Hi John,

Black History Month is a time for reflection and recognition as we celebrate the Black labor leaders and union members, both past and present, who have advanced real change.

The struggle for equity absolutely continues, and our task of protecting our fundamental rights remains as important as ever. The labor movement plays a critical protective role against the Trump administration and its enablers as they attack diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs, attempt to trample our rights, and whitewash our history.

We’ll feature the stories of new Black History Month labor leaders and activists throughout the month here.

President Trump likes to say he is delivering for working people. He promised on the campaign trail to protect “Black jobs.” But like so many of his promises, this is an empty one. In fact, we have been living with the effects of Trump’s policies since he took office a year ago, and the only thing he has delivered for us is employment uncertainty and financial insecurity.

Black unemployment has now surged to more than 7%, nearly double the country’s overall unemployment rate. For both Black Americans as a whole and Black women in particular, unemployment has reached its highest level since 2021 and will likely continue to grow.

Most Americans say they’re still struggling just to make ends meet. President Trump promised to “make America affordable again,” but instead, his administration and its allies in Congress spent the past year driving up costs, holding down wages and letting jobs disappear—including good-paying jobs that would help keep energy bills from skyrocketing.

We’ll keep fighting to hold the Trump administration accountable when it pushes anti-worker, anti-Black policies. That’s why we need your help to tell Congress to fix the affordability crisis now. Please make a call.

Trump’s economy may be working for his billionaire buddies, but for the rest of us, it’s a disaster. It’s time to take our country back to ensure that Black workers—and all workers—finally get the fair shot at getting ahead that we deserve.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, wrote that “we are…tied in a single garment of destiny.” And that remains true today. We are all connected in the same struggle for dignity as working people—no matter our race, nationality or immigration status. What affects one of us affects all of us.

That is at the heart of the civil rights and labor movements—a connection rooted in shared values and the pursuit of economic and racial justice through solidarity, collective action and nonviolent civil resistance.

Together, we will advance the march toward progress. Stay strong. Stay united.

In solidarity,

Fred Redmond
Secretary-Treasurer
AFL-CIO

P.S. I recorded this video message for Black History Month. Please take a look and share.