FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 09, 2026
October 09, 2026
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
[email protected]
Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Minnesota’s Trina Swanson for Election to U.S. House
Categories:
Congress, Election 2026, House
Swanson is a former federal employee and AFGE member who will fight to rebuild the federal workforce and restore collective bargaining rights
EAGAN, Minn. –– The American Federation of Government Employees today announced its endorsement of Trina Swanson for election to the U.S. House representing Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District in the 2026 elections. The general election is Nov. 3.
Swanson spent 25 years as a federal employee, including serving at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, where she was a member of AFGE before entering management. Her career in public service gives her firsthand experience with the challenges facing federal employees and the importance of a strong, merit-based civil service.
“Trina Swanson doesn’t just say she supports federal employees. She was one of us,” AFGE District 8 National Vice President Ruark Hotopp said. “Trina and I were coworkers at USCIS, and when she later led the Minneapolis Field Office she was a great partner across the table who understood that respecting employees and their union make an agency stronger. I look forward to building on that relationship when Trina is in Congress.”
Swanson has pledged to restore collective bargaining rights for federal employees, protect federal retirement and fair pay, oppose arbitrary cuts to the federal workforce, and prevent future administrations from using national security exemptions to broadly eliminate workers’ union rights.
“She understands what federal workers have lost as their jobs have been cut and collective bargaining rights stripped away. I know she will fight with us to restore those rights, rebuild the federal workforce, protect the merit-based civil service, and make sure federal employees have the resources and respect they need to serve the American people,” Hotopp said.
AFGE also has endorsed Peggy Flanagan for election to the U.S. Senate representing Minnesota and the following candidates for the U.S. House: Jake Johnson (CD-1), Matt Little (CD-2), and incumbent Reps. Kelly Morrison (CD-3), Betty McCollum (CD-4), and Ilhan Omar (CD-5).
More than 31,600 federal employees live in Minnesota, caring for veterans, supporting the military, protecting the traveling public, and ensuring Social Security recipients receive their earned benefits accurately and on time.
AFGE is the largest federal employee union in the country, representing more than 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers in all functions of government. AFGE represents more than 42,600 federal employees in District 8, which includes Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Written by OPEIU 2 AFL-CIO
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