Texas labor movement delivers historic victories across the state, wins 73% of endorsed races
TEXAS – The Texas labor movement emerged as a major political force in Tuesday’s elections with labor-endorsed candidates winning 73% of their races, delivering historic victories up and down the ballot.
“With Texas union membership at a 25-year high, workers are taking back our state. We have declared that corrupt politicians who side with billionaires will not serve us,” said Texas AFL-CIO President Leonard Aguilar. “This election is a mandate. Workers are organizing and changing Texas for the better — and we won’t settle for any less than we deserve.”
Besides the statewide wins, the most remarkable upsets came from two races where union members flipped seats:
In Texas House District 28, educator Sandy Ibáñez, a member of Fort Bend American Federation of Teachers (Fort Bend AFT), has ousted Republican Gary Gates who was first elected in 2020.
In the race for State Board of Education District 6, high school history and government teacher Michelle Palmer, a member of Aldine American Federation of Teachers (Aldine AFT), has flipped the seat.
As part of the Texas AFL-CIO’s member to member program, union members knocked more than 50,000 doors, made more than 230,000 calls, sent more than 510,000 texts, and mailed more than 280,000 letters leading up to the polls closing. The door-knocking effort surpassed the federation's 2024 total. Additionally, several affiliates ran independent campaigns reaching hundreds of thousands of other voters across Texas.
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The Texas AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) is the state labor federation consisting of more than 250,000 affiliated union members and advocates for working people in Texas. Learn more at texasaflcio.org