Power to Win: Message from the President and Secretary-Treasurer
No matter where you look within AFSCME — the International Union, local unions, councils, or affiliates — we are committed to change. Thanks to the vision and dedication of AFSCME members and leaders across the nation, and the approval of over 3,000 delegates to our International Convention, we are now more prepared than ever to confront the challenges faced by AFSCME members and all working families across America.
By adopting the Power to Win plan of the 21st Century Initiative, delegates to our 2006
International Convention have opened the floodgates to a bold, new strategy that gives us the power to make our union stronger than ever before.
JOIN THE FIGHT! The need for a new game plan has never been clearer: For more and more families it is becoming difficult to achieve a decent standard of living. Affordable health care, retirement security and quality education are at risk or nearly out of reach. Corporations are raking in some of the greatest profits in history — while many of their workers can’t even make ends meet — and globalization is reducing the number of good-paying, unionized private-sector jobs, as the privatization wrecking ball destroys public services.
— Gerald W. McEntee
International President
Billions in tax handouts to the rich have caused governmental budget cuts from top to bottom. These cuts have hit AFSCME members hard and reduced or eliminated vital public services. One result: 322,000 public service jobs have been lost in the last four years. At the same time, AFSCME members are having difficulty winning fair contracts and are sacrificing well-deserved wage increases in order to preserve their health insurance.
Our collective bargaining rights are also at risk. In three states — Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri — newly elected governors eliminated collective bargaining for state employees their first day in office.
There is no doubt that our enemies are openly and relentlessly working to destroy worker rights and dismantle public services. There is also no doubt that the men and women of AFSCME aren’t just planning to fight back, we are determined to win.
MAKE THE CHANGE! Our new strategy is the result of an effort two years in the making — one that called on the collective wisdom of more than 80 affiliate leaders who were part of the 21st Century Committee.
Together, they logged hundreds of planning hours, hearing from members and local leaders, at national conferences and affiliate conventions, through town hall gatherings, local union meetings, online surveys and more. In the end, they produced a set of sweeping proposals designed to completely transform our union and build more power.
Our new Power to Win plan represents a groundbreaking effort to build more member participation; hold politicians accountable; increase our membership; expand the organizational capacity of our affiliates; make affordable health care universal; and project a proud, bold image for public services and our union.
Never in our union’s great history have we had a plan that is so promising of success. It is time to transform our union! It is time to fight and win the battles of the new century! It is time for everyone — it’s time for you — to get involved.
— William Lucy
International Secretary-Treasurer
