Anyone who watched the 2026 NFL Draft — with its heart-stopping moments of excitement and heart-warming moments of celebration — saw only a glimpse of the sprawling days-long events that took across its host city, Pittsburgh.
More than 800,000 football fans descended on Pittsburgh, breaking attendance records — but fortunately not breaking the city itself.
That’s because the AFSCME members of Council 13 who make Pittsburgh happen were out in full force to ensure the safety and smooth operations of the huge undertaking that was the 2026 NFL Draft.
Some AFSCME members were quite visible during the Draft while others worked behind the scenes – and months in advance.
Dana Murphy, a member of AFSCME Local 2719 who works for Pittsburgh Parking Enforcement, served as a draft “ambassador.”
Posted at the Greyhound bus station, her job was to welcome out-of-towners, to “represent Pittsburgh” as she put it, to make people feel safe, and to make sure they got where they wanted to go.
“Everyone was very friendly,” said Murphy, a Pittsburgh native. “You meet all different kinds of people. It was a long few days of work, but the people made it go really fast.”
Murphy’s colleagues also handled parking enforcement and ensured there was city-wide access to parking.
Meanwhile, AFSCME members like Craig Sipple, who works for the Department of Permits, Licensing and Inspection, was responsible for many critical aspects of the Draft infrastructure.
“We look at all the documents — construction drawings, safety drawings, architectural and engineering drawings — and [made sure] they meet minimum code requirements for all the structures that were built,” Sipple said.
That included the main stage outside of Acrisure Stadium, itself the size of a football field, as well as structures that went up along the North Shore, PNC Park, Market Square and elsewhere.
His team also ensured safe accessibility across the event grounds, so that anyone —whether they were fully mobile or not — could enjoy all that the city had to offer.
Those offerings included the wares of many kinds of vendors.
There again, Sipple’s team verified that every vendor was insured, certified by the health department and complying with local rules and regulations.
“It was definitely an all hands-on-deck situation,” Sipple said. “Everyone knew there were going to be extra permits and licenses. We made sure that all our members of our local were the best they could be, on the ball and getting everything done in a small amount of time.”
That spirit of preparedness and enthusiasm extended to all AFSCME members who worked the Draft.
Members like Ed Hart, of Local 2266, who works for PennDot Tunnels.
“Our job was to maintain traffic,” said Hart. “We had to keep traffic flowing at all times.”
If there was a breakdown, Hart’s team got it cleared immediately. Like an elite offensive line, they kept routes open while preventing cars from entering roads that had been closed.
Thanks to the city’s planning, which encouraged public transportation, Hart said traffic was actually much lighter than normal.
“I haven’t seen traffic that low since COVID,” said Hart. He joked, “Thursday afternoon was like a Sunday morning. I went home disappointed — happy, but disappointed.”
Nearly a half-dozen other AFSCME locals also provided critical support.
Now, with the 2026 NFL Draft in the books, it’s worth taking a moment to recognize one team that may not have gotten a draft pick but delivers wins season after season — Team AFSCME.