Texas AFL-CIO Statement on Announcement by Speaker Straus

  Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy issued the following statement on behalf of the state labor federation in response to House Speaker Joe Straus’s announcement that he will not seek reelection:

  “The hundreds of thousands of working families who make up the Texas AFL-CIO wish Speaker Straus and his family the best as he returns to private life.”

  “While we did not always see eye to eye with the Speaker on the issues, we always appreciated his willingness to listen and consider how legislative proposals would affect our members’ lives. In particular, we salute the Speaker’s political courage in standing up repeatedly to voices of bigotry and hate in our state’s politics.”

  “From opposing private school vouchers to protecting the rights of working Texans to spend their hard-earned paychecks as they choose, Texas working families often had an ally in Speaker Straus.”

  “We respect that the next Speaker of the House will be chosen by the 150 members of that chamber. However that election comes out, the Texas AFL-CIO remains committed to working closely with any Speaker who puts our state’s public education, jobs, retirement security, college affordability and the rights and dignity of all Texans ahead of cynical extremist politics that serve to divide us and weaken our democracy.”

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