Who We Are

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO has roots going back more than a century, with a long and proud history of fighting for the commonwealth’s working men and women. Formed in 1887 as the Massachusetts branch of the American Federation of Labor, and later chartered by the national AFL-CIO in 1958, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO is a union of unions, dedicated to achieving a better quality of life for working families in our commonwealth.

Today, we are the state’s largest labor umbrella organization, representing more than 750 local unions and intermediate bodies, such as joint boards and district councils. We are one of 51 state charters of our parent organization, the national American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

Through our affiliated unions, we represent nearly 400,000 workers across Massachusetts spanning every conceivable occupation, from teachers to electricians, nurses to ironworkers, public employees to utility workers. By marshaling the combined strength of union members and their families, as well as retirees and community allies, we have the potential to mobilize more than 1 million citizens on behalf of our agenda to improve the living and working conditions of Bay State residents.

To learn more about our organization, please browse the other pages we've provided on this site that can tell you a bit about what we do , how we're structured and our affiliated locals.