Area Labor Federations are the regional level of the American Federation of
Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the national
federation of unions that represents about 11.5 of the 14.5 million union
members in the United States.

The Huron Valley Area Labor Federation, formed on April 1, 2016,
incorporated the Huron Valley Central Labor Council (HVCLC) which
affiliated union locals operating in Washtenaw and Livingston Counties. It
also assumed responsibility for Jackson and Hillsdale Counties.

Our mission and goal remain the same: Bringing together local union leaders
to build a labor movement that improves the lives of all working families. We
work to achieve our mission by supporting struggles for worker rights and
living wages in the workplace, and by changing the balance of political
power to achieve racial and social justice in our region.

With the help of Solidarity Grants from the AFL-CIO, this work is now
supported by a full-time HVALF Field Coordinator. Volunteers remain the
heart and soul of our organization, but our Field Coordinator allows us to
deepen our member volunteer base and coordinate their efforts more
effectively, develop more young leaders, forge stronger links with
community allies, launch new campaigns, and strengthen our political work.

As of August 1, 2019, the HVALF has 51 local union affiliates. A few of
these are unaffiliated with any larger union, but most are affiliated with one
of 25 inter/national unions. Taken together, our affiliates represent about
20,000 union members who live and/or work in the four counties over which
the HVALF has jurisdiction.

The HVALF has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Monroe-
Lenawee Central Labor Council (MLCLC) to allocate some of our Field
Coordinator’s time to supporting labor movement building work in their
counties. In return, the MLCLC provides some financial support for our
Field Coordinator in the form of monthly per capita contributions.