NC State AFL-CIO

05/30/2026

A new analysis warns that large-scale loss of food assistance is "jeopardizing the short- and long-term health, education, and economic benefits of nutrition programs for our children and society."

05/29/2026

My name is Thomas Lupton. I’m originally from rural Eastern NC, but I have lived in Western NC since 2007. I’m a UPS delivery driver, a rank-and-file Teamsters member, and I serve as the recording secretary of the WNC Central Labor Council. I've been with UPS for 17 years, and have been delivering full-time since 2014. I think my job is important because I’m a familiar face to my neighbors every day; I deliver essential items like medicine, and the business community here knows me. The pandemic made it clear how important that continuity was for people. And then in 2024 we experienced a natural disaster unlike anything we’ve ever experienced here in Hurricane Helene. I'm 41 years old, and I feel like there's just been one “once in a lifetime” event after another. In a world that asks us to numb ourselves and keep moving like machines, I’m thankful something in me still refuses.

I take union work seriously because I see it as the only reason we have the rights that we have now, and I've seen how those rights have been chipped away for decades. I describe my union work as “revolutionary optimism.” When you provide critique in social situations, sometimes you get accused of pessimism, but I think the opposite is actually true. We are trying to imagine a better way of doing things. We're actually being optimistic instead of thinking that the way things are is the way they've always been, because that is just not true.

For me—growing up working poor, I didn't finish college—there's no way I would be able to live here, provide health insurance to my family, or own a house if it wasn't for having 100 years of collective bargaining behind me. I know what it's like to be crushed under economic stress, and there's just so much power and wealth aligned against working people that going at it alone is impossible. If people want a better life for themselves and their children going forward, which I've always assumed most people do, the only way to succeed is through working class solidarity, strength, and cooperation. We evolved to need community. No person is an island. We have to lean on one another: there's really no other option, and it's the only way forward.

05/27/2026

"Right to work" doesn't belong in our state constitution!

“Right to work” is a union-busting scam that lowers wages and empowers corporations. But right now, the North Carolina legislature is trying to enshrine “right to work” in the state constitution.

Email your NC rep and tell them to say NO to S.B. 1082!
https://act.aflcio.org/letters/working-people-say-no-to-sb-1082?source=National

05/26/2026

Republican legislative leaders in Raleigh are advancing some new constitutional amendments that could have big and problematic effects

05/24/2026

Join the North Carolina State AFL-CIO and the North Carolina Democratic Party for an informational briefing on Senate Bill 1082 and learn about how Jim Crow-era "Right to Work" laws undermine our freedom to organize for fair wages, make our workplaces less safe, and give even more power to billionai...

05/23/2026

Plan your union-made Memorial Day Picnic with these recommended products.

05/23/2026

Congratulations to our union firefighter family in Atlanta, GA!

The Atlanta Professional Fire Fighters Local 134 and the City of Atlanta have signed their first-ever contract, marking a major milestone for Local 134 and

05/23/2026

A new study reveals that employers are spending big to maintain their dictatorial control over the workplace and crush unions.

It’s a daunting amount of money, but it’s not impossible to overcome if workers can act with clarity, unity, and strategy: jacobin.com/2026/05/union-busting-cost-management-profits

05/22/2026

05/22/2026

"Right to Work" should not be added to our state constitution.