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Liz Shuler has a tough job. It’s not just tough to do. It’s tough even to define. As the president of the AFL-CIO, a 70-year-old federation of 63 national and international unions representing more than 15 million workers, she is the leader of the American labor movement. But labor is not a monolith. She represents NFL players, government workers, Hollywood writers, hotel janitors. Shuler, who became the first woman to run the AFL-CIO when she was elected in 2021, doesnt negotiate pay rates or mediate disputes between workers and management. Her mandate is much broader: Grow the ranks of unionized workers across industries, lobby policymakers to pass pro-worker guidelines and remove barriers to unionizing, make the labor movement more inclusive to all people, and stand up to powerful anti-union forces at the highest levels of business and government. Shes been busy lately. On January 20, one of the most labor-friendly presidents in U.S. history moved out of the Oval Office and one of the most anti-labor presidents moved back in. Two months later, Trump signed an executive order (EO) that amounted to the bombing of Pearl Harbor against the labor movement, in the words of the labor activist and author Hamilton Nolan. Under the guise of national security, the EO stripped the collective bargaining rights of workers at more than 30 federal agencies. Shuler does not think Nolan was being hyperbolic. Even before Trumps return to power, Shuler and the movement faced an uphill battle. While support in the U.S. for organized labor has never been higher, especially among young people, the percentage of the workforce that actually belongs to a union has been stuck at 10% for years. Shuler has taken some heat for not doing more to grow that number. Nolan, for one, mocked her 2022 announcement that the federation would add at least 1 million members over the next decade as an almost comically unambitious goal, likening it to Austin Powerss pinky-fingered ransom demand for 1 million dollars! Shuler discussed these criticisms, and much more, in a wide-ranging conversation in early April at the AFL-CIOs offices in Washington, D.C., less than two blocks from the White House. This interview has been edited and condensed. Joe Biden did a lot of things to help workers who were already unionized. Still, only about one in 10 Americans holds a union card today, and those numbers didnt move much during his presidency. Why didnt labor make more gains under Biden?I dont think people understand how broken the labor laws are. When [workers] try to form a union, they are universally harassed, discriminated against, and usually fired. That has quite a chilling effect on people. Its very risky for people to stand up for their rights. When you try to form a union, you have to go through a process that then is recognized by the National Labor Relations Board. You have a vote. Usually, if the process goes well, without union busting by the company, it takes a period of time and it takes stamina. [But] in most union elections now, the companies fight you tooth and nail. Ill take Amazon as one example. We had warehouse workers who came together, wanting better conditions. They wanted to form a union, but they were surveilled. They were followed into the bathrooms to make sure they werent talking to each other. They were monitored at traffic lights leaving the facility if a union organizer was trying to talk to them on their way out of work. It was a big intimidation campaign. You can imagine how exhausting that is, how scary that is. And that happens at workplace after workplace throughout this country. It takes an act of heroism to form a union these days. How much of your job do you see as growing the total number of unionized workers versus taking care of the people that are already in your membership? Theres a notion of balance, right? We have the base membership, the industries that have long been part of our movement, which we want to preserve and maintain and continue to grow. But we also have these emerging industries that are largely not unionized. We have our eye on the future. We know technology is affecting work. The needs of the workplace are going to be different, and youre going to have a different demographic in the workforce. We think that the labor movement can be the place to help people figure out whats next. Perhaps youre afraid that youre going to be replaced by artificial intelligence. The labor movement is there to help you not only fight for respect and dignity and a voice but also to plan for whatever transition might come next. We have been the largest provider of training and upskilling, second only to the U.S. military, throughout history. If you add up all the capacity of the labor movement, were like the third-largest university system in the country. The majority of union members backed Kamala Harris in 2024. But blue-collar America is shifting significantly toward Trump. Do you know the number of Trump supporters in your membership? We definitely have membership across the political spectrum. In the last election, union members voted nearly plus-20 for Kamala Harris, as an overall number. Now, within the labor movement, there are unions [across] different industries, and we had our share of membership who voted for Trump. But I would say that our message was an economic message. When we were able to really appeal to our members based on the things they cared