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
March 23, 2018 Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Rauner Appeal on Steps Illinois Supreme Court rejects the governor’s appeal of a case AFSCME won at a lower court requiring the payment of step increases. Read More
March 07, 2018 Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court case threatens worker freedom and safety The Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 Supreme Court case threatens worker freedom and safety. Just ask Council 31 member Randy Clover. Read More
February 13, 2018 We Mourn the Passing of Sister Pamela Knight We mourn the loss of Sister Pamela Knight, a child protection investigator for the state of Illinois. The Council 31 member died after being attacked while doing her job. Read More
February 07, 2018 Public Service Workers to Supreme Court: Don’t Silence Our Voices AFSCME and other public-service unions urge the Supreme Court not to silence the voices of workers. Read More
November 02, 2017 Violent Assaults on Staff Increasing in Illinois Prisons, Youth Centers Assaults on staff in state correctional facilities have increased by 51 percent in the last two years. Read More
October 04, 2017 IL Child Protection Investigator Attacked on the Job An Illinois child protection investigator, and a member of Council 31, was brutally attacked on the job and is in a coma. Read More
August 07, 2017 Springfield Housing Authority Workers Fight for Fair Wages, Better Contract The fight for a fair contract continues at the Springfield, Ill., Housing Authority. Read More
July 19, 2017 A Game Show Jackpot Will Change His Life – But Not His Public-Service Job Why were Illinois sanitation worker Delvar Dopson and his wife competing on the NBC show “The Wall,” and what will they do with the jackpot they won? Bet you can’t guess. Read More
July 12, 2017 Illinois Finally Has a State Budget Walking back from the brink of fiscal chaos, Illinois finally has a state budget after two years of operating without one. Read More
July 07, 2017 What Janus v. AFSCME is Really About The leader of AFSCME Council 31 in Illinois explains what the Illinois-based case Janus v. AFSCME is really about. Read More
June 20, 2017 AFSCME Offers Solutions to Struggling Chicago Cabbies Small business owners who own and operate taxis in Chicago face unfair competition with rideshare operators like Uber and Lyft. A new report by Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 offers solutions to help save taxi service in the Windy City. Read More
April 21, 2017 New Study Shows “Right-to-Work” Laws Harm Workers Recent “right-to-work” laws in the Midwest set the stage for a kind of regional experiment that is helping us answer an important question: What’s the impact of “right-to-work” laws on a state’s workforce? Read More
March 06, 2017 Mountain Climber at Work and Outside is Latest Never Quit Winner Never Quit Service Award winner Amy Biegler personifies the can-do attitude that makes her the champion she is, both on the job and on the mountain – Mount Kilimanjaro, to be precise. Read More
February 23, 2017 Illinois State Employees Vote to Authorize Strike In the first-ever strike authorization vote, 81 percent of Illinois state workers voted to give their bargaining committee the authority to call a strike if necessary. Read More
February 17, 2017 Good News on Pay for Illinois Public Service Workers A judge in Illinois has given state employees reason to breathe easier – for now. Read More
February 13, 2017 Playing Politics with a Child’s Life In Illinois, politics could imperil an infant’s life. Read More
February 09, 2017 Could IL Public Service Workers Go on Strike? Will Illinois public service employees go on strike? Thousands of workers have until February 19 to decide. Read More
January 25, 2017 Cabbie by Day, Foodie by Night Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 member Cheryl Miller got a mouthwatering role in the new Travel Channel series “Driven by Food.” Read More
December 21, 2016 Illinois Prison Workers Play Santa for Homeless Families Local 1866 chose to be nice, rather than naughty, and give gifts to those less fortunate. Read More
November 27, 2016 AFSCME Supports Rallying Airport Workers On Nov. 29, let's stand with airport workers across the country who are demanding $15 an hour and better working conditions. Read More
October 18, 2016 Council 31 Members’ Message for Rauner: Come Back to the Table Illinois Council 31 members are featured in an ad asking the governor to bargain with them. Read More