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Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: Professional and Technical Engineers

AFL-CIO

Next up in our series that takes a deeper look at each of our affiliates is the Professional and Technical Engineers.

Name of Union: International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers

Mission: Committed to achieving a real voice in the workplace for professional and technical workers through organizing, thereby increasing union density among professionals and building our collective strength. Using the legislative process, we strive to raise the standards by which professional and technical employees live and work by joining together in solidarity.

Current Leadership of Union: Paul Shearon serves as international president of IFPTE. After a distinguished career with the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001), he was elected to serve as the international’s secretary-treasurer, a position he held from 2006–2015. In 2018, he was unanimously elected as international president.

IFPTE’s executive council is composed of the international president, secretary-treasurer and...

New Collective Bargaining Law Paves the Way to Worker Justice at Delaware DMV

Delaware AFL-CIO

After Delaware Gov. John Carney signed a bill to expand collective bargaining rights for public employees in June, workers have begun organizing at state agencies. Employees of the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles voted last week to join Laborers (LIUNA) Local 1029, establishing a union there for the first time.  

Gurvis Miner, business manager for Local 1029, said the organizing win was hard earned and well worth it.  

“Employees at the DMV now have a voice on the job, and I commend the state Legislature and Gov. Carney for changing the law to expand our rights and making this all possible,” he said. 

The new bargaining unit includes 340 workers at the DMV.  

SB 8, the bill that provided these employees their new collective bargaining rights, was made possible through the diligent advocacy efforts of the Delaware State AFL-CIO and others. The law expanded collective bargaining rights for about 2,000 workers across the state. 

“We congratulate LIUNA Local 1029 and all of the DMV workers, and we...

‘State of the Unions’ Podcast: UNITE HERE President D. Taylor

AFL-CIO

On the latest episode of “State of the Unions,” Julie and Tim talk to UNITE HERE President D. Taylor about the activism of airline catering workers and the current moment for union organizing.

Listen to our previous episodes:

Highlights of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka's town halls in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit, where he discussed NAFTA and trade. 
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler talks about pushing the labor movement to be bold, take risks and not be afraid of failure.
Pride at Work Executive Director Jerame Davis discusses the progress made by LGBTQ working people over the past quarter-century and the work still left to be done. 
Union organizer Andy Levin goes to Washington to make a difference for working people. 
Talking to National Nurses United (NNU) Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN, about the growing movement of registered nurses organizing for better jobs, a more just society and health care as a fundamental human right. 
Discussing why the new NAFTA is not good enough with former...

Fighting for Fair Treatment Amid Record Profits: Tenae Stover's Story

AFL-CIO

My name is Tenae Stover. I am a native Washingtonian, and I have been working at Reagan National Airport for LSG Sky Chefs for the past three years. I’m a leader with my union UNITE HERE in our national fight for respect and dignity and for one job to be enough to live for airline catering workers across the United States.

Our jobs are hard, and we deserve more than Sky Chefs and American Airlines want to give us. We have been in negotiations since October of 2018, but Sky Chefs continues to reject our asks—a national $15 wage floor and affordable health care. Workers at more than 30 airports around the country, including National, took votes over the past month to authorize a strike when we are released by the government. At National, the vote passed by 100%. 

Sky Chefs is our employer, but it is a subcontractor of the airlines, merely the middleman. American Airlines ultimately has the power and influence over our wages and benefits. It’s the one who determines what food we prepare, how we prepare it and how much its willing to pay for...