about, their ears opened and they heard us and they listened. The problem is we werent reaching enough working people writ large, outside the membership of the unions. If the labor movement was larger, if we had a bigger footprint and were able to talk to more working people, the result [of the presidential election] might have been different. In late March, Trump signed an executive order that effectively stripped the union rights of 700,000 federal workers across 30 agencies. [The EO prompted legal challenges, including from the AFL-CIO, and has been blocked by federal courts as the suits proceed.] What was your personal reaction to this news? It was an absolute gut punch. I think we all knew that attacks would be coming, but the speed and the scale of it was absolutely stunning. When I got the news, it was around 8 oclock at night on that Thursday. The president of AFGE [the American Federation of Government Employees] called me, saying, The ultimate attack has just happened. We went into rapid response mode that very night until the wee hours, standing up calls with our leaders and our lawyers and trying to make sense of what was in the EO and what the impact would be. The next day [we held an] emergency call with all of our union leaders to say, An attack on one is an attack against all. We did a press conference on Capitol Hill. We filed lawsuits. Weve been standing up actions in the streets. Were utilizing all the tools in the toolbox because this is the largest attack against the labor movement in our history. Liz Shuler outside the AFL-CIO offices in Washington, D.C. [Photo: Kyna Uwaeme] A lot of people point back to the air traffic controller strike [when thenPresident Ronald Reagan fired many of its 12,000 members and then decertified the union]. This dwarfs that. It affects everybody. Its not just, Oh, you work for the federal government, too bad for you. No. This will ripple out across the public sector, across the private sector. Were not going to be, you know, revealing our playbook in public [laughs]. Thats probably not wise. But we are working strategically to continue to escalate and ramp up our actions. If you know anything about unions, you know that we go on strike. That is our most powerful tool. We do not deploy it at the drop of a hat, and we dont start there. We work up to it. Theres a lot of Elon Musk on your website. This suggests that you see him as a valuable bogeyman. Do you think that hes generating more energy among your membership than there would have been if it was Trump only who kind of represented a lot of these moves? Absolutely, because nobody elected Elon Musk. He is an unelected billionaire wreaking havoc on our federal government. And this DOGE [she pronounces the name in an elongated and disdainful way]you know, the Department of Government Efficiency. [Laughs.] I like the way you say that. Theres a lot of other ways of pronouncing it [laughs]. We have said that no one disagrees that we can find efficiencies in government, but the way theyre going about it is absolutely irresponsible. It is a fake department that got stood up and has been given free rein to basically go in and cut government services that people rely on, and steal our data, with absolutely no guardrails. And we said, Wait a second. If you can stand up your fake department, were going to stand up our own department, the Department of People Who Work for a Living. Weve been using that platform, DPWL, as a place to really interpret and decode what is going on, because most people are working 12-hour days and two and three jobs and arent necessarily sure how this affects them. When you look out at the legal playing field, what do you see? How confident are you that the courts will have your back? I mean, we still are a country of laws. Common sense dictates we cannot have a lawless society and let this administration just run roughshod over the rule of law. So we still have trust and faith in the legal system, and we do believe the law will catch up to these illegal actions. Weve had some early successes, thank goodness. We filed a lawsuit the day after those probationary workers were fired. Twenty-five thousand [workers] got their rights restored. That was a big victory. Well celebrate that. We also filed a lawsuit when DOGE came after the Department of Labor and tried to access private worker data. These are whistleblowers who have taken risks. These are people who have filed workplace complaints when you have a safety hazard. Its a very vulnerable place to be. So we sued and said, No, we need guardrails. We need to know what youre asking for and have more transparency. We won that lawsuit. Gwynne Wilcox, the chair of the National Labor Relations Board, who is the ultimate traffic cop when it comes to workers who want to form a union and their company fires themwe were able to get Gwynne restored [after the Trump administration fired her]. Now thats been under appeal, of course, and theres some uncertainty there. [As of press time, all three of these cases remain ongoing.] Lets talk about the tech industry, labor, and AI. Theres been a smattering of organizing at some big tech companies, but really, not much. Why do you think the labor movement hasnt gotten more traction there? I still think theres a stereotype of what a union is and who a union represents, and were working really hard to demystify that. Unions are about the workers themselves deciding what their union looks like and what they prioritize. So