MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Nearly 2,000 individuals, including delegates, union local members and leaders, gathered from June 7 through 10 for the 30th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Hosted every four years, this year’s theme focused on “With You, It’s Better in a Union.” Of those in attendance included Missouri AFL-CIO President Jacob “Jake” Hummel and Kansas AFL-CIO Executive Vice President, John Nave.
“It was a great conference,” Hummel said in an interview. “It set the direction of the labor movement for the next four years; it was powerful to hear from [labor leaders] from all over the country. I enjoyed seeing where the labor movement is headed in the next couple of years.”
“It’s a rally call; we’ve got to start putting people in place, getting people involved in the political side in running for office,” Nave said in an interview. “The best thing for me was seeing the enthusiasm and the fellowship, the conversations about what’s going on in your area, what’s going on in Kansas; sharing thoughts and ideas about what each state is doing. For me, that was a good take away; the speakers talking about messaging — that’s important.”
A Unified Future
While in 2022 — held in Philadelphia, Penn. — the Constitutional Convention’s theme focused on “meeting the moment” Hummel shared how the conference’s emphasis, and the labor movement as a whole, has shifted over the last four years.
“The AFL-CIO looks at what is the movement that’s defining unions across the country; the thing that’s most powerful [right now] is that the cost of living is unaffordable for so many people and so many people are struggling,” he said in an interview. “The labor movement is the path for people to fight back to raise working conditions and [the AFL-CIO] nailed that.”
“The labor movement is now so much more diverse; it looks different than what it looked like four years ago,” Hummel said in an interview. “Every worker has a seat at the table; they did a really good job of highlighting how struggling industries change overnight.”
In addition to hearing from a myriad of labor leaders, a focal element of this pearl conference included the AFL-CIO’s introduction of 20 resolutions — including one through 10, 12, 17, 18, 23, 25, 26, 28, 32, 33 and 41 — each with its own title and mission for the labor movement, from standing united to protecting working people and wages in a digital age.
Of resolutions adopted, Nave shared the one, which had the most impact on him included Resolution 4: “We Refuse to be Divided” as he believes standing together remains pivotal.
“The most important for me is that we stand together for all people; we fight for those who cannot fight for themselves,” he said in an interview.
However, an element of the resolution proposition and adoption, which Hummel shared proved challenging, included working to carry these resolutions in an election year cycle.
“To pass resolutions in an election year is extremely difficult,” Hummel said in an interview. “It was a lot of work to get prepped [for the conference]; it took thousands [of people] to do this.”
And although the constitutional convention is traditionally held quadrennially, Hummel shared that the elected AFL-CIO delegates voted to hold the next conference in 2031 rather than in 2030 to prevent it from occurring in another national election year — and to allocate more time toward labor outreach programming.
Takeaways
Throughout the week, among the resolutions and conversations had with various locals across the country Nave and Hummel shared that the aspect, which remained uniformly paramount, was the overall conclusion and mission for the labor movement and union members, alike.
“The message is about solidarity, coming together; solidarity is key,” Nave said. “Stand firm, stand together; we don’t give up, we fight back.”
“There is a network of bad labor legislation pushed in every state,” Hummel said in an interview. “We need to organize folks pursuing in every state; we need to have an approach — get together with colleagues to see what tactics work well and learn from that.”
Though for Nave, he shared it is not only about unification heading into this election season, but it is also the conversations and informative education in union halls that should remain at the forefront.
“Whether you’re republican, democrat or independent, it’s the messaging that can most impact you. If you don’t have good messaging, people are going to stay home. We have to have our messaging as members, regardless of party,” Nave said in an interview. “For me, it’s always been about union issues; our core issues about quality of life, civil rights, human rights, if we stick to some of those six or seven core issues that we educate ourselves on, that’s what I think and captivate our members to vote so the right person on election time, so hopefully the right message will resonate.”
Julia Williams — a Kansas City native — is a reporter and digital producer for The Labor Beacon. A University of Missouri School of Journalism alumna, she previously served as the editor-in-chief of The Northeast News before joining The Labor Beacon staff.
Williams’s grandfather was a Claycomo Ford Motor Company retiree and avid UAW Local 249 supporter, allowing her to understand the union difference from a young age.
In her free time, Williams enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to see her friends and hanging out at home with her cat, Greta. She loves a good cup of coffee, seeing local, live music and shopping secondhand. With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to bring her knowledge of journalistic integrity to the Kansas City union community — giving union and labor workers a voice, while holding people in powerful positions accountable.
