[10] In recent years the AFL-CIO has concentrated its political efforts on lobbying in Washington and the state capitals, and on "GOTV" (get-out-the-vote) campaigns in major elections.

The AFL-CIO's state federations, central and local labor councils, constitutional departments, and constituent groups are also entitled to delegates.

This relieves each union's state and local affiliates of the administrative duty of assessing, collecting and paying the dues.

The new body incorporated the member organizations of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, of which the AFL-CIO had long been part.

[26] According to the cybersecurity firm Area 1, hackers working for the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force compromised the networks of the AFL-CIO in order to gain information on negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

[32] King hoped for a coalition between civil rights and labor that would improve the situation for the entire working class by ending racial discrimination.

[36][37] On May 31, 2020, the AFL-CIO offices in Washington, DC, were set on fire during the George Floyd protests taking place in the city.

[38] In response, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka condemned both the murder of George Floyd and the destruction of the offices, but did not address demands to end the organization's affiliation with the IUPA.

[39] After the smashing electoral victory of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, the heavily Democratic Congress passed a raft of liberal legislation.

Labor union leaders claimed credit for the widest range of liberal laws since the New Deal era, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Voting Rights Act of 1965; the War on Poverty; aid to cities and education; increased Social Security benefits; and Medicare for the elderly.

According to Alan Draper, the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Action (COPE) was the main electioneering unit of the labor movement.

In 2005, the NUP dissolved and the Change to Win Federation (CtW) formed, threatening to secede from the AFL-CIO if its demands for major reorganization were not met.

[48] The Laborers' International Union of North America said on August 13, 2010, that it would also leave Change to Win and rejoin the AFL-CIO in October 2010.

[50] In 2024, AFL-CIO voiced its opposition to an investor-led plan at Norfolk Southern Railway to replace the company's top management and several board members.

Organized labor is divided on the issue, which is the major sticking point of a proxy battle between NS management and investors ahead of a May 9, 2024 shareholder meeting.

AFL-CIO came out and voiced its support for Norfolk's CEO Alan Shaw, citing concerns about safety, service, and job losses.

[51] In 2013, the AFL-CIO named the University of Maryland Libraries as their official repository, succeeding the closed National Labor College.

The archival and library holdings were transferred in 2013, dating from the establishment of the AFL (1881), and offer almost complete records from the founding of the AFL-CIO (1955).

Extensive photo documentation of labor union activities from the 1940s to the present are in the photographic negative and digital collections.

Additionally, collections of graphic images, over 10,000 audio tapes, several hundred films and videotapes, and over 2,000 artifacts are available for public research and study.