Conor here: The next episode hits all the right notes in criticism of the GOP’s anti-worker agenda. That’s right; Republicans are no friend of the working class.
However, I would be more interested in what he has to say on the other side of the spectrum, where the union leadership is marching in lock-out despite their hatred of the working class, and that union leadership is increasingly disaffiliating with membership and abandoning their jobs during the crackdown on what the management describes as “anti-capitalist terrorism.” Any active labor movement will be crippling the country and its “arms of democracy” to stand in the face of such attacks—or have done so long ago at some point during the decades-long neoliberal march. Instead it’s business as usual with the same tired bromides.
If you missed the news about the American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations, (AFL-CIO) 30th Convention in Minneapolis last month, that’s no surprise. Nothing came of it despite the fact that our policing situation is getting worse and paving the way for a return to slavery. In fact, the union leadership seems to be very concerned about the disappearance of long breaks.
They say nothing about the union membership that hovers around 10 percent of the workforce as a whole – and about half of that in the private sector – or the global war agenda being pushed by Trump and the majority of the Democrat establishment despite its goals of globalizing Zionist-capitalism to the detriment of workers. Instead, here’s Chris Townsend, a 47-year union member and leader who currently serves on the Executive Committee of the International Workers Institute, on the AFL-CIO’s disappearing act:
One notable and surprising item buried in plain sight was “Constitutional Amendment Number 1”. Announced before the Convention, adopted by Executive Council leaders in secret, then rushed through delegates, this surprising amendment to the AFL-CIO Constitution puts the prospect of the next convention being delayed until 2031, a full five years away. Given the urgency of the attacks on labor and unions, and because of the urgent need for “ordinary workers” to meet more often than usual, the delay of the next Congress for almost 5 years is an appalling act of deception and misdirection, to say the least.
The amendment was put in as a general “housekeeping” method, probably to coincide with the dates of the next Congress and odd numbered years every 4 years, as was the norm. With that noted, it is surprising given the urgent and dangerous conditions in which all labor organizations and the AFL-CIO are currently operating, that it has been deemed acceptable to extend the next Congress by a full 5 years!
The real value of going fast is terrible. All democratic norms have been suspended by the Federation which has already added to the lack of democratic processes, and this protects those who have already been “re-elected” in the recently held fraudulent elections. The Convention is ultimately the highest body of the Federation, and the apparent lack of opposition to this power grab by Shuler and Redmond – and whoever emerges as the room’s choice to replace Redmond – from the union leaders they work with is perhaps not shocking, but it is a little shocking in its importance. None of the “decisions” taken at the recently concluded Conference will face any scrutiny until 2031. Almost anonymous members of the Executive Council will continue to “lead” the Society in its secret sessions. Shuler will no doubt be left to preside over another 5 years of drift, decay, depression, and subjugation in the Democratic Party…
The demise of the AFL-CIO, and its demise as a viable and relevant force for progress is nearing completion. Those pieces that are not yet under the embalming process will be completely buried by 2031, as decided by the recently concluded 30th AFL-CIO Convention. Although expectations for the most recent Summit were low, in fact very low, it is still surprising that the leadership of the majority of the US labor force saw fit to abandon such an uninspiring strategy for now, of all times.
By Roxanne D. Brown, international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW), which is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. This article was created by the Independent Media Institute.
Missouri’s Republican lawmakers did exactly what their donors wanted in 2017 and repealed a law meant to prevent working people from coming together to fight for better lives.
This giveaway to the super rich has sparked a backlash, with members of the United Steelworkers (USW) and other Missourians coming out in droves in 2018 to pass a citizen-driven referendum overturning this outrageous law.
You would expect the corporate faithful in the General Assembly to be humbled by this harsh rebuke. You might even think that errant legislators would correct course and start doing their jobs properly after being beaten like this.
But no, now they are doubling down and trying to tighten the system to make it more difficult for weird voters to get on the scale from now on. They want to increase the threshold for passing a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment, from a majority of votes statewide to a majority in every congressional district, meaning that a minority group can overturn a proposal that everyone approves.
Exaggerating referendums in this way means usurping the will of the people, but it’s all just another day at the office due to the growing number of anti-worker laws across the country. Their message to voters: Shut your mouths or we’ll say goodbye.
It’s important to remember that we have a basic right to petition and reform the state of government—and that includes gathering enough signatures to put an issue on the ballot and then putting the issue before all voters to make a yes or no decision. The referendum enables us to take the wheel, especially when our elected representatives fail to do the right thing or do the opposite of our demands.
Speaking of which, Missouri Republicans remain furious about the rollback of the 2018 falsely named “right to work” law, which aims to disempower workers, defund unions, and deepen corporate control.
The USW and other pro-worker organizations collected hundreds of thousands of signatures—well above the required number—to force a referendum challenging the anti-labor measure. Then we put our boots on the ground, rallying our activists in a door-to-door effort that drove voters to the polls and killed the law before it even took effect.
But representing the workers did not end there.
Buoyed by that success, union members and other activists moved on to other proposals, including a commonsense measure in 2024 that would provide the paid sick leave Missouri workers need to care for themselves and their sick loved ones.
This made the Republican legislators even more angry than before. They quickly scrapped the paid sick leave requirement, saying they know better than the voters.
Now, by trying to prevent the referendum process, the law enforcement wants to silence the voters and strengthen their control. It’s the only way they can advance an agenda that benefits the rich while working people struggle to make ends meet.
Worse, Republicans in other states are taking their attacks to the voters. Here are a few examples:
- After Oklahomans approved a referendum expanding Medicaid, the Republican legislature and governor retaliated in 2025 with a law that made it more difficult to gather the signatures needed for future ballot initiatives. From here on out, supporters can only collect a certain number of signatures in each district, denying a voice to millions of voters across the country.
- South Dakota Republicans passed a law in 2025 to shorten the signature collection period to make the process more difficult and kill as many ballot attempts as possible. They’re back at it in 2026, trying to increase the threshold for passing constitutional amendments to 60 percent of the votes cast instead of the simple majority currently required.
- No one has shut up about voters except lawmakers and the Republican governor of Florida, who have approved astronomical sums of money to “verify” every signature collected to get the referendum on the ballot. This farcical requirement destroys many efforts from the beginning, just as they intended.
Make no mistake, USW members and our allies are fighting this attack on our rights.
For example, Missouri Republicans can only enact their limited changes in a citizen-driven process if voters approve them—in a referendum, ironically—in August.
USW activists have taken to the streets to educate voters about the stakes and do what it takes to bury the proposal for good.
There is only one battlefield. A federal court in Arkansas recently sided with voters who sued for unreasonable restrictions on voting systems in that state. And USW members and other voters in Ohio stopped lawmakers cold when they tried to kill referendums there a few years ago.
Soon, anti-labor lawmakers will learn that there are no silent voters like us. The harder they try, the louder we hear.
