Texas AFL-CIO Announces Recent Hires
Aug. 28, 2024
News Release
Contacts: Rick Levy,
Leonard Aguilar, or Ed Sills,
(512) 477-6195; Sills cell: (512) 695-1148
Milne email: katie@texasaflcio.org
Jones email: amber@texasaflcio.org
Estrada email: patricia@texasaflcio.org
Texas AFL-CIO Announces Recent Hires
The Texas AFL-CIO is excited to announce the recent hiring of Katie Milne as Digital Strategist, Amber Jones as Politics & Policy Associate, and Patricia Estrada as Field Organizer in the Rio Grande Valley.
Milne received her Master’s degree in May from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at UT Austin. She will oversee social media and engage in other aspects of communications at the state labor federation. She previously worked as a Texas AFL-CIO intern during her final semester at the LBJ School, and before that, worked for former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich as Digital Strategist & Head Writer, scripting more than 50 of Reich’s highly regarded videos covering labor and economic issues.
Jones, also a former Texas AFL-CIO intern, is a Licensed Master Social Worker whose experience at the state labor federation has included work during several legislative sessions. After serving as an intern, she earned her LMSW degree at the University of Texas, and also worked in the congressional office of Congressman Greg Casar.
Estrada, a native of the Rio Grande Valley who will be headquartered in the region, worked most recently for the Texas American Federation of Teachers. Before that she was a political campaign organizer and helped organize DREAM Act recipients as they sought permanent status in the U.S.
“We are so excited to welcome these outstanding women to the Texas AFL-CIO staff,” Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy said.
“In a few short months, Katie Milne has distinguished herself as an outstanding communicator with strong knowledge of the labor movement,” Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy said. “Amber Jones has already demonstrated her commitment to the ideals of the labor movement and has impressed us all with how she has continued to throw herself into this work, even as she has invested in her own career by obtaining an advanced degree. And Patricia Estrada is off to a great start in a completely new position that aims to build more connections between the labor movement and working families in the Rio Grande Valley, who are an important component in the future of our state.”
“The Texas AFL-CIO officers and staff are proud to add these powerful women to our staff, and look forward to working with them as they help build a labor movement that improves livelihoods and changes Texas.”
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to tell the stories of Texas workers and uplift the incredible work our 240,000 members do every day,” Milne said. “It’s never been more important to make sure the public knows that unions fight for economic and racial justice in the workplace, our statehouse, and our democracy.”
“I feel very excited to bring my expertise as a newly minted social worker to the Texas AFL-CIO,” Jones said. “There is a constant need to strive for social justice – and this certainly includes justice in the workplace as well as economic justice as a whole.”
Estrada said, “I truly believe that in the Rio Grande Valley, we have the most hard-working people in the state and our country, and it is time to provide these workers with the dignity, respect, and the voice they deserve so that they can have a better quality of life for themselves and their families.”
The Texas AFL-CIO is the state labor federation consisting of 240,000 affiliated union members who advocate for working people in Texas.
Opeiu277/afl-cio