January 26, 2024 Never Quit Award winner teaches inmates to develop a green thumb Amy Coonce is a horticulture instructor at the minimum-security Robinson Correctional Center in Robinson, Illinois. Read More
December 04, 2023 Illinois members take the wheel on solving school bus driver shortage Learn how an Illinois local solved the problem of school bus driver shortages. Read More
November 13, 2023 Newberry Library employees win first contract a year after forming a union More than 60 workers at Chicago’s famed Newberry Library have negotiated their first contract a year after forming a union. Read More
September 26, 2023 Art Institute school and museum staff win first contract Members of the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United (AICWU/AFSCME) have won a first contract that includes wage increases and addresses critical workplace issues. Read More
September 19, 2023 St. Charles Public Library workers in Illinois win first contract Library workers in St. Charles, Illinois, won a first contract that ‘ticks all the boxes.’ Read More
August 02, 2023 Illinois state workers ratify robust new contract More than 30,000 Illinois state workers have ratified a robust new contract. Read More
June 21, 2023 Waukegan Public Library workers win stronger rights in first contract AFSCME members working at the Waukegan Public Library in the Chicago area are celebrating their first contract. Read More
June 15, 2023 Nature Museum workers win union election with AFSCME Workers at Chicago’s Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum have voted to form a union. Read More
June 02, 2023 For Illinois paramedic, a desire to fully serve his community is hampered by short-staffing Fully serving his community is Illinois paramedic Nick Fensom’s goal. But short-staffing is thwarting him from doing that. Read More
May 19, 2023 Workers at another Chicago institution are forming a union with AFSCME Workers at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago have decided to build power through AFSCME. Read More
April 18, 2023 Chicago City Council passes ordinance to support workers’ right to organize An AFSCME-backed ordinance that supports workers’ right to form unions is now law in Chicago. Read More
April 12, 2023 Staffing crisis hits patients, workers at Illinois center for intellectually disabled Meet Crosby Smith, an Illinois caregiver who can deliver even better service if he just had more help and support. Read More
March 28, 2023 Nature Museum employees in Illinois forming union with AFSCME Nearly 50 workers at the Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum are forming a union through AFSCME Council 31. Read More
March 13, 2023 Field Museum employees win union with AFSCME AFSCME Council 31 welcomes workers at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Read More
March 02, 2023 Cultural workers nationwide are rising up to secure a voice on the job Momentum was strong for AFSCME’s Cultural Workers United Campaign in 2022. Read More
February 28, 2023 AFSCME cultural workers spotlight Black artists AFSCME cultural workers take to Instagram to spotlight Black artists. Read More
December 16, 2022 Cultural workers win at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago is the site of another cultural workers organizing victory. This time, it involves 600 non-tenure track faculty at the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. Read More
November 04, 2022 Workers at Tacoma, Chicago museums highlight growing organizing momentum The Field Museum and the Tacoma Art Museum provide the latest examples of the organizing momentum in the cultural sector. Read More
September 19, 2022 Red Cross workers win 9% pay increase, retain strong health benefits in historic contract New Red Cross contract provides long-overdue raises and workplace safety improvements for front-line heroes. Read More
May 10, 2022 ISU employees ratify contract raising wages Support workers at Illinois State University have reason to be happy. They stood strong and won a robust new contract. Read More
February 10, 2022 The pay gap between Missouri and Illinois state workers underscores the union difference Some Missourians choose to work for the state of Illinois rather than their own state because of better pay secured through a strong union contract. Read More
January 20, 2022 Historic union wins at Art Institute of Chicago 500 workers at the Art Institute of Chicago and its school have formed a union through AFSCME Council 31. Welcome to the AFSCME family! Read More
January 13, 2022 We mourn the death of sister Deidre Silas, Illinois DCFS investigator Rest in power, Sister Deidre Silas. The AFSCME member in Illinois was killed on the job. Read More
November 22, 2021 Historic union election looming at Art Institute of Chicago Workers at the Art Institute of Chicago and the institute’s school have filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board seeking union elections. Read More
August 17, 2021 Art Institute of Chicago employees are forming a union with AFSCME Workers at the a famed Chicago art museum and school want to form a union to better serve their community. Read More
August 09, 2021 Workers deliver big win for Illinois public library and the community it serves More than 150 AFSCME members said no to threatened cuts to a Chicago-area public library’s budget – and prevailed. Read More
June 24, 2021 Illinois district library workers decide to form a union through AFSCME Nearly 100 workers at the Niles-Maine District Library in Illinois are planning to form a union through AFSCME Council 31. Read More
May 18, 2021 S-T McBride honors museum workers Secretary-Treasurer Elissa McBride spoke to some AFSCME cultural workers to mark International Museum Day. Read More
May 06, 2021 Workers at Illinois hospital win their union The state of Illinois has certified a staff union at CGH Medical Center in Sterling. The workers won despite management’s two-year anti-union campaign. Read More
December 23, 2020 Library workers in Oak Lawn, Illinois, are newest AFSCME members Nearly 80 workers at Oak Lawn Public Library in Illinois are now part of the AFSCME family. We welcome them. Read More