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Fighting to save public health in the Texas capital

Photo Credit: Local 1624
Fighting to save public health in the Texas capital
By AFSCME Local 1624 ·
Tags: Federal Budget & Taxes
Fighting to save public health in the Texas capital

AFSCME members in Austin, Texas, are fighting to protect public health from reckless budget cuts in the nation’s capital. 

Anti-union extremists in Congress are pushing cuts to programs like Medicaid that will hurt public health in Austin and across the country.  

Members of AFSCME Local 1624 stood with their Austin Public Health co-workers and allies on the steps of City Hall last week. They sent a clear message: public health workers are vital, and the services they provide must be protected. 

Austin could lose $22 million in federal funding this year. Extremist politicians want to gut vital programs and public services to give trillions in tax cuts to their billionaire buddies.  

In Austin, programs like immunizations, refugee health care and community outreach are in danger. So are the jobs of the workers who run these programs.  

“We need federal elected leaders who will fight for working families — not cave to the wealthy at the expense of public health,” said Brydan Summers, president of Local 1624. “The workers and communities left hanging in the balance deserve better.” 

At a May 7 press conference on the steps of City Hall, front-line workers shared their stories. Then they went inside to the Public Health Committee and testified before the City Council.   

AFSCME members aren’t sitting back. They’re standing up, speaking out and showing what solidarity looks like. They made sure their local elected officials heard from the workers and community members who would be most affected by these funding cuts.

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Our union, our power 

AFSCME members want the City of Austin to: 

  • Keep community-critical programs and jobs intact; 
  • Ensure workers and their union are involved at every step of any worker layoffs or job reductions; 
  • Guarantee fairness, transparency and dignity;
  • Invest in training and support so affected employees have the tools they need to move on.  

They also want the city to put workers first when it comes to budget priorities and workforce planning. 

“This isn’t just about protecting jobs. It’s about protecting the health and safety of every family in Austin,” said Summers. “We’re going to keep showing up until our city leaders do the right thing — for workers, and for the people we serve.” 

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AFSCME GO  

Across the country, AFSCME members are mobilizing in a wave of grassroots activism fueled by our union’s Get Organized campaign, or AFSCME GO.  

AFSCME GO is all about making sure every member of our union knows what’s at stake.  

It’s also about defeating efforts to gut vital programs like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicare and Social Security. And it’s about bringing more workers without a voice on the job into the AFSCME family and increasing engagement among working and retiree members of our union.  

The public health rally in Austin took place a week before key committees in the U.S. House of Representatives began working on ways to make these drastic budget cuts. AFSCME members are upping their fight to stop these cuts from becoming reality.

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