2026 Labor Notes Conference: Full Schedule

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

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

3:05pm CDT

Fight ICE, Build the Union

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

Grand Ballroom H

Union members across the country are in an intensifying battle to keep their members and communities safe from federal immigration authorities. While some say unions should avoid "divisive issues," organizing around immigrant defense can deepen relationships among members and help bridge political divides. Learn how members are taking up this fight—and how do it in your own local.

This session will start with a poem by Crystal Londonio.

Moderators

Sasha Hammad

Athena Coalition

Speakers

Evan Church

IAM 2202

SatKartar Khalsa

Committee of Interns and Residents-SEIU

Amelia Pedrego

SEIU Local 26

Alex Rivers

Starbucks Workers United

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

Immigrant Workers

9:00am CDT

How Is Labor Building Political Independence from the Democratic Party?

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

Grand Ballroom H

We’ll discuss labor-backed independent candidacies running both on and off the Democratic ballot line, what to do in areas where elections are completely dominated by Republicans, union political education in the face of bleak electoral choices, referendums on working-class issues, and lessons from the Labor Party of the 1990s.

Moderators

Jenny Brown

Labor Notes

Speakers

Mark Dimondstein

Postal Workers (APWU), retired

Les Leopold

The Labor Institute

Griffin Mahon

Democratic Socialists of America

Derrick Osobase

Communications Workers, District 6

Aleena Starks

Ohio Working Families Party

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

Politics

11:05am CDT

Palestine Solidarity Meeting

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

Grand Ballroom H

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

2:15pm CDT

Amazon Workers of the World

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

Grand Ballroom H

With facilities on every continent except Antarctica and more than 1.5 million employees, Amazon is the infrastructure that makes the global economy move, from the virtual to the physical world. One click can set in motion a vast network of warehouses, cargo ships, planes, and delivery vans. Get a glimpse of how Amazon workers in Spain, Germany, Poland and France are organizing against a corporate giant.

Moderators

Nick Rudikoff

UNI Global Union

Speakers

Akinniyi Akinfewa

Ver.di, Germany

Boris Bojilov

Ver.di, Germany

Oscar Jover Acin

CGT, Spain

Katarysna Kowalska

Workers’ Initiative, Poland

Borys Olenski

Workers’ Initiative, Poland

Gwendeline Legru

Solidaires, France

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

New Organizing Amazon Workers International

4:30pm CDT

Forging Ahead in Difficult Times

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

Grand Ballroom H

What can teachers and Amazon workers learn from one another? Hear how workers are building power and striking in two very different kinds of workplaces (and three countries). Between an anti-union mega-corporation and an embattled public sector, and across national borders, it's illuminating to see what our struggles have in common.

Moderators

Mario Vasquez

Teamsters Local 1932

Speakers

Daniel Indias Valentin

CGT, Spain

Kain Kaszuk

Amazon Teamsters

Jay Procktor

Alberta Teachers Association, Canada

Valerie Stropoli

Amazon Labor Union, Teamsters Local 1

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

Amazon Workers Educators

10:45am CDT

How We Organized Our Union

Sunday June 14, 2026 10:45am - 12:30pm CDT

Grand Ballroom H

Survey data suggests that over 60 million people in the U.S. would join a union if they could, but pulling off a successful organizing campaign is still no easy feat. Hear from workers who have built their unions from the ground up on how they fostered relationships with co-workers and overcame the boss's scare tactics.

Moderators

New Organizing

10:00am CDT

1:00pm CDT

3:05pm CDT

9:00am CDT

11:05am CDT

2:15pm CDT

4:30pm CDT

10:45am CDT

Get help with the event