Lone Star Labor: A New Pro-Worker Scorecard for Lawmakers
Earlier this week, we released our updated Texas Pro-Worker Scorecard, ranking legislators based on their votes during the recent special legislative sessions.
Many of our longtime labor champions maintained a 100% Pro-Worker record at the Texas Capitol, but nearly all Texas Republicans dropped in rankings after voting for Trump’s redistricting scheme.
Our Pro-Worker Scorecard is a tool for you to evaluate your legislators as we head into the 2026 election season and gear up for official Texas AFL-CIO COPE endorsements. Your local Central Labor Body will lead the questionnaire and screening process, culminating in our COPE Convention in January 2026. This endorsement process is our opportunity to uplift candidates and elected officials who are labor champions and hold accountable those who have fallen short.
Our endorsement is not just a stamp of approval. It is the mobilization of people, resources, and solidarity that will make the difference in close races. By ensuring that labor champions win races and remain engaged with the labor movement, we ensure that the needs and experiences of working Texans inform and influence the priorities and actions of our elected officials.
Find out where your state elected representatives stand:
AS GOES TEXAS LABOR…
Austin: Texas Climate Jobs Project unveils report on decarbonizing Austin buildings — KVUE featuring IBEW Local 520 Business Manager Ben Brenneman and LIUNA SWLDC Assistant Business Manager Jeremy Hendricks
Corpus Christi: Proposed funding shift at Corpus Christi Army Depot sparks debate — KIII featuring IAM District Lodge 776 Business Representative Joe Alviar
Houston: Hilton Americas-Houston workers’ strike extended through mid-October as officials postpone events — Houston Public Media featuring UNITE HERE Local 23 Secretary-Treasurer Willy Gonzalez
Houston: Union workers at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center to take strike vote — Houston Public Media UNITE HERE Local 23 member Chelsea Wyatt and Secretary-Treasurer Willy Gonzalez
Port Arthur: Texas Building Trades Leader on $5B Chevron Project — America’s Work Force Union Podcast featuring Texas State Building & Construction Trades Council Executive Director Ryan Pollock
Statewide: Texas again ranks as one of the worst U.S. states for workers — San Antonio Current
Statewide: Texas Domestic Workers Face Trump Attack on Minimum Wage — Texas Observer
NEWS TO USE
Inside the largest gathering of unionized tradeswomen in the world, talk of tariffs — NPR
Trump administration rehires hundreds of federal employees laid off by DOGE — Associated Press
Spirit Airlines preparing to furlough one-third of its flight attendants — Reuters
TEXAS LABOR FAMILY NEWS
🏃 LABOR ON THE MOVE
Join IAFF Local 2922 (Big Spring) in celebrating brother Clyde Dent, who has successfully passed his National Registry Paramedic and is now a certified Paramedic.
Congratulations to IBEW Local 66 (Pasadena) brother Steve Hernandez, who topped out as journeyman lineman!
We were proud to see Texas represented so well at the Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference in Chicago this past weekend! UA Local 68 (Houston), UA Local 100 (Dallas) UA Local 286 (Austin), IUEC Local 31 (Houston), CWA Local 6182 (Austin), and members of the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Apprenticeship Advantage Team, and many more Texans showed up.
💐 IN MEMORY
Former USW International President Leo W. Gerard passed away at the age of 78. He was a ferocious fighter for the working class. He understood that the struggle for workers’ rights did not end at national borders. He worked to ensure that unions spoke with a united voice in the face of corporate power. Learn more about his legacy.
Pipe Fitters Local 211 mourns brother Dewey L. Jones, who passed away at the age of 91, and brother James E. Kersh Jr., who passed away at the age of 87.
Our hearts go out to their friends and family.
📜 THIS WEEK IN LABOR HISTORY…
On September 22, 2006, eleven Domino’s Pizza employees in Pensacola, Florida, formed the first union of pizza delivery drivers. Read reporting from that day.
SOLIDARITY CORNER: EVENTS & ACTIONS
🚨 TAKE ACTION
NEW Tell Greg Abbott: Hands Off Our Freedom of Speech! Greg Abbott is calling for the firing of educators for opinions shared on their personal social media accounts. Take 2 minutes to tell him you won’t stand for this authoritarianism! Send a letter HERE.
Contribute to the hardship fund for striking UNITE HERE Local 23 workers in Houston here. Workers are on strike for fair wages. Learn more and donate HERE.
Pledge not to cross the picket line if Starbucks baristas decide to go on strike. Stand with Starbucks Workers United until they win the contract they deserve. Learn more and take the pledge HERE.
Support IRC Workers Unite (OPEIU Local 277): Tell the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to prioritize their staff and clients and give workers more bargaining dates before Sept. 30! More information HERE.
Pledge to boycott T-Mobile and other products to support union members across the country. See the official AFL-CIO Boycott List HERE.
Donate to the AFGE Federal Employee Defense Fund to fund legal action and other strategies to defend American public employees.
📆 EVENTS THIS WEEK
ONGOING in Houston: Join the picket line with UNITE HERE Local 23
Join community members standing in solidarity with UNITE HERE Local 23 members on strike at Houston’s Hilton Americas hotel.
Saturday, Sep. 27 in Houston: GCALF Organizing Training: Leadership Development
Texas Gulf Coast Area Trade Federation invites you to a day-long organizer training opportunity that will sharpen your skills and strengthen our collective capacity. Details here.
Saturday, Sep. 27 in Austin: Community Block Walk to Protect Essential Services
Join this community block walk to protect essential services in Proposition Q. Details here.
Saturday, Sep. 27 in Farmers Branch: Starbucks Workers United Practice Picket
Join DFW baristas for a practice picket line. If Starbucks doesn’t address unfair labor practices and deliver a fair contract, this preparation will pay off when the real strike begins. Details here.
NEW LOCATION! Monday, Sept. 29 in Austin: Austin Labor Town Hall
Join Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy and Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Aguilar at the Austin Community College Eastview Campus. This is part of our Statewide Listening Tour to hear from Texas union members. RSVP here.
Tuesday, Sep. 30 virtually: AFL-CIO Training: Leadership and Labor History
Discuss moments in labor history and connect them to our current leadership opportunities Details here.
📆 PLAN AHEAD
Wednesday, Oct. 8 in Leander: 22nd Annual Texas AFL-CIO • Walter Umphrey Golf Tournament
Support the Texas AFL-CIO Membership Education Fund and the Texas AFL-CIO Scholarship Fund at this Four-Person scramble at the Crystal Falls Golf Course. Details & registration here.
Wednesday, Oct. 15 virtually: Texas-Sized Union Phone Bank: Pass Prop 50 in California
Fight back against the Trump takeover! Join us on Zoom as we gather with our California union siblings to phone bank for ask them to help pass Prop 50! Details & registration here.
January 24-25, 2026 in Georgetown: Texas AFL-CIO 2026 COPE Convention
Save the date for our 2026 COPE Convention. More details coming soon!
📝 APPLICATIONS & PROGRAMS
2026 Ruth Ellinger Leadership Academy
This one-year training program is a skill-building and leadership development course managed by the Texas AFL-CIO to help grow and support the next generation of union leaders in Texas. Applications are due by Monday, Nov. 3. Apply here.
📸 PHOTO OF THE WEEK
On Wednesday, UAW Region 8 members volunteered at the San Antonio Food Bank, where they processed 45,014 pounds of food that will provide 40,499 meals for individuals and families in the region!
Photo courtesy UAW Region 8
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