21st Century Initiative
by | August 03, 2006
Last week the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) announced that we’re about to make big changes in the way we do business. Faced with a “newfound audacity from anti-union business leaders and the politicians they bankroll,” AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said that our union is poised to enact the 21st Century Initiative, a top-to-bottom strategic overhaul of AFSCME and a bold, new plan for change. The 21st Century Initiative will focus on spurring member activism, organizing new members, increasing political power and launching national campaigns on issues like universal health care. And it will change the way we operate in several fundamental ways, including:- AFSCME has long believed that local union presidents know their city councils and state legislatures best. So we’re going to help state councils and local unions develop the tools they need to win, including establishing a leadership institute to provide on-the-ground training for local leaders and activists.
- We will commit unprecedented resources to new organizing campaigns and mobilizing existing members. In fact, we’ve set a goal to grow our 1.4 million membership by 5% each year.
- We will retool our political program to run year-round, rather than just in the months leading up to an election. Rather than defending our values against right wing attacks, we’re going on a fulltime offensive to expose how their morally bankrupt agenda is destroying America as we know it.
- We will rekindle the fight for universal health care and other agenda items that underscore our progressive values of security, opportunity and fairness for all. After all, electing progressives to office won’t matter much if we don’t build an environment in which they unabashedly can fight for our values – and win real policies that improve people’s lives.
