Defending Public Jobs & Services: Randi Weingarten & Lee Saunders on Partnership in the Trump Era

Defending Public Jobs & Services:

Randi Weingarten & Lee Saunders on Partnership in the Trump Era

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

12:00pm - 1:15pm (ET / New York)

Virtual-only Zoom event

Closed captions & live transcript will be available.

Click to register:

slucuny.swoogo.com/28April2026/register

Guest Speakers:

Lee Saunders - President, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Randi Weingarten - President, American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

Moderator:

Laura Flanders - Host, City Works - CUNY TV; Host, Flanders & Friends - PBS

Since early 2025, public-sector unions and the broader labor movement have relied on a multi-pronged defensive strategy—legal challenges, mass political mobilization, coalition-building, and internal organizing—to push back against the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken civil service protections and unions. Despite steep uphill battles, worker organizing and a strong partnership among public sector unions like AFSCME and AFT have resulted in real wins, strengthening of union membership, and new alliances, even as the overall policy environment remains hostile.

How have union-led legal challenges slowed or reversed union-busting and other anti-worker policies instituted by the Trump administration since early 2025?

How have rapid-response, broad-coalition campaign initiatives, such as "Put Families First", helped to build cross-union, class-wide solidarity?

How have the Trump Administration's attacks on public-sector workers emboldened new unionists to organize with public sector unions, and/or strengthen existing union members to increase and deepen their participation in political action and solidarity campaigns?

What has state-level advocacy and organizing looked like as AFT and AFSCME have led efforts to defend the public sector against the existential threats posed by the Trump Administration's policies that have resulted in budget cuts, hiring freezes, worsening conditions, etc.?

Join us for a lively conversation with two national labor leaders. Audience questions will be welcomed throughout the program, and will be integrated into the roundtable discussion.