The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO announced today an ad campaign thanking key Democratic members of the House of Representatives for voting to save hundreds of thousands of jobs that were on the chopping block without adding a dime to the deficit. According to a CNN poll released today, 60% of Americans support the legislation.

“America’s working people have won a tremendous victory in the United States Congress today – a victory that is going to save hundreds of thousands of jobs." Click headline to read more.

"Today’s news that the nation lost more than 130,000 in July is compelling evidence that much more must be done to help get Americans back to work and our economy back on track." Click headline to read more.

Statement of AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on the U.S. Senate’s final passage of the Jobs Bill

Fifty national organizations today joined a letter from Americans for Responsible Taxes (ART) urging members of the Senate to allow the high-end Bush tax cuts to expire as scheduled at the end of 2010.

Statement of AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on the U.S. Senate’s 61 to 38 vote this morning to end the filibuster on the Jobs Bill

Don Machacek, a member of Local 2792 (Council 5) who works for the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Freeway Incident Response Safety Team, believes the risk he took to rescue a family of three was not a big deal.

Statement of AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on the Senate’s consideration of H.R. 1586

We have a message for the Commission: Don’t turn Social Security into the scapegoat for the deficit. Social Security is not the problem. Don’t raise the retirement age. Don’t tamper with the COLA. If you break the promise that was made to America’s working families, we’ll hold you accountable. We took on Bush and we won. We’ll fight this just as hard. Keep your hands off Social Security!

With press accounts indicating that the Administration’s fiscal commission is considering recommending that Congress cut Social Security benefits, a diverse group of organizations launched a major new campaign today to push back and demand that Congress not make any benefit cuts. New polling shows massive public support for members of Congress who support strengthening, not cutting, Social Security.

In their second victory since voting to join AFSCME Council 67 in 2008, approximately 4,500 independent home care providers throughout Maryland now have a contract that will help improve the conditions of their work and the services they offer.

Early this month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the War Supplemental Appropriations Act, H.R. 4899, which included an amendment granting collective bargaining rights for all public safety workers. The Senate is expected to take up the measure before the August recess.

This poll confirms that Republican rhetoric in Washington is out of sync with average Americans. By a margin of more than 2 to 1, Americans believe that saving and creating jobs is more important than reducing the federal deficit to move our economy forward. Considering how tone-deaf Washington has become on jobs, it’s no wonder Americans are gloomy about the nation’s economic recovery.

For more than three months, millions of unemployed Americans have been held hostage by Republican senators who refused to provide an extension of unemployment benefits. Today, Senate Democrats succeeded in breaking the GOP filibuster.

Gary Mitchell, president of Local 2412 (Wisconsin Council 24) is AFSCME’s newest International Vice President.

Watch AFSCME Director of Research Kerry Korpi stand up to attacks on public employees and our pensions during an appearance on CNBC. At issue: should states cut public pensions to balance ballooning budgets?

Delegates to the 39th International Convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, (AFSCME), today elected Lee Saunders to be the next Secretary-Treasurer of the union representing 1.6 million public service workers.

AFSCME activists rallied Wednesday on Boston Common, in solidarity with Council 93, to prevent the loss of critical public services and to pass the jobs bill now stalled in Congress.

AFSCME Retirees laid the foundations for our union, and Next Wavers — members age 35 and younger — are building upon that legacy. Tuesday, representatives of both groups met on stage to highlight the commitment of AFSCME activists across the board.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee says, “Senate Republicans are on the verge of killing the Senate Jobs Bill." Click headline to read full statement.

Washington, DC — The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Americans United for Change kicked off an anticipated six-figure television advertising campaign in Maine on Monday, urging U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to support a jobs bill that extends unemployment insurance for Mainers who have lost their jobs and invests $84 million to help states avoid massive new layoffs.

 

President Gerald W. McEntee: “Unless last night’s shortsighted vote is reversed in the coming days, the Senate’s failure to break a Republican filibuster on the jobs bill will put hundreds of thousands of additional Americans out of work." Click headline to read more.

President Gerald W. McEntee: "Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has included $24 billion in funding to provide essential, emergency relief for states. Without it, job losses at the state and local level risk pushing us into a double-dip recession – and vital programs the public relies on during difficult economic times will be slashed."

President Gerald W. McEntee: “Today’s report that the private sector created fewer than 45,000 new jobs in May should serve as a wake-up call to Congress that the federal government must do significantly more to avoid a “double dip” recession.”

AFSCME is mourning six public employees who were killed on the job this year in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico.

A U.S. District Court judge, acting on lawsuits filed by Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)/AFSCME Local 1000 and three other unions, has temporarily blocked a one-day-per-week furlough of more than 100,000 public employees.

AFSCME, the largest union in the AFL-CIO, is proud to endorse Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) for the U. S. Senate. “Florida’s working families need another strong voice in Washington and they will have that in Representative Meek,” said AFSCME International Pres. Gerald W. McEntee.