WSNA endorses April Sims and Cherika Carter for the WA State Labor Council

The WSNA Labor Executive Council enthusiastically endorsed the re-election of April Sims and Cherika Carter to lead the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), the state’s largest labor organization.

The election will be held in October 2026.

Sims was elected the president of the WSLC and Carter the secretary treasurer in October 2022 with WSNA’s strong support. They took office in January 2023 and made election history.

The dynamic duo is the first team of Black women to lead a state AFL-CIO labor federation. Sims was not only the first Black woman to be president of a state AFL-CIO labor federation, but also the first woman to lead the WSLC, which represents more than 600 unions and 550,000 union members and serves as the voice of labor in Washington state.

Both Sims and Carter have demonstrated their unwavering support for WSNA and our priorities in the state Legislature and at the bargaining table. When WSNA advances legislation to protect nurses and patients, the WSLC is right there standing with us. And when WSNA members are fighting for fairness at the bargaining table and in the streets, April and Cherika are there on our picket lines, bringing with them the support of Washington’s labor movement.

Sims, who won a WSNA Community Partner Award in 2023, is also the proud mother of a nurse.

Under their leadership, the WSLC has included nursing issues, such as safe staffing and preventing healthcare workplace violence, among its legislative priorities. They have encouraged and facilitated WSNA’s full participation in Washington’s labor movement.

Some of the major accomplishments since their election, include the following:

• Unemployment for striking workers: They fought for Washington to offer unemployment benefits to workers on strike or locked out by their employers. The law took effect Jan. 1, 2026. 
• Prohibiting "captive audience" meetings: They helped pass the Employee Free Choice Act in 2024, which shields workers from employer retaliation if they choose not to attend mandatory anti-union meetings.  
• Construction worker safety: They helped pass a 2024 law mandating clean, safe, and easily accessible sanitary and lactation facilities on construction sites, supporting menstruating and lactating workers. 

The WSLC under Sims and Carter’s leadership continues to prioritize organizing and legislative efforts for rideshare drivers, gig workers, healthcare workers, educators, and public employees. Sims has frequently highlighted organizing among workers at companies such as Amazon and Starbucks as part of a broader resurgence of labor activism.