Labor Leaders, Workers Rally to Launch AFL-CIO’s 'It's Better in a Union' Nationwide Bus Tour
(Washington, D.C.)—Labor leaders and workers rallied today at the AFL-CIO headquarters to launch the nationwide “It’s Better in a Union: Fighting for Freedom, Fairness and Security” bus tour. While big corporations profit off the backs of working people and politicians continue to raise costs and cut essential lifesaving services, the labor movement will travel the country providing voice to and building power with workers in the lead up to Labor Day.
“Working people are the backbone of this country. We do the things our communities count on—at our schools and hospitals, factories and construction sites, small and big businesses—yet still too many families can’t keep food on the table, pay the rent, afford child care,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. The answer is not more of this same broken status quo. The answer is a good union job. The answer is working people in our communities—no matter who you are, how you voted—joining together and standing up for our freedom, fairness, and security.”
At the rally, labor leaders demanded “freedom, fairness and security” to launch the summer of action that will engage workers across the country about the issues facing their communities, their fights to organize workplaces and win fair contracts, and the impact of reckless policies on their lives. The bus tour will visit 26 states to join picket lines, support organizing campaigns, visit Veterans Affairs and Medicaid-funded facilities and hospitals gutted by DOGE, and speak directly with workers whose jobs have been ripped away by unnecessary cuts driven by the Trump administration.
“Working people have been betrayed by this administration—by the elected leaders who sold out the working class to the billionaire class. And we’re going to let them know. We are going to crisscross the country and talk to workers. We’re getting on this bus to make sure they know who sold us out—who is taking our jobs, our health care, our paychecks. To make sure every working person knows there’s a place for them on this bus,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond.
Rally speakers included Liz Shuler, President, AFL-CIO; Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer, AFL-CIO; Lee Saunders, President, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Evelyn DeJesus, Executive Vice President, American Federation of Teachers (AFT); Claude Cummings Jr., President, Communications Workers of America (CWA); Matthew Biggs, President, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE); Jimmy Williams Jr., General President, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT); Eric Dean, General President, International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (Ironworkers); Nick Daniels, President, National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA); Tyler Turner, President, Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU); April Verrett, President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Gwen Mills, International President, UNITE HERE; and David McCall, International President, United Steelworkers (USW).
After the kickoff rally, the “Better in a Union” bus joined UNITE HERE Local 23 for a rally to protect food service jobs at the U.S. House of Representatives. The bus will next head to join the USW on Saturday, July 12, in Newport News, Virginia. The event will highlight the impact of Trump administration cuts to veterans’ jobs and services. Follow along with the bus tour @AFLCIO on all platforms.
###