The AFL-CIO, led by Liz Shuler, is mounting a national campaign to counter President Trump’s so-called “Billionaire First” agenda and to prioritize working-class issues ahead of the 2026 midterms. The federation supported a House bill on 11 December to restore collective bargaining rights to more than 1 million federal workers and has filed lawsuits challenging administration moves that weaken unions. With inflation and affordability top of mind, unions plan a mix of organizing, litigation and legislative pressure—while high-profile strikes, such as at Starbucks, underscore broader labor discontent.
AFL-CIO Mobilizes to Fight Trump’s 'Billionaire First' Agenda Ahead of 2026
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler at an event in support of workers’ rights in Washington in March.Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Donald Trump has presided over what Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, calls a year of “unrelenting attacks on working people.” In response, the largest US labor federation is mobilizing a nationwide campaign to challenge what it dubs the president’s “Billionaire First” agenda and to push candidates in key races to prioritize working families ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Shuler told the Guardian the AFL-CIO has been working to restore collective bargaining rights for federal employees and has filed lawsuits opposing administration actions that weaken unions and worker protections. “People were pissed,” she said, describing a surge of organizing and political activism across the labor movement.
On 11 December, the House of Representatives passed a bill to reinstate collective bargaining for more than 1 million federal workers after executive orders removed those rights. “It was through a lot of good old-fashioned organizing,” Shuler said, accusing the administration of overseeing “the biggest attack on unions in our history.”
The AFL-CIO is preparing to press for Senate approval when Congress reconvenes in January. That battle will unfold against a backdrop of looming challenges, including the threat of a government shutdown at the end of January and an ongoing debate over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Organizing for 2026
Shuler emphasized that unions are already mobilizing: canvassing neighborhoods, engaging workers at job sites and turning economic grievances into political energy. “We can move actual people, in workplaces, in every city, in every state, across the country,” she said.
Affordability is a central theme. With inflation still above typical historical levels and many Americans facing rising bills, the AFL-CIO intends to focus on “kitchen-table” issues—housing, healthcare and the everyday costs of living—to build momentum into the 2026 midterms.
“People are fed up. They’re saturated. I think they’re distrustful of institutions and the media…there’s only one organization left that people do trust, and that’s the labor movement, unions.” — Liz Shuler
Gallup polling shows roughly 68% of Americans express support for labor unions, even as union membership has declined over recent decades—a trend that has coincided with increased income inequality.
Wider Labor Tensions
Thousands of Starbucks baristas are currently on strike as they press the company for their first union contract, a campaign Shuler says highlights the divide between corporate wealth and everyday workers. She warned that advances in AI and other technologies could widen that gap unless stronger worker protections and negotiating power are put in place.
“The future of this economy is absolutely in peril,” Shuler said, noting that many workers juggle multiple jobs and are forced to run up credit-card debt just to cover groceries, rent and car payments. “It’s only going to get worse if we don’t get the guardrails in place.”
The AFL-CIO’s campaign will combine courtroom challenges, legislative pressure and ground-level organizing to force questions about economic fairness and worker power into the 2026 political conversation.
The White House was contacted for comment.
