Solidarity in Minneapolis - ATU Attends 30th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention
For four days in June, Minneapolis became the center of the labor movement. The 30th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention brought together hundreds of union leaders from across the country and around the world, and the ATU showed up in force, ready to fight for the 200,000 transit workers we represent.
A Global Movement Sets the Tone
The week began before the gavel even dropped. International President John Costa joined ATU Canada President John Di Nino and labor leaders from around the world at the Global Pre-Conference Symposium, where the agenda centered on organizing strategy, good jobs, and defending worker rights worldwide. The message set the tone for everything that followed.
“Workers in the United States and Canada are facing the same threats from the same forces,” said Costa. “We’re here in Minneapolis because the only answer to a global attack on workers is a global labor movement that together fights back.”
Day One: ATU Takes the Floor
Day one brought Costa to the convention floor, where he was re-elected as an AFL-CIO Vice President alongside newly re-elected AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond. ATU’s elected delegates and alternates stood with him, representing Locals from across the country.
“Working people are under attack, and we’ll continue to fight like hell alongside them,” Costa said. “When our 200,000 ATU members show up with millions of other union siblings, that’s a powerful message to anyone who thinks they can come for our rights and our livelihoods. We won’t back down.”
Day Two: Organizing, Power, and Solidarity
Day two kept the momentum building. Costa took the stage to deliver the credentials report to delegates representing unions from across the country, and sessions throughout the day dug into two of labor’s most pressing priorities, organizing to win and building worker power. Real workers told real stories about what’s at stake.
That evening, the mood shifted from strategy to celebration, as hundreds of union members packed U.S. Bank Stadium for a Celebration of Solidarity that showed exactly what this movement looks like when we come together.
Day Three: Fighting for Safe Workplaces
Day three hit closest to home for the ATU. Local 241-Chicago, IL, President/Business Agent Keith Hill, representing members from the Chicago Transit Authority, one of the three largest transit systems in the country, sat on a panel addressing workplace violence, a crisis ATU members confront on the job every day. Hill pointed to a real win with a new Illinois law, effective June 1, that requires protective barriers on buses and mandates the use of transit ambassadors, a direct result of the ATU’s advocacy.
That fight moved straight to the convention floor, where Costa spoke in support of Resolution 8, “We Want Healthy Lives and Safe Workplaces,” with the full ATU delegation standing behind him.
“Transit workers are assaulted on the job every single day,” Costa declared. “We have lost our members to senseless acts of violence, and we’ve had enough. The entire labor movement must stand together and demand that every worker has the right to come home safe after a day’s work. Not one more!”
Resolution 8 passed. It’s a win that the ATU will keep pushing to turn into real protections for transit workers everywhere.
The Final Day: Carrying Minneapolis Forward
The convention closed on its final day with a moment of reflection. Delegates honored union members lost this past year in a moving In Memoriam presentation, passed resolutions that will guide the direction of the labor movement, and wrapped up with a panel celebrating Minnesota labor and the communities that made the week possible.
“Four days. Hundreds of union leaders. One movement,” Costa said. “To everyone who represented the ATU this week in Minneapolis, you made us proud. The work doesn’t stop when we leave this convention. We carry Minneapolis with us. Every resolution passed, every story told this week fuels what comes next. The ATU is ready.”
ATU’s Delegation
That pride belongs to every delegate, alternate, and guest who carried the ATU’s voice onto the convention floor: Printus Dates of Local 689 in Washington, D.C., Keith Hill of Local 241 in Chicago, Jim Evers of Boston Carmen’s Local 589, Jeff Shaffer of Local 1277 in Los Angeles, Ross Nicotero of Local 85 in Pittsburgh, Pennie McCoach of Local 308 in Chicago, Orlando Riley of the NJ State Council, Lillian Brents of Local 1447 in Louisville, Luis Alzate of Local 1056 in Flushing, Greg Woodfill of Local 587 in Seattle, International Executive Vice President Yvette Trujillo, International Secretary-Treasurer Ken Kirk, ATU Canada President John Di Nino, International Vice President Carly Allen, and host David Stiggers of Local 1005 in Minneapolis. Solidarity forever!