News

PORTLAND, OR – Newly sworn-in Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez recently referred to Oregon’s public defense crisis as a “work stoppage” in an OPB interview.

Workers from the Stabilization and Crisis Unit (SACU), represented by Oregon AFSCME Local 1264, have announced a vote of no confidence against Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Direc

Benton County workers represented by AFSCME Local 2064, will continue their strike today, Friday, November 15th, for the third day.

AFSCME members working for the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) are hopping busy these days fulfilling a critical mission. They are helping Louisianans survive as the Bayou State’s economy buckles under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

Updating wills before heading into work. Extending the lives of single-use masks. Self-isolating from their own families. These are just some of the shameful realities and conditions health care workers on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic are facing each day.

Before the announcement early Wednesday of an unprecedented $2 trillion deal to combat the coronavirus pandemic, AFSCME President Lee Saunders and three front-line workers put pressure on federal lawmakers to come through with a robust aid package for state and local governments so they can rebuild decimated public services.

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) emerges in the United States, many AFSCME members are and will continue to be on the front lines caring for and transporting those afflicted with the virus. Workers in emergency services, health care, child care, educational institutions and many others may come in contact with people who’ve contracted the coronavirus, putting themselves at risk.

AFSCME members sat down with congressional lawmakers last week to share stories about how the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act would improve communities and empower workers.

Here’s a big reason to join a union – a bigger paycheck.New numbers from U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show just how much of a difference a union makes in terms of worker pay.

On a normal day, Sandra Pacheco, an administrative assistant in Puerto Rico’s Department of Transportation and Public Works, begins her day at 7 a.m., filing paperwork for her colleagues in the field. It’s a job that Pacheco, who is president of her local, AFSCME Local 3889, Council 95 (Servidores Públicos Unidos de Puerto Rico), does with pride and dedication.

The new year brings good news for millions of working Americans. Nearly 7 million of them are in line to get pay raises this year thanks to state and local minimum-wage hikes.