AFGE is honored to welcome six congressional and labor rights leaders at our 42nd convention in Orlando, Florida!
On Monday, June 20, hear from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Rep. Val Demings representing Florida’s 10th District.
On Tuesday, June 21, meet the newest member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority Susan Grundmann, Rep. Darren Soto representing Florida’s 9th District, and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond.
On Thursday, June 23, hear from Coalition of Black Trade Unionists President Terry Melvin.
Here’s a little bit about them:
Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers
Labor leader Randi Weingarten is the former president of the United Federation of Teachers and, since 2008, has led the 1.7 million-member union, the American Federation of Teachers. Weingarten is a leading voice in education policy and has promoted a bottom-up approach to education reform that gives teachers more of a say in how to better serve students. She also has worked to draw attention to economic inequalities within cities and regions that can impair public schools and has pushed for creating so-called “community schools” that serve as hubs for addressing community wide issues.
Val Demings
U.S. Representative, Florida’s 10th District
Since 2017, Congresswoman Val Demings has represented Florida’s 10th Congressional District, which covers the western half of Orlando. She is running for the U.S. Senate in the November election. Demings has been a vocal supporter for federal workers, specifically our Transportation Security Administration workforce. She was one of many Florida representatives to oppose then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s efforts to privatize airport security screening at the Orlando International Airport back in 2018 – an effort that AFGE was able to defeat with the help of lawmakers like Demings. She also was a vocal advocate for protecting the TSA workforce as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020, pushing for legislation to provide presumption of workplace illness for federal workers’ compensation for those who contract the virus and provide hazardous duty pay for the front-line TSA workforce.
Darren Soto
U.S. Representative, Florida’s 9th District
Darren Soto was elected to Congress in 2016 after four years in the Florida Senate and five in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the first congressman of Puerto Rican dissent to be elected from Florida. He was one of many Florida representatives to oppose then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s efforts to privatize airport security screening at the Orlando International Airport back in 2018 – an effort that AFGE was able to defeat with the help of lawmakers like Soto. More recently, he voted in favor of all four pandemic relief packages and has been a vocal supporter of raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, strengthening workers’ collective bargaining rights and protections, and protecting Medicare and Social Security for future generations.
Fred Redmond
Secretary-Treasurer, AFL-CIO
United Steelworkers International Vice President Fred Redmond made history in August when he was elected as the first African American to serve as AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. Redmond has been a long-time supporter of AFGE, joining us at our human rights conferences and speaking out in support of the issues that matter most for our members. He also serves as chair of the AFL-CIO Racial Justice Taskforce which is charged with leading and shaping the federation’s work to address systemic inequality, police reform and building a more diverse labor movement.
Susan Grundmann
Member, Federal Labor Relations Authority
Susan Grundmann was confirmed by the Senate in May to her first term as a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which administers labor-management relations for federal civilian employees. Prior to her confirmation, Grundmann headed the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, which advances workplace rights, safety and health, and accessibility in the legislative branch. She also served as member and chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board from November 2009 to January 2017. Earlier in her career, she was general counsel for both the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and the National Federation of Federal Employees.
Rev. Terrence (Terry) L. Melvin
President, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; Secretary-Treasurer, New York State AFL-CIO
Rev. Terrence (Terry) L. Melvin is the president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), a position he first won unanimously in 2012, succeeding the iconic labor leader William (Bill) Lucy who co-founded CBTU in 1972. Melvin is also the elected secretary-treasurer of the powerful, 2.5 million-member New York State AFL-CIO. His work has been characterized by a commitment to strengthening the ties between labor, religious organizations, and community partners.
The Office of Personnel Management last week took a huge step toward aligning the locality pay maps for employees on the Federal Wage System and General Schedule.
Read More
With the election approaching Marcial Gomez talks about what’s on the line for TSA employees and his concerns about Project 2025.
Read More
Members of AFGE’s DEFCON Steering Group met along with AFGE staff and elected leaders to discuss ways to better serve employees throughout the DoD in the year ahead.
Read More
