The AFL-CIO is not a union that bargains contracts for employees, but rather a federation of more than 50 affiliated unions.The federation has several distinct sections and sponsors many programs, all aimed at advancing social and economic justice for U.S. workers by enabling them to have a say on the job, as well as in their own government and communities.
In 1956, with the merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, editorial staff of the CIO News brought their Washington Newspaper Guild contract with them when they moved into AF of L headquarters. They soon had organized other staff at the federation.
Currently, about 120 AFL-CIO headquarters and field staff are protected by a contract that is bargained and enforced by the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild.