Unions enable workers to harness the power of their labor to demand better pay and working conditions. From the creation of the 40-hour workweek to the establishment of a minimum wage, unions have powered the most significant improvements to working life in America. They challenge the status quo in pursuit of a better, fairer future, which is why establishment politicians and wealthy corporations have fought so hard to chip away at union power. This decades-long campaign against workers has produced historic levels of income inequality as the average American is asked to do more with less while executives walk away with record profits.

Antonio got his start helping unionize childcare workers, and as an elected official, he’s continued to build union power. During his fight to pass landmark Commercial Waste Zones legislation, he worked closely with labor to ensure the bill prioritized worker justice – improving safety conditions for the notoriously dangerous and deadly industry. He has fought alongside nurses, Deliveristas, Amazon workers, and countless others in the effort to build a labor movement centering the voices of workers and rank-and-file union members in the fight for fair wages, safe workplaces, and stronger protections for the working class. 

He’ll bring this same fight to Congress, where we will fight for an economy that puts power back in the hands of workers. He will champion the PRO Act and all efforts that repeal the harms of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. He will stand side-by-side with workers – including federal workers who have been targeted by Trump and his union-busting executive orders – as they organize, negotiate, and strike for workplace justice.

He will advocate to strengthen the capacity, independence, and enforcement power of institutions like the NLRB and OSHA, so they can actually deliver for workers, especially in sectors where retaliation, misclassification, and wage theft are common. He will rein in models of work like gig work, subcontracting, and algorithmic management that are exploited by the rich to get richer and to undermine the working class and worker power. And as artificial intelligence takes hold of industries across the country, he will champion the guardrails that ensure these emerging technologies benefit the public good and empower workers nationwide.