Lorena Gonzalez

Lorena Gonzalez has dedicated her career to expanding workers’ rights through organizing, politics, and legislation. From transforming the San Diego region as head of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, to passing landmark labor laws in the State Assembly, to her historic leadership of the California Federation of Labor Unions, Lorena has relentlessly championed the cause of the working class.

Her efforts have achieved groundbreaking advances for millions of working Californians—including paid sick leave for every employee in the state, overtime pay for farmworkers, and the strongest laws in the nation against worker misclassification and wage theft. These historic victories established California at the forefront of labor policy and set a national agenda on workers’ rights. As both a legislator and labor leader, she has been a leader in tackling emerging technology in the workplace, including creating protections against dangerous warehouse production quotas at Amazon and leading the fight to establish guardrails for the use of AI. She currently serves as the National Co-Chair of AFL-CIO State Federation AI Task Force.

Lorena was raised by a single mom who worked as a nurse and a father who immigrated from Mexico to work in the strawberry fields of San Diego County. Her first summer job was working at the Community Services arm of the Labor Council, providing support to striking workers. She is a graduate of Stanford University, and earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from UCLA.

In 2022, Lorena became the first woman and first person of color to be elected as President of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO. Under her leadership, the Federation has built a stronger, more accessible Labor Movement through prioritizing all forms of organizing and building solidarity across unions. She has revived the Member to Member political program to build engagement and power for all Union families. Lorena consistently and unapologetically ensures that the voices, needs, and rights of all workers remain at the forefront of public discourse in California.