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
December 15, 2020 New Chief Safety Officer position makes prisons safer The Illinois Department of Corrections is working with AFSCME corrections unions to fight the coronavirus pandemic as one. And the results are promising on many levels. Read More
April 06, 2020 IL Child Protection Investigator Makes the Rounds Despite COVID-19 Risk For this Illinois child protection investigator, telework and social distancing are not options. Read More
October 18, 2019 AFSCME Stands with Striking Chicago Public School Teachers CTU represents 25,000 teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians. They are demanding that newly elected Mayor Lori Lightfoot deliver on her campaign promises. Read More
August 16, 2019 Meet the 2019 Winner of the Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship This year’s winner of the Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship juggles a full-time job, graduate studies and union activism. Read More
June 24, 2019 New Era in Illinois: State Workers Secure Fair Contract In an unmistakable sign that a new era has dawned in Illinois, state workers have secured a fair, new contract from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration. Read More
May 23, 2019 Council 31 Members Make Gains in the Fight for Workplace Safety AFSCME Council 31 members who work for Illinois’ Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice successfully used their union contract. Read More
May 02, 2019 Illinois State Workers On Proper Step After Illegal Freeze State workers in Illinois are getting step increases they were denied under former Gov. Bruce Rauner, thanks to the current governor, J.B. Pritzker. Read More
April 08, 2019 Solidarity prevails in Rockford privatization fight When members of AFSCME Local 1275 (Council 31) stood as one and said no to outsourcing, their employer – Rockford, Illinois, Public Schools – backed down. Read More
March 20, 2019 More Courts Agree: Attacks Against Public Service Workers Are Going Too Far Courts are increasingly putting a stop to mounting attacks against public service workers, this time to recover previously paid fair share fees. Read More
November 09, 2018 Victory over Rauner in Illinois Was Proof of AFSCME’s Strength Gov. Bruce Rauner was not a friend of working people. So working people worked hard to make sure he was denied a second term. Read More
November 07, 2018 AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders Hails Pro-Worker Victories in Midterms AFSCME President Lee Saunders praised union members for defying wealthy special interests and electing many pro-worker candidates to state and federal offices in the mid-term elections. Read More
November 01, 2018 Fierce Unity and Determination Mark Contract Win for Southern Illinois County Workers Members of AFSCME Local 2464 (Council 31), county workers from Southern Illinois’ Jackson County, won a new union contract with fair pay and affordable health care. Read More
July 23, 2018 Mark Janus Quits Public Service Job to Serve Big-Money Special Interests He announced he is quitting his state job as a child support specialist to join the Illinois Policy Institute as a “senior fellow.” Read More
July 10, 2018 ‘A Form of Identity Theft’ When a corporate front group misused an AFSCME Council 31 member’s photo, she called the group out on it. Read More
July 06, 2018 New Member Explains Why She Joined Her Union After the Janus Ruling A must-read column from a new member of AFSCME Council 31 who explains why she converted from being a fee payer to a full union member – after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME. Read More
June 29, 2018 Don’t Believe the Lies, AFSCME Remains Strong The corporate interests who brought you the Janus ruling are launching their next phase. Read More
June 27, 2018 Supreme Court Sides with Billionaires Over Working People The U.S. Supreme Court today sided with powerful CEOs, billionaires and corporate special interests against public service workers and everyday working people by issuing an adverse ruling in Janus v. AFSCME. Read More
June 06, 2018 ‘We Wouldn’t Have Anything If It Weren’t for Our Union’ Only by joining together in a union can public service workers stand up to those who want to take away their fair pay and benefits and wreck their retirement and health care security. Read More
May 23, 2018 How the Plaintiff in Janus v. AFSCME Benefits from His Union Mark Janus, the plaintiff in the Janus v. AFSCME case, benefits from his union. So what convinced Mr. Janus to join this destructive lawsuit? Read More
March 27, 2018 UCAN Workers Win a Union These workers in Chicago joined together to form a union with AFSCME Council 31. Read More