Levy, Aguilar Kick Off 2025 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil & Human Rights Convention in Austin
Levy, Aguilar Kick Off 2025 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil & Human Rights Convention in Austin
AFL-CIO spotlights growing Texas labor movement with Annual AFL-CIO Conference
AUSTIN, Texas – On Thursday, Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy and Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Aguilar kicked off the annual AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Convention.
A full livestream of the conference is available here.
“Those of you from the South know that the harshest conditions can produce the shiniest diamonds, and Texas has a bunch of them… Texas is home to a labor movement that’s growing,” said Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy. “We understand that unless we organize the South, we will never achieve our full power here or anywhere else in this country. In solidarity, we can change the course of history at the deepest level.”
“When others are giving up, you guys here in this room are still choosing to show up,” said Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Aguilar. “Your commitment to this movement will help us overcome darkness and uncertainty, and that’s what’s going to fuel us over the next four years… The path toward a better country, a better future for our children, an economy that works for all working people, runs through the labor movement. And that is what gives me hope.”
The annual conference runs ‘til Sunday, Jan. 12 in downtown Austin, and is titled “Toward the Dream: Reimagining the Fight for Justice, Freedom, and Progress.” It is bringing together leaders, stakeholders and rank-and-file union members from labor, civil rights, and social justice to discuss the unique role that working people will play in the fights ahead, building on Dr. King’s vision of collective action and solidarity between the labor and civil rights movements.
A full livestream of the conference is available here.
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The Texas AFL-CIO is the state labor federation consisting of 240,000 affiliated union members and advocates for working people in Texas. Learn more at texasaflcio.org