October 17, 2019 Saunders Urges ‘Back to Basics’ Strategy for 2020 Win and Beyond What will help pro-worker allies win elections in 2020 and beyond? A “back to basics” strategy of organizing through face-to-face conversations, AFSCME President Lee Saunders says. Read More
September 27, 2019 Rule Change Would Lead to LGBTQ Employment Discrimination AFSCME strongly opposes a proposed rule change by the Trump administration that would effectively remove protections for LGBTQ workers who are employed by federal contractors and subcontractors. Read More
September 25, 2019 Ideas@AFSCME: How to Make the Economy Work for Everyone AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Elissa McBride sat down for a conversation with the president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Thea Lee, to discuss ways to make the nation’s economy work for all of us. Read More
September 10, 2019 Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program’s Replacement is Broken Too According to a new Government Accountability Office report, the new program is just as difficult to navigate and as confusing as its predecessor. Read More
September 09, 2019 States Passing Much-Needed Paid Leave Laws In the absence of a federal law, states and D.C. are taking the lead in passing much-needed paid leave policies. Read More
The Union Difference on Union 411 In the latest “Union 411” video, Secretary-Treasurer Elissa McBride explores the value of the Union Difference – power, dignity, respect and fairness. Read More
August 15, 2019 Hundreds of Florida Students Receive Back-to-School Supplies from AFSCME Many AFSCME Florida members help educate school children. This year, they also helped children get a good start in school by donating hundreds of backpacks filled with school supplies. Read More
August 14, 2019 The Financial Consultant Who Ruins State Budgets Read about a budget consultant who’s infamous for shrinking budgets at the cost of essential public services. Read More
August 02, 2019 On the Road to the AFSCME Public Service Forum Hear from workers who are heading from California to Nevada to attend the AFSCME Public Service Forum – what their expectations are, what they want candidates to focus on. Read More
July 25, 2019 Learning in Limbo Congress needs to fully fund the IDEA program so devoted educators like New York’s Mandy Roberts-Amo can continue to help students with disabilities. Read More
July 23, 2019 Scalia’s Record Raises Questions About His Ability to Lead Labor Department It’s unclear whether Eugene Scalia, picked by President Donald Trump to be the next labor secretary, has what it takes to be an advocate for working people. Read More
July 22, 2019 AFSCME Supports Repeal of Regressive Tax on Health Benefits AFSCME applauded the House of Representatives for voting to repeal a regressive health tax that is part of the ACA and would make it harder for working families to afford quality health care. Read More
July 19, 2019 U.S. House Votes to Boost Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour The effort to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade got a major boost when the House passed a bill raising it to $15 an hour by 2025. Read More
July 17, 2019 We Applaud House Effort to Give Federal Employees Paid Leave We applaud the House for passing a bill that would guarantee federal workers up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for their children or sick family members or to recover from serious medical problems. Read More
July 16, 2019 2020 Public Service Forum is Largest Candidate Event in AFSCME History With at least 19 participants, the 2020 Public Service Forum will be the largest presidential candidate forum in AFSCME history. Read More
July 16, 2019 AFSCME Supports Domestic Worker Bill of Rights The legislation would ensure “that rights aren’t just on paper, but that they can be enforced and implemented” legally and in ways to decrease retaliation. Read More
July 15, 2019 AFSCME President Lee Saunders Welcomes Acosta Resignation While the resignation of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta comes as welcome news to workers, it highlights the Trump administration’s consistent theme of chaos over quality. Read More
July 09, 2019 Court Case Threatens Health Care for Millions AFSCME knocks the Trump administration’s latest attempt to upend the Affordable Care Act. Read More
July 03, 2019 States, Cities Tackling Minimum Wage, Congress Trying to Catch Up States and localities are ahead of Congress on raising the minimum wage up to $15 an hour. The last time Congress raised the federal minimum wage – from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour – was 10 years ago this month. Read More
June 25, 2019 Proposals in Congress Would Allow More Workers to Form Unions The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act will give workers more freedom to join unions. Read More
June 21, 2019 Pride@Work Honors AFSCME, President Saunders AFSCME and President Lee Saunders were honored by Pride@Work for fighting for LGBTQ workers’ rights. Read More
June 20, 2019 Following Attack, AFSCME Iowa Nurse Speaks Out for Safe Workplaces "They refused to let my co-workers donate vacation days to help me make it through. They refused my request for unpaid time off once my paid sick time ran out. And finally, they fired me." Read More
June 20, 2019 San Diego Puts Ill-Conceived ‘Proposition B’ Pension Measure to Bed Measure denying pensions for new public service workers in San Diego is now history. Read More
June 18, 2019 AFSCME Supports New Universal Child Care Legislation Too many families struggle to afford high-quality child care. However, thanks to a new bill introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Deb Haaland, that might change. Read More
June 11, 2019 AFSCME Members Urge Congress to Pay for Behavioral Health Clinics Last week, the health subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on several critical health care bills facing funding shortfalls. Read More
June 10, 2019 A President’s Empty Promises Though he claimed to be a champion of workers, President Donald Trump has proven to be an ally of corporations and wealthy special interests. Read More
June 07, 2019 House Committee Rebukes FLRA Chair for Anti-Union Bias The head of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Colleen Duffy Kiko, faced strong criticism this week at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations. Read More
June 05, 2019 In Sign of Unity Among Lawmakers, Puerto Ricans Will Get $1.4 Billion in Disaster Aid Despite opposition by the Trump administration, the government of Puerto Rico will receive $1.4 billion to help with ongoing rebuilding efforts under a disaster-aid bill that Congress passed by an overwhelming margin. Read More
May 13, 2019 During Mental Health Month, Hear the Voices of Behavioral Health Professionals Through AFSCME, more than 50,000 behavioral health workers in 29 states across the country have a voice on the job, and more are joining every day. Read More
May 09, 2019 Protecting Nurses During National Nurses Week Under the Workplace Violence Prevention bill, which was re-introduced in Congress earlier this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would require employers to develop and implement plans to prevent on-the-job violence. Read More