Shuler: “Working people are going to save ourselves”

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler delivered her State of the Unions address, highlighting labor’s fight against a government by and for billionaires

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 28, 2025) — In her third annual address broadcast Monday, Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO — which represents 63 unions and nearly 15 million working people, including more than 650,000 workers in Washington state — praised the resilience and strength of workers, decried the constant threat from a hostile federal administration, and shared new polling that affirms broad support for organized labor across the country.

Shuler’s remarks are timed with Labor Day, highlighting that a holiday often co-opted by corporations is in fact a day that belongs to working people — even though many workers won’t get Monday off. That paradox is symbolic of the conditions many workers face, living in one of the wealthiest nations to ever exist while still struggling to make ends meet within a system that all too often benefits billionaires at the expense of working families.

The annual address also took place against the backdrop of the AFL-CIO’s 40-plus-city “It’s Better in a Union: Fighting for Freedom, Fairness and Security” bus tour, an opportunity for working people to raise both their organizing successes and how the Trump administration’s dismantling of public institutions and militarized immigration enforcement is negatively impacting communities across the country. Shuler shared the stories of some of the people she’s spoken with throughout the summer.

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler speaks at the Better In a Union bus tour kick-off in Washington D.C. Photo: AFL-CIO

“Veterans like Shernice Mundell, who served this country in the Air Force, came home and kept serving in our government for years, to make sure retired post office workers got their benefits,” said Shuler. “Until an email one night in March, at 11pm, telling her she was fired, along with thousands of others.”

Shuler also spoke frankly about working people’s frustration with our political system, and with politicians across party lines.

“Politics alone won’t fix what’s wrong with this country,” said Shuler. “Not when there are members of Congress on both sides of the aisle more worried about their re-election than they are helping working families, who would happily let you get automated out of a job, if it meant they got another campaign check from the CEO doing it. Republicans aren’t going to save us. Democrats aren’t going to save us. Working people are going to save ourselves.”

But while faith in political institutions plummets, working people’s belief in the essential power of the labor movement is strong. In fact, in polling conducted this month, the AFL-CIO found that trust for unions is 20 points higher than trust for either the Democratic or Republican party.

“Nearly two-thirds of this country believes in unions,” said Shuler. “And when you ask the most vulnerable workers in this country — workers who say: “I’m living on the edge, I don’t have time for politics, because I’m too busy trying to get by, I just want someone, somewhere to help me build a better life” — those workers still have faith in one single thing. 75% of those workers say they believe in unions.”

For Shuler, the reason for this broad support is clear: workers are fed up, those in power aren’t meeting working families’ needs, and nation-wide, people are looking for a path forward.

“Right now, we’re the ones to lay out the vision for where this country needs to go,” said Shuler.

That vision will be on full display this coming weekend and week, as the labor movement leads mass actions across the country to celebrate working people and reclaim Labor Day for workers.

Shuler’s full speech is available to watch online. A full list of Labor Day events can be found at workerslaborday.org, and local events are listed on ‘Take a STAND.’