News

As worker activism continues to rise, Congress must not delay approval of the PRO Act

AFSCME wholeheartedly supports the newly reintroduced Richard Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), which would make it easier for workers in the private sector to form stron

A New Voice: March 2018 Issue

March has officer election/nomination results, another contract input meeting on March 7, an update on 2822 class action grievances, news from the Service Center, why your story matters in the labor movement, and more! Also, we need YOU for the contract negotiations bargaining team!

Click on the link below to view/download as a PDF.

Contract 2018 Update 2.19.18

United We Bargain, 

Divided We Beg!

The starting date for contract negotiations has been set! Negotiations will start May 7, 2018. 

A New Voice: February 2018 Issue

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We've set a date for contract negotiations to start! (May 7!) Look for contract surveys and come to our contract meeting February 15! Also, nominations and elections of officers, solidarity with U of MN Teamsters, get to know your Union Representatives, and more! Click on the link below to view/download as a PDF.

Embracing Janus and the New Year

In looking for appropriately seasonal clip art, I stumbled upon something I wasn’t looking for. Among the images of noisemakers and party hats and old men and babies, there were old engravings of a person with two faces, inscribed at the bottom “Janus.” If you’re reading this, you’ve probably also read previous articles about a Supreme Court Case, Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, that threatens (perhaps) the very existence of public sectors unions in the United States. I had known that Janus was also a Roman deity, portrayed with two faces. What I hadn’t known was Janus’ symbolic meaning.

A New Voice: January 2018 Issue

The New Year's Edition has updates for our contract negotiations, musings on Janus, books to help us change the world, and a union word find! Click on the link below to view/download as a PDF

Billionaire Spends Millions to Gut Public Pensions

Hardworking Americans’ right to retire with dignity is in danger because billionaires are spending a lot of money to take away our pensions.

John Arnold is one of the worst offenders. He’s a former Enron trader who’s spent $50 million of his own fortune trying to gut retirement security nationally. Enron’s implosion caused billions of dollars of losses to its workers and their families, including a $1.5 billion hit to public pension assets. Yet Arnold escaped with an $8 million bonus right before the crash.

U.S. Supreme Court Case Seeks to Take Away Union Rights

A case the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up this term called Janus v. AFSCME could make the entire public sector “right-to-work” in one fell swoop.

Janus is the culmination of decades of attacks on working people by corporations, the wealthy and the politicians who do their bidding to rig the economy in their favor. The forces behind this case are the same ones that have pushed to limit voting rights, undermine civil rights and attack immigrants.

AFSCME Member Efforts Reap Elections Success

Thanks to help from AFSCME members, numerous worker-friendly candidates won Tuesday’s election outright or are leading in the polls.

AFSCME members and retirees volunteered hundreds of hours of their time to tirelessly call voters and knock on doors across the state in the weeks leading up to the municipal and school board elections.