if you think a union is just for someone who works in a steel mill, think again. We know that some of the developers that weve talked to, especially in the video game industry, work insane hours with little breaks. These are like the modern-day sweatshop in some ways. I think people inherently fear speaking out, especially in an industry where they know there are people lined up behind them to take their job. I think its on us, frankly, to continue to modernize how people see unions and [understand] what we are capable of, particularly in industries that work differently and are evolving and changing and innovating. A year ago or so, you were pretty focused on AI and how it would disrupt labor. A lot of things have changed, namely the administration that weve been talking about. [Laughs.] Exactly. Where is your head on this now? How much time are you able to spend on this question of how AI might replace human labor? AI and technology is the new frontier for the labor movement. AI absolutely is something that we think about every day we wake up. We established our technology institute within the AFL-CIO a few years back because we saw what was on the horizon. We saw things like algorithmic management [of workers], worker privacy, and data security, not to mention just how work is done. When you check into a hotel and you see those kiosks [for checking in] and you look at the desk agents, you can see whats on the horizon. We need to be responsive and bring workers voices and perspectives upstream in the process, not wait until a job is displaced or its too late. We know were not going to stop technology from changing the way we do work. We just think that it shouldnt dehumanize us, it shouldnt make us poor, and we should share in the benefits of all these productivity gains that were going to see in the future. Im a little skeptical that the tech industry is going to really give you a seat at the table. The financial incentives that companies have to lower their overhead and reduce their workforce are just too great. But you struck a deal with Microsoft in 2023 to do just that: give workers a seat at the table as AI evolves. What are your expectations for that partnership? You think you were skeptical! [Laughs.] I absolutely never wouldve dreamed that Id be standing on a stage with [Microsoft vice chair and president] Brad Smith announcing that partnership in 2023. We have a partnership on AI specifically, where we meet with labor leaders twice a year. [Microsoft workers provide the AFL-CIO with feedback on new technologies being developed in the companys labs.] In between those meetings, were working at a staff level to actually get workers who are on the front lines of the healthcare industry, for example, to help inform what tech can or should look like in a hospital. In the transportation industry, bus drivers who are using automated buses[were ensuring that] their voices are being heard and that their expertise is actually being tapped into to make it a responsible use, an informed use that doesnt just land haphazard in a workplace without it being thought through [to assess] how it can best benefit working people. During your time as head of the AFL-CIO, and even before you became president, you prioritized diversifying unions. What do you see as the benefits of a diverse workforce, specifically from an organized labor perspective. How do you react to and contend with the DEI backlash that weve seen in recent years, not just since Trump was elected? In the labor movement, we believe that diversifying our workforce is a strength and we need the perspectives and contributions of all working people to make us strong. Little-known fact: The labor movement is the largest organization of working women in the country. And a lot of people dont see us that way. But weve been fighting for pay equity since our inception. And the best way to get an equal paycheck if youre a woman is to join a union. But now I think its our responsibility to continue to fight back and protect the gains that weve made. It is alarming to see whats happening with these companies who are folding and just canceling their DEI policies without batting an eyelash. Were going to continue to work with allies and partners in the civil and human rights space, allies who are saying, Lets do a buy-in or as I call it, a buy-cott, where were actually giving business to companies that are respecting policies and standing by them so we can leverage our consumer behavior and come together and have a stronger voice. Your first term is up in about a year [June 2026]. What is most important for you to accomplish before that term is up? I think were in a unified moment. The best organizer is a bad boss, and thats the moment were in with this administration. It has brought such solidarity to our movement. We are coming together, supporting each other, fighting together, strategizing together more than ever before. There are very few institutions in this country left standing that can mobilize real working people in every city, in every state, in every workplace, in every industry. And thats the labor movement. My hope is that next year will be an all-of-movement moment, where we are fighting back in unison and deploying strategies that ultimately prevail, and we win for workers. And [that] the country sees us and wakes up, and says, You know what? Their fight is our fight. Oh, and I will be running for reelection in 2026, just to be clear [laughs].
