AFL-CIO Daily Briefs: Shuler; Union Vets; SMART and Labor 2022

Message from President Liz Shuler

• The average S&P 500 CEO made 324 times what the company's average worker made last year. So how do we rebalance those scales? We organize.
• And there is so much opportunity for organizing-93% of private sector workers and 66% of public sector workers are not yet in unions.
• If you look at which industries are growing, they're mostly nonunion, like Big Tech and clean energy. These industries are the future of our economy, so we need to make them union industries from the start. That's how we make sure that the future is American-made and union-made.

UVC Celebrates PACT Act Signing, Commits to Help Veterans Receive Support

The Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO, (UVC) applauded President Biden on Wednesday for signing the SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act, a historic law to expand health care coverage for military veterans who were exposed to toxins and burn pits during their service. After it was temporarily filibustered by a minority of anti-worker senators two weeks ago, the UVC made a nationwide appeal to its members and some 1,300 union veterans called their senators to demand that they pass the bill immediately.

This legislation has been a major priority for the UVC since it was formed in 2009. The Honoring Our PACT Act will have an enormous impact on America's veterans by finally providing them the health care they deserve after suffering for years or decades from diseases that resulted from their exposure to toxic chemicals. The UVC said it will work in the coming months to ensure all union veterans, both active and retired, understand these benefits and how to navigate the Department of Veterans Affairs to receive the support they have earned.

Visit VA.gov/PACT to learn more about how this new law helps veterans and their families.

SMART Spotlights Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Benefits for Members

After years of political pressure from union members, President Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure law in November to invest more than $1 trillion in our nation's crumbling infrastructure. The law promises to create good-paying union jobs and put members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) into action.

In the latest edition of SMART's quarterly publication, the union highlighted the many ways in which the bipartisan infrastructure law will create more opportunities for its members. Whether they're boosting energy efficiency in public schools, conducting energy audits or surveys on commercial and residential buildings, breaking into new markets and implementing emerging technologies, or providing apprenticeship training to more workers, SMART members will play a central role in rebuilding America. Click here to read more.

Week Three of AFL-CIO's Labor 2022 Training Teaches Effective Campaigning Strategies

During the third week of the AFL-CIO's Labor 2022 training, we got ready to hit the doors!

Fifty-seven release staff, state federation and central labor council staff joined us last week to rebuild our door-knocking muscles for this crucial election year. We held workshops on script writing for both door-to-door and phone banking campaign events, as well as how to run a successful canvass. We finished out our week with a rerun of the code of conduct training.

This week is the launch of our one-on-one conversation training to further strengthen our skills to hold meaningful member-to-member conversations. The AFL-CIO is also planning our next round of training sessions for the month of September. Be sure to regularly check the calendar to find out what trainings are coming up and to register.

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