Leading up to the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention, we’re asking union members, working families and ally groups all over the country to give us their ideas on how we can build a stronger movement for working people.

These discussions on the future of the labor movement have spanned from Facebook and Twitter to our 2013 convention website and 39 in-person listening sessions in the states, with more than 45 more in the works.

On Monday we asked our readers what we can do together to make a better future for working people and to build a bigger and stronger movement. We need to know what you think because our 2013 AFL-CIO Convention will focus on how the labor movement should change and what we can do together to improve the future of all working people.

Your response has been tremendous. Nearly 300 of you have gone to our AFL-CIO Convention discussion page and told us what you think has to be done to give working families a better deal. Further below are excerpts from some of your suggestions and thoughts.

As we get ready for the 2013 AFL-CIO Convention in September, we’re asking people like you what we can do together to make a better future for working people and to build a bigger and stronger labor movement. Daily Kos labor editor Laura Clawson gets the discussion going on the just-launched AFL-CIO 2013 Convention website with this question:

The sustained war on workers from the right has left unions trying to prevent rights from being weakened rather than setting the agenda. Where are the opportunities to play some offense?

At our AFL-CIO Convention in September, the AFL-CIO needs to be ready to make decisions about how the union movement should change and what we can do together to make a better future for working people. We’re taking a hard look inward, at ourselves, and also asking for ideas from everybody who’ll share them—from people inside and outside the labor movement, from progressives, academics, student groups. We want ideas from anyone who cares deeply about building a real movement for working people.

Visit AFLCIO2013.org and join the conversation about the future of work.

We need to talk—about the future of workers and the union movement.

We've all seen the numbers: People are working harder (and have longer hours) and still can't get ahead. Staggering inequality is on the rise and fewer workers have a voice on the job.

The basic system of worker representation is failing to meet the needs of America’s working men and women by every critical measure, said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka at today's 2013 Conference on New Models of Worker Representation in Chicago. Labor unions are vulnerable, which is a challenge, but this vulnerability also presents an opportunity to innovate, he said. 

The AFL-CIO, along with its affiliate unions, community partners and allies, are embarking on a deep evaluation of the future for working people and the labor movement and exploring innovations for the future of worker organizing. 

Live from Chicago, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is talking about the future of the union movement and new models of worker representation. This event is hosted by Chicago Center for Working-Class Studies and televised and streamed by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV). Watch the live stream after the jump. 

Join Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen at 2 p.m. EST for a Twitter chat on the future of the union movement. Follow the hashtag #U1Nation to follow the chat.