Category:
E-Commerce
When it comes to energy policy, the One Big Beautiful Bill Actthe official name of a massive federal tax-cut and spending bill that House Republicans passed in May 2025risks raising Americans energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The 1,100-page bill would slash incentives for green technologies such as solar, wind, batteries, electric cars, and heat pumps while subsidizing existing nuclear power plants and biofuels. That would leave the country and its people burning more fossil fuels despite strong popular and scientific support for a rapid shift to renewable energy. The bill may still be revised by the Senate before it moves to a final vote. But it is a picture of how President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans want to reshape U.S. energy policy. As an environmental engineering professor who studies ways to confront climate change, I think it is important to distinguish which technologies could rapidly cut emissions or are on the verge of becoming viable from those that do little to fight climate change. Unfortunately, the House bill favors the latter while nixing support for the former. Renewable energy Wind and solar power, often paired with batteries, are providing more than 90% of the new electricity currently being added to the grid nationally and around the world. Geothermal power is undergoing technological breakthroughs. With natural gas turbines in short supply and long lead times to build other resources, renewables and batteries offer the fastest way to satisfy growing demand for power. However, the House bill rescinds billions of dollars that the Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in 2022, devoted to boosting domestic manufacturing and deployments of renewable energy and batteries. It would terminate tax credits for manufacturing for the wind industry in 2028 and for solar and batteries in 2032. That would disrupt the boom in domestic manufacturing projects that was being stimulated by the Inflation Reduction Act. Deployments would be hit even harder. Wind, solar, geothermal, and battery projects would need to commence construction within 60 days of passage of the bill to receive tax credits. In addition, the bill would deny tax credits to projects that use Chinese-made components. Financial analysts have called those provisions unworkable, since some Chinese materials may be necessary even for projects built with as much domestic content as possible. Analysts warn that the House bill would cut new wind, solar, and battery installations by 20% compared with the growth that had been expected without the bill. Thats why BloombergNEF, an energy research firm, called the bill a nightmare scenario for clean energy proponents. However, one persons nightmare may be another mans dream. Were constraining the hell out of wind and solar, which is good, said Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican backed by the oil and gas industry. Efficiency and electric cars Cuts fall even harder on Americans who are trying to reduce their carbon footprints and energy costs. The bill repeals aid for home efficiency improvements such as heat pumps, efficient windows, and energy audits. Homeowners would also lose tax credits for installing solar panels and batteries. For vehicles, the bill would not only repeal tax credits for electric cars, trucks, and chargers, but it also would impose a federal $250 annual fee on vehicles, on top of fees that some states charge electric-car owners. The federal fee is more than the gas taxes paid by other drivers to fund highways and ignores air-quality and climate effects. Combined, the lost credits and increased fees could cut projected U.S. sales of electric vehicles by 40% in 2030, according to modeling by Jesse Jenkins of Princeton University. Nuclear power Meanwhile, the bill partially retains a tax credit for electricity from existing nuclear power plants. Those plants may not need the help: Electricity demand is surging, and companies like Meta are signing long-term deals for nuclear energy to power data centers. Nuclear plants are also paid to manage their radioactive waste, since the country lacks a permanent place to store it. For new nuclear plants, the bill would move up the deadline to 2028 to begin construction. That deadline is too soon for some new reactor designs and would rush the vetting of others. Nuclear safety regulators are awaiting a study from the National Academies on the weapons proliferation risks of the type of uranium fuel that some developers hope to use in newer designs. Biofuels While cutting funding for electric vehicles, the bill would spend $45 billion to extend tax credits for biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Food-based biofuels do little good for the climate because growing, harvesting, and processing crops requires fertilizers, pesticides, and fuel. The bill would allow forests to be cut to make room for crops because it directs agencies to ignore the impacts of biofuels on land use. Hydrogen The bill would end tax credits for hydrogen production. Without that support, companies will be unlikely to invest in the seven so-called hydrogen hubs that were allocated a combined $8 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021. Those hubs aim to attract $40 billion in private investments and create tens of thousands of jobs while developing cleaner ways to make hydrogen. The repealed tax credits would have subsidized hydrogen made emissions-free by using renewable