Bernie Burnham & Bethany Winkels reelected to lead the Minnesota AFL-CIO

The 58th Constitutional Convention of the Minnesota AFL-CIO unanimously voted to reelect President Bernie Burnham and Secretary-Treasurer Bethany Winkels to lead the state’s federation of unions for a four-year term.

Burnham, member of Education Minnesota, was first elected President in 2022. She previously served as Vice President of Education Minnesota and President of the Duluth Federation of Teachers. Winkels, a member of LIUNA, was elected Secretary-Treasurer in November of 2025. She has been with the Minnesota AFL-CIO since 2015, most recently serving as Executive Director prior to her election.

“Minnesota’s Labor Movement has shown the country what true solidarity looks like,” said Burnham. “Whether walking picket lines, organizing new workplaces, securing historic labor standards at the Capitol, or defending our neighbors against fear and division, Minnesota’s union members prove time and again that an injury to one is truly an injury to all. I am deeply honored by the trust our delegates have placed in us.”

Meeting under the convention theme “Defending Democracy: In the workplace, in the streets, and in the halls of power,” union member delegates from across Minnesota and the labor movement gathered to set the federation’s policy priorities, modernize movement infrastructure, and prepare for the November elections.