IAM General Secretary-Treasurer Dora Cervantes was reelected to the executive board of the Union Label and Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO, during its 72nd Convention held at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, according to a May 5 announcement. Cervantes was joined by IAM Assistant Secretary Paul Kendall, Bryan Pinette—Special Assistant to the General Secretary-Treasurer—and DeLane Adams, Director of Rapid Response and Mobilization, as they participated alongside other labor allies from across the country.
The event marked another term for Richard Kline as President of the Union Label & Service Trades Department. Delegates discussed recent trends in organizing activity and emphasized that while union density remains below historical levels associated with a strong middle class, there has been notable acceleration in organizing efforts across industries over the past year.
Cervantes said: “Being reelected to this board is an honor, but more than that, it’s a charge. When we look for the union label and choose union-made products and union-provided services, we are supporting one another in the most direct way possible. Every union purchase protects a union job, sustains a union family, and strengthens the movement we’ve all dedicated our lives to building.”
Speakers at the convention included David Woods of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) and Nicole Rhine of National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). The importance of buying union-made products was underscored as essential for reinforcing wages, benefits, and workplace safety standards that unions advocate for.
Convention leaders also encouraged affiliates to strengthen use of Airtable—a searchable database platform designed to help consumers identify union-made goods—and called for expanded digital outreach linking economic choices with worker advocacy. The central message from this year’s convention remained: look for the union label.
