, who’s elected to run the country, you name it? Hear real stories and practical advice from workers who are finding common ground with their co-workers. Come share your stories and practice how these conversations can go better.
The bosses fear our collective power, so they try to pit us against each other, non-immigrant vs. immigrant. But the more workers are active in the union, the greater our power on the job. Learn how to build a union culture that welcomes and develops immigrant leaders, fosters open discussion to overcome divisions, and builds our collective power.
Join Latino activists to discuss how our unions can foster Latino leadership and address the issues affecting workers of color and our communities. How can we get our unions in gear and how can we build stronger connections across unions?
State repression isn't new for the labor movement, but the tone has shifted with the rhetoric of the current administration. Bosses are finding new ways to sow fear and distrust. Yet union activists are pushing back and getting stronger through organizing. Their experiences offer insight that can help us all prepare for the next wave of challenges.
When workers are divided, our bosses reap the benefit. Hear from hospital workers who have helped their co-workers build relationships and stronger unions by standing up to union-busting, racism, and anti-immigrant attacks.
This meeting is open to all workers from the U.S. South, union and nonunion. We’ll talk about what’s working well and what we’re struggling with, and build solidarity and connections.
How does being a woman affect the experience of being a union leader? What particular challenges do women face when they take on leadership roles? What strategies can help them resist being pulled off course? The panelists will explore these questions as they share their experiences and wisdom gained.