or nuclear electricity to split water molecules. They also would have subsidized hydrogen made from natural gas with carbon capture, whose benefits are impaired by methane emissions from natural gas systems and incomplete carbon capture. However its made, hydrogen is no panacea. As the worlds smallest molecule, hydrogen is prone to leaking, which can pose safety challenges and indirectly warm the climate. And while hydrogen is essential for making fertilizers and potentially useful for making steel or aviation fuels, vehicles and heating are more efficiently powered by electricity than by hydrogen. Still, European governments and China are investing heavily in hydrogen production. Summing it up The conservative Tax Foundation estimates that the House bill would cut the Inflation Reduction Acts clean energy tax credits by about half, saving the government $50 billion a year. But with fewer efficiency improvements, fewer electric vehicles, and less clean power on the grid, Princetons Jenkins projects American households would pay up to $415 more per year for energy by 2035 than if the bills provisions were not enacted. If the bills provisions make it into law, the extra fossil fuel burning would leave annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 1 billion tons higher by then. No one expected former President Joe Bidens Inflation Reduction Act to escape unscathed with Republicans in the White House and dominating both houses of Congress. Still, the proposed cuts target the technologies Americans count on to protect the climate and save consumers money. Daniel Cohan is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
When our son was 2 years old, our twins were born. That meant that for a while, we had three kids under 3 years old (and then three kids under 4, and then three under 5). At the time, I was also working at a high-stress job as a Justice Department attorney, with not enough support at home or at work. Perhaps I began to get depressed, but it would be more accurate to say I was moving too fast even to know how I felt. Mostly, I was like a hamster on a wheel: sprinting as fast as I could just to stay in place. My days blurred together in an endless loop of emails, laundry, preschool drop-offs, spit-up, 2 a.m. feedings, and briefing political appointees. I knew something had to change, but the entire concept of self-care seemed completely inaccessible. A spin class? A pedicure? Even a massage? You might as well have told me to hike to the moon. Fortunately, I hit upon a quick, free, low-effort practice that helped me begin to find my way back to myself: I started to count my wins. Every night before I went to sleep, I would list three things I did well that day. They werent huge accomplishments, I promise. Sometimes, they were things like, I got Henry to eat a green bean today. But over time, something pretty incredible started to happen. Instead of feeling like a hamster on a wheel, running so fast and getting nowhere, I began to notice that I was actually getting somewhere. That email I spent two weeks on actually did go out, and it was pretty good if I do say so myself. I remembered to call my friend on her birthday. I made the vacation rental reservation. My life wasnt just an endless to-do list. There were lots and lots of things I was accomplishing all the time. The power of small wins Heres what I know: we are excellent at identifying what we havent done. I bet you could list 10 unfinished tasks right now off the top of your head. But what about something you accomplished this week? Can you name even one? Our constant cataloguing of tasks and reminders of where weve fallen short starts to chip away at us. Merely thinking about our to-do lists creates anticipatory stress and fatigue, depleting our energy and creating overwhelm. When I forced myself to list the things I had accomplished, I was able to shift my focus away from all the things I was failing to achieve, and instead to notice all that I was. How to Start Counting Your Wins Make it a habit. Each night before bed, Id name three things I did well that day. Its helpful to connect it to something that youre already doing, so you might try it on your commute, or while brushing your teeth. Daily is ideal, but weekly works, too. Be specific. I was a good manager is fine. I supported Alex through a tough client call is better. Specificity helps your brain register and remember the success. Define your own wins. Wins dont have to be big. They just have to matter to you. A win could be leading a meeting well or setting a boundary with a relative or remembering to bring your lunch. You get to define what counts. Check in with yourself. Set a calendar notice for three weeks after youve started counting your wins to ask yourself if youre seeing any difference in your patience or energy level. Are you a little easier on yourself? Are you finding it easier to identify wins? That reflection can motivate you to keep up the practice. Its so easy to lose sight of our progress. Counting your wins is a simple but powerful tool to reclaim that perspective. It doesnt require a lot of time or a major life overhaul, just a brief pause to recognize all that you are accomplishing. That moment of reflection can help you sustain momentum, rebuild resilience, and reconnect with a sense of purpose. In a world that often measures us by whats next, this practice reminds us: what youve already done counts, too.
Category:
E-Commerce
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