The following statement was issued by Council 57 President Ruben Rodriguez and Executive Director Michael Seville in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that further rigs the rules against working people and in favor of billionaire CEOs and corporate interests, holding that requiring fair-share fees in the public sector violates the First Amendment of the Constitution:

"Today marks a new day for our union, just as it marks a new day for our country. The corporate billionaires believe that today will mark the beginning of the end for our union. They believe that our contracts will slowly whither, that our pensions will be converted in to 401(k)s that they can mismanage and profit off of, that our just cause rights will become obsolete, that our freedoms will erode, and that our hard fought wages will plateau. That our union will become historical fodder.

While the decision is a setback for our Council in the short term, we will become even more powerful as we know that unions are one of the most effective vehicles to move people into the middle class, especially women and people of color. We must now, more than ever, organize, hold elected officials accountable, and fight back against efforts to divide us and weaken the strength we have in numbers. 

We can do this by standing with our fellow union members and displaying the collective strength that it takes to provide solid representation, to engage in strategic political action, to communicate the importance of union membership, and by never quitting on our futures. 

Unions are now more important than ever as our economy is rigged against working people in favor of the wealthy and powerful. Unions keep corporate CEO’s and politicians in check because we provide everyday working people with the power to improve their lives and their communities.

We can do this because we are AFSCME strong and we never quit!"