Tim Burga, President of the Ohio AFL-CIO, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast following the AFL-CIO's 30th Constitutional Convention in Minneapolis to report on a labor movement he described as energized, growing and ahead of its own goals.

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond were reelected enthusiastically, and delegates voted to set a new organizing target of 2 million new union members by 2032 after surpassing the 1 million-member goal set at the 2023 convention. Burga also described organizing activity across Ohio, spanning healthcare, construction, higher education, hospitality, libraries, museums and the arts, as well as a first contract win at Jeni's Ice Cream and a new faculty union at Ohio University.

Burga also addressed the ongoing challenge of securing first contracts after organizing wins, as well as the legislative calendar ahead, with Ohio's General Assembly on summer recess and a consequential lame-duck session expected after November’s elections.

• The AFL-CIO met its 2023 convention goal of organizing 1 million new union members ahead of schedule and passed a resolution at the Minneapolis convention setting a new target of 2 million new members by 2032. Burga said he believes the federation will not only reach but surpass that goal, citing organizing momentum he is seeing across virtually every sector in Ohio, including construction, healthcare, education, hospitality, manufacturing and the arts.
• Organizing activity in Ohio is broad and accelerating across both public and private sectors, with recent examples including workers at Jeni's Ice Cream joining a union, United Academics of Ohio University forming in the challenging environment created by Ohio Senate Bill 1, and workers at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History organizing. Burga said construction organizing is also taking off despite ongoing concerns about worker misclassification in the industry.
• Burga identified the difficulty of securing first contracts after organizing wins as a persistent problem, noting that Congress has been working to pass legislation that would speed up the first contract process, but the bill has not yet crossed the finish line. He also flagged the upcoming Ohio lame duck legislative session as a period to watch closely, noting that the outcome of November's statewide elections will heavily influence what legislation moves in the compressed period between election day and the new year.

Minneapolis: Ahead of Goal and Setting a Higher One

Tim Burga came to this conversation after attending the AFL-CIO's 30th Constitutional Convention in Minneapolis, which he described as a high-energy gathering that opened with good news. The federation set a goal at its 2023 Convention to organize 1 million new union members. It surpassed that goal, and delegates responded by passing a resolution that raised the bar to 2 million new union members by 2032. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond were both reelected to new terms by enthusiastic margins.

Burga said the goal is not just symbolic. Unions set the standard in communities across the country on wages, workplace safety, scheduling, health care benefits and retirement security. Every new union member strengthens that standard for union and non-union workers alike. Workers, he said, are reaching out and joining because they want a collective voice at work. The trend is moving in the right direction, and he believes the 2 million-member goal will be surpassed just as the 1 million goal was.

What Is Happening in Ohio

Burga offered a roundup of organizing activity across Ohio that covers more ground than any single headline captures. Workers across the spectrum are reaching out to form and join unions. This includes healthcare, hospitality, construction, education, arts and entertainment, manufacturing, public sector and private sector. He highlighted a few examples that illustrate his point. Workers at Jeni's Ice Cream organized and got it across the finish line. United Academics of Ohio University formed a faculty union in an environment made more difficult by Ohio Senate Bill 1, the higher education legislation that Burga said has had a chilling effect on the sector and contributed to students leaving the state. Workers at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History also organized, and libraries and colleges are seeing organizing activity. Finally, construction organizing is taking off, even amid ongoing worker misclassification, which creates obstacles.

Burga was careful to note that organizing workers is only part of the challenge. Ohio still needs to address the manufacturing and industrial jobs leaving the country. You can organize the work that exists, he said, but you have to have work to organize. Both problems require attention.

The First Contract Problem

One challenge Burga returned to is the difficulty workers face in securing a first contract after a successful organizing drive. Winning a union election is one thing. Getting management to the table and reaching an agreement is another, and too many organizing wins stall at that stage. Legislation in Congress to speed up the first contract process has been in the works for years without crossing the finish line. Burga said that remains a priority and a problem the labor movement continues to push.

What Comes After Summer Recess

Ohio's General Assembly is on summer recess. Burga said very little legislation will move between now and election day in November. What typically follows an Ohio election, however, is a lame duck session, the compressed period between election day and the first of the year. This is a time when the outgoing legislature sometimes moves significant legislation quickly and with limited public process. Burga described a lame duck period as one that can produce haphazard, reckless legislation that leads to lawsuits and problems down the road. The outcome of November's governor's race and statewide legislative elections will have a direct bearing on what gets pushed in lame duck and how aggressively, he said. He encouraged listeners to pay close attention to those races.

More information on the Ohio AFL-CIO is available at ohioaflcio.org.

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