THE SOUTH GOT SOMETHING TO SAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — February 14, 2026

Contact: Kevin Bradshaw, President, Memphis & West Tennessee CLC | Founder, Labor Education
Email: presidentbradshaw@memphislaborcouncil.org
Cell: 901-603-8296
Web: laboreducation.org

SOUTHERN WORKERS LAUNCH "THE SOUTH GOT SOMETHING TO SAY" MOVEMENT TO COUNTER REDISTRICTING ATTACKS ON LABOR CITIES

New Labor Education Platform Equips Working People with Tools to Register, Organize, and Win Local Power

MEMPHIS, TN — February 14, 2026 — As redistricting maps continue to target Southern labor-lead cities and dilute the voting power of working people, a new Southern worker movement is fighting back. "The South Got Something to Say," a Memphis & West Tennessee Central Labor Council initiative powered by the Labor Education platform, launched today to educate, organize, and mobilize working people across 14 Southern states.

The movement is built on a six-step Civic Power Playbook — a year-round plan to register low-propensity voters, build precinct-by-precinct turnout, protect voting access, recruit trusted local candidates, win down-ballot races, and sustain permanent civic organizations long after Election Day.

"The maps may be rigged — but the people aren't. Southern workers built this country, from Memphis sanitation strikes to the next school board race in Mississippi — and we're done waiting on permission to lead. Memphis is leading 'The South Got Something to Say,' but every state has a part to play, Alabama to West Virginia, Texas to Florida. Now we've got the tools to say it together."
— Kevin Bradshaw, President, Memphis & West Tennessee Central Labor Council, and Founder, Labor Education

The free Labor Education app — already live at laboreducation.org — gives working people across the South:
• Free steward training, worker rights education, and labor history
• A directory of every Southern state AFL-CIO and central labor council, with deep links to local unions
• Pre-apprenticeship training including a 3D/VR construction trades simulator and the Team4Success leadership curriculum for students
• A union job board with real openings in skilled trades, public service, healthcare, and manufacturing
• Take-the-Pledge sign-on for workers, students, organizers, faith leaders, and community allies who stand with Southern labor

The movement already counts the Memphis & West Tennessee Central Labor Council and its affiliates, alongside other Southern labor organizations across the South, building a growing network of unions, locals, and community allies committed to the cause.

Workers, students, organizers, faith leaders, and community allies are invited to take the pledge at laboreducation.org/the-south.

ABOUT LABOR EDUCATION
Labor Education is a free, mobile-first platform dedicated to building Southern worker power through education, organizing tools, leadership development, and civic engagement. Powered by the Memphis & West Tennessee Central Labor Council and supported by allied unions, locals, and community organizations across 14 Southern states.

#TheSouthGotSomethingToSay #LaborEducation #EducateOrganizeMobilize #UnionStrong

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