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AFSCME members warn of threats to state and local public services

Photo credit: Getty Images
AFSCME members warn of threats to state and local public services
By AFSCME Staff ·
Tags: Priorities Federal Budget & Taxes

Federal workers are speaking out against the attacks on public services we all rely on.  

But public services are at risk not only at the federal level. They are also under threat at the state and local levels.  

These attacks are coming from the billionaire class, the “yes” men and women in Congress, and anti-union extremists who have seized control of government.  

Many state budgets rely heavily on federal funds. Local public services are sometimes supported by federal agencies. AFSCME members at the state and local levels know this firsthand, and many are joining their federal counterparts in speaking out. 

Here are the stories of two AFSCME members who fear for the stability of the services they provide their local communities. They both work for public libraries that receive federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The IMLS is under threat of being permanently closed but AFSCME is fighting it in court.  

Photo

Photo credit: Member-provided photo

Yonah Bromberg Gaber  

Yonah Bromberg Gaber is president of AFSCME Local 1808 (District Council 20) and a digital navigator with the D.C. Public Library (DCPL) system, a job they’ve held for the last three years. They help D.C. residents navigate technology, from doing everything from setting up their phones and computers to applying for jobs to interacting with government agencies.  

“The library provides an environment that fosters not only a love of reading and cultural enrichment, but also of learning and community engagement,” Bromberg Gaber says.  

They report that DCPL uses IMLS funds for a variety of important services, including technology training, staff development, and hygiene supplies for members of the community.  

Bromberg Gaber says turning off a reliable source of funding means it is inevitable that services will be cut in the libraries.  

“There is no doubt that the loss of IMLS grant funds will require DCPL to reduce their programing and cut staff, either the current programming and staff that is IMLS-funded or other programming and staff that is cut to fill the gap,” Bromberg Gaber said in a declaration earlier this year in a lawsuit brought by AFSCME. “It is substantially certain that the loss of IMLS funds … will make it harder for Local 1808 members to do their jobs due to understaffing and other constraints, and will result in the termination of library staff.”  

Photo

Photo credit: Member-provided photo

Patrick Johnston  

Patrick Johnston is president of AFSCME Local 3311 (Council 61) and works in the circulation department of the Daniel Boone Regional Library system in Missouri, where he has worked for the past 12 years. He loves working somewhere where he can help his community every day and describes libraries as “one of the last places people can just be.”  

Johnston is concerned that defunding IMLS will degrade his library’s services and its ability to work with other libraries in the region, especially those in nearby rural areas.  

If IMLS funding dries up, his library will have to move money around and evaluate cuts to services. That includes funds for a lot of interlibrary work and things like direct community services such as home deliveries and other outreach efforts.   

His biggest concern is that these cuts will affect lower-income residents who rely on library services the most. He also worries that underfunded rural libraries will face a huge impact from these services being cut.  

“Any cuts to the library’s budget makes it harder for staff to do their jobs,” Johnston said in a declaration earlier this year in a lawsuit brought by AFSCME. “IMLS funding allows staff to run programs serving our most in need and vulnerable community members.” 

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