Jarel Sanders started his career as an AFSCME member out of Council 28 (Washington State). His time was spent working as a child welfare social worker helping support families during the day, and organizing his co-workers in the evenings. His introduction to becoming more active in his local came from attending the 2018 Pride at Work convention in Phoenix. After getting a taste of labor being an actively queer space, he brought that energy back to his local union. 

Since then he has been a part of several parts of his chapter of AFSCME, including being the shop steward for his worksite. He believes there are always opportunities for workers to advocate for what is best for themselves and their organizations with the help of their unions. As a shop steward he worked well on finding creative solutions with his management for members of his worksite in Tacoma, WA. 

Although Jarel is no longer part of a union, he is working with AFSCME on organizing his job class back into the union. He continues to work with AFSCME lobbyists in his current role doing Government Relations for a state agency and continues to advocate for workers from an unrepresented position in state government. He also continues to run the South Washington chapter of Pride at Work, and is working on growing a strong community of LGBTQ+ labor activists across South Washington state.