AFL-CIO backs the PRO Act, prevailing wage, public-sector bargaining, and minimum-wage hikes, and opposes right-to-work152 — running against Abbott on Texas right-to-work, the 2023 'Death Star' city-preemption law, and his anti-vaccine-mandate workplace posture. Hinojosa's no-corporate-PAC stance, minimum-wage support, August 2025 quorum break, and HB 3488 PBC bill align. Texas AFT has profiled her Fully Fund Our Future Act. Hinojosa is substantially the closer fit.
Issue
Abbott
Hinojosa
Texas right-to-work
Hurts
—
Abbott: Hurts · Hinojosa: —
AFL-CIO's foundational state-level fight is repealing right-to-work; Abbott has consistently defended it. Hinojosa opposes right-to-work but state-level repeal is not the central focus of her platform.1
Death Star preemption law
Hurts
Helps
Abbott: Hurts · Hinojosa: Helps
AFL-CIO opposes state preemption of city-level wage, scheduling, and break-time rules; Abbott signed the 2023 'Death Star' preemption law while Hinojosa voted against it.
Workplace vaccine-mandate posture
Hurts
—
Abbott: Hurts · Hinojosa: —
AFL-CIO backed worker-protective public-health workplace measures; Abbott's anti-vaccine-mandate executive orders cut against unionized health, transit, and service workers. Hinojosa supported worker-side public-health protections.1
Minimum-wage increase
—
Helps
Abbott: — · Hinojosa: Helps
AFL-CIO has pushed federal and state minimum-wage increases for decades; Hinojosa has explicitly supported raising the wage on Fox 2662. Abbott opposes minimum-wage hikes — a non-factor since the AFL-CIO already counts him against.
Corporate PAC money
—
Helps
Abbott: — · Hinojosa: Helps
AFL-CIO labor-side donors prefer candidates who refuse corporate PAC checks; Hinojosa runs a no-corporate-PAC campaign.1 Abbott runs heavily on corporate-PAC and large-donor funding, contrary to the AFL-CIO model.
August 2025 quorum break against redistricting
—
Helps
Abbott: — · Hinojosa: Helps
AFL-CIO opposed the August 2025 Texas redistricting drive; Hinojosa broke quorum against it34. Abbott led the redistricting push and authorized the arrest order against the absent members.
Stakeholder-capitalism PBC framework (HB 3488)
—
Helps
Abbott: — · Hinojosa: Helps
AFL-CIO views public-benefit-corporation frameworks favorably as a counterweight to pure shareholder primacy; Hinojosa authored HB 3488. Abbott has not engaged the PBC framework and is not a factor on this strand.
Public-school funding (Fully Fund Our Future Act)
—
Helps
Abbott: — · Hinojosa: Helps
Texas AFT — a major AFL-CIO affiliate — has profiled Hinojosa's Fully Fund Our Future Act favorably17. Abbott has prioritized vouchers (SB 2) over per-pupil increases, which AFT and the AFL-CIO oppose.
SB 12 (LGBTQ teacher-speech restrictions)
Hurts
Helps
Abbott: Hurts · Hinojosa: Helps
Texas AFT has framed SB 12 as a teacher-workplace-speech attack96; Abbott signed it and Hinojosa voted against.
Sources
- Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor, official campaign priorities page, accessed May 2026. (full list)
- Texas AFT, 'This week in the legislature: Let's talk about educator pay raises,' covering Hinojosa's Fully Fund Our Future Act questioning of TEA Commissioner Mike Morath. (full list)
- Texas Tribune, 'Texas redistricting Democrats quorum break: what to know,' Aug. 4, 2025. (full list)
- Fox 26 Houston, Gina Hinojosa interview discussing the Texas minimum wage, raising the federal floor, and small-business posture. (full list)
- Texas AFT, 'SB 12, the Parents Bill of Rights, deep dive,' 2025 — pronoun, DEI, and GSA provisions. (full list)
- AFL-CIO, public-policy framework on PRO Act, prevailing-wage rules, public-sector collective bargaining, and trade. (full list)