Training & Leadership Development
The Training and Leadership Development department drives the Texas AFL-CIO’s commitment to growing a labor movement AS BIG AS TEXAS!
Ruth Ellinger Leadership Academy
The Ruth Ellinger Leadership Academy empowers the next generation of union leaders to build a stronger, more inclusive labor movement across Texas.
This one-year program is a comprehensive skill-building and leadership development course managed by the Texas AFL-CIO, in partnership with affiliate unions, local unions, and Central Labor Bodies. Participants attend four weekend-long sessions throughout the year, diving into organizing fundamentals, shifting power, and intersectionality in the labor movement.
So far, the program has graduated more than 250 union leaders from across the state. View our 2025 Ruth Ellinger Leadership Academy Graduates here.
The 2027 Ruth Ellinger Leadership Academy application process will begin in the Fall of 2026.
Contact: Lorraine Montemayor | lorraine@texasaflcio.org
AFL-CIO Organizing Institute
The AFL-CIO Organizing Institute (OI) and the Texas AFL-CIO are excited to announce our upcoming OI 3-Day Training! It will take place March 11-13, 2026 in Austin, TX.
This training is open to ALL national & local AFL-CIO affiliated unions with staff or members. Register your members & staff organizers to attend this organizing training to gain valuable tools for your current & next union organizing campaign! We also encourage you to ID and register member activists who identify as women and activists of color.
WHAT ORGANIZERS WILL LEARN:
Day 1 - How to have the Right 1-on-1 Organizing Conversation;
Day 2 - Recruiting and Developing Key Workplace Leaders;
Day 3 - How to Run Issue Campaigns to Build Momentum!
SAVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!
We encourage you to register your participants as early as possible, as we anticipate the training will reach capacity quickly.
HOW TO REGISTER:
Register your organizing teams at https://portal5.aflcio.org/ords/f?p=155.
Union members and staff organizers cannot sponsor themselves (they must be approved from their local union officer or direct supervisor). Once participants are registered and approved, they will receive a training packet before the training. Registration is not complete until the participant registers through the link provided in the email and payment is received.
COST TO SPONSOR A PARTICIPANT:
The Training Fee and Materials are $250.00 per participant and must be paid before registration is complete. All travel and lodging expenses are paid by the sponsoring union. Participants must be approved by their local union elected officer or from a direct supervisor.
CRITERIA TO ATTEND:
For unions sending 3 or more participants, we request a Teaching Fellow from the local or national union. Participants must also be able to attend the entire training to be accepted, to receive an OI Certificate of Completion and for the sponsoring union to receive an evaluation after the training is completed.
QUESTIONS ABOUT OI TRAINING?
Contact OI Senior Trainer Tiffany Millsap at Tmillsap@aflcio.org and/or email organizers@aflcio.org