--- title: AFL-CIO’s John Paul Smith Discusses Worker Rights description: The America’s Work Force Union Podcast is the nation’s premier daily labor program. John Paul Smith, AFL-CIO, joined us on today’s show. image: https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/AFL%20CIO%20blue%20mic.jpg --- 1 min read Season 6, Episode 242 # AFL-CIO’s John Paul Smith Discusses Worker Rights [ awfblog ](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog) December 5, 2025 [America's Work Force Union Podcast](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/americas-work-force-union-podcast) [AFL-CIO](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/afl-cio) [AWF](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/awf) ![AFL-CIO-Logo_400x400](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/AFL-CIO-Logo_400x400.jpeg?width=400&height=400&name=AFL-CIO-Logo_400x400.jpeg)   Guest Name: --- John Paul Smith Guest Website: --- [AFL-CIO](https://aflcio.org/)  Guest Social Media: --- [ Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/aflcio) [ Twitter](https://x.com/AFLCIO) [ YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/aflcio) [ LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/afl-cio/posts/?feedView=all) Supportive Documents: ---   John Paul Smith, Executive Assistant to [AFL-CIO](http://afl-cio.org/) Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and spoke about the urgency of passing the Protect America's Workforce Act and the upcoming annual AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference.  Smith began by updating listeners on Redmond’s health as he recovers from an illness. Redmond, he said, was doing better and will soon return to work. Smith expressed gratitude for the well-wishes and support sent to Redmond during his recovery, emphasizing Redmond’s dedication to the labor movement even while recuperating. Discussion then turned to the Protect America's Workforce Act, legislation designed to restore collective bargaining rights to over 1 million federal workers. Smith explained that the Trump Administration stripped the collective bargaining rights of federal workers, but passing this bill would reverse those policies. He pointed out the challenges in Congress, noting ongoing negotiations around the National Defense Authorization Act, but stressed that lawmakers backing the Protect America's Workforce Act are determined to push the bill forward, potentially forcing congressional leadership to bring it to a vote. Smith then previewed the upcoming [AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference](https://themlkconference.org/), scheduled for January in Baltimore. Smith detailed the lineup, which features keynote speaker Roxanne Brown, President-elect of the Steelworkers, and other prominent civil and labor rights advocates. He noted the conference’s significant growth, with registration up 30 percent compared to last year and nearly 1,200 trade unionists expected to attend. For more from Smith, listen to the full episode of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast above. --- America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues. America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ##### SUBSCRIBE ON: --- [![Group 342](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png?width=171&name=Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/id1511224946) [![Group 341](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Spotify%20Button-Dark.png?width=100&name=Spotify%20Button-Dark.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/0GzkHxFSBxiXvuX0lZpQBn) [![Group 343](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20343.png?width=135&name=Group%20343.png)](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast-62567752/) [![Group 339](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20339.png?width=110&name=Group%20339.png)](https://www.pandora.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/PC:47979) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20397.png?width=125&name=Group%20397.png)](https://americasworkforceradiopodcast.podbean.com/) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/YouTube_button.png?width=125&name=YouTube_button.png)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQo1PAtRAel1_tS7-PQOkA)   #### [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) : July 6, 2026 # Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat Brandon Elvey, Secretary-Treasurer of the [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen](https://www.brs.org/),... [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) #### [AFL-CIO's Fred Redmond on the Convention, AI and America at 250](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/afl-cios-fred-redmond-on-the-convention-ai-and-america-at-250) : July 3, 2026 # AFL-CIO's Fred Redmond on the Convention, AI and America at 250 Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the [AFL-CIO](https://awf.labortools.com/), joined the [America's Work Force...](https://awf.labortools.com/) [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/afl-cios-fred-redmond-on-the-convention-ai-and-america-at-250) #### [C/COBCTC's Dorsey Hager on Drones, Data Centers and Growth](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/c/cobctcs-dorsey-hager-on-drones-data-centers-and-growth) : July 2, 2026 # Dorsey Hager on Drones, Data Centers and Central Ohio's Building Boom Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the [Columbus/Central Ohio...](https://columbusconstruction.org/) [Read More](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/c/cobctcs-dorsey-hager-on-drones-data-centers-and-growth) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "awfblog", "url" : "https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog" }, "dateModified" : "2025-12-05T21:20:29.770Z", "datePublished" : "2025-12-05T21:20:29.000Z", "headline" : "AFL-CIO’s John Paul Smith Discusses Worker Rights", "image" : [ "https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/AFL%20CIO%20blue%20mic.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://awf.labortools.com/listen/afl-cios-john-paul-smith-discusses-worker-rights", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/labor-tools-logo-white.png" }, "name" : "BMA Media" } } ```