News

We Are Going Union!

A Super Majority of Workers from Dignity Health in Merced, California voted to form their union with AFSCME Council 57, Local 2703 today! 

Honoring the anniversary of America’s first pay equity strike

Striketober and Strikesgiving are over, but worker strikes are still going strong. As I write this, Kellogg’s workers are holding the line in Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Memphis. Alabama miners are heading into their ninth month of standing up to Warrior Met Coal. And the wave of worker actions demonstrating power and the fight for fairness continues to rise.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders joins signing ceremony of historic infrastructure bill

AFSCME President Lee Saunders on Monday joined President Joe Biden and members of his administration, as well as a bipartisan group of lawmakers, for the signing ceremony of the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Congress has finally passed an infrastructure bill. Build Back Better should be next.

The House of Representatives has passed President Joe Biden’s transformational bipartisan infrastructure plan, which Biden will soon sign into law. The passage earned praise from AFSCME President Lee Saunders, who, in a statement, said, “We are turning a corner.”

Union 411: How and why we organize

As solidarity actions and strikes sweep the nation, workers are making history by organizing their workplaces for the first time.

When workers belong to a union, they have a unified voice to create safer, stronger and healthier workplaces. Organizing is our most effective tool to determine workplace dignity, hours, working conditions and quality of life. Workers aren’t stuck with dangerous workplace conditions with poor wages and benefits. They can improve them, together.

Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act Introduced

The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act was introduced today in the House of Representatives by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.). The bill, which currently has 144 cosponsors, would set a minimum nationwide standard of collective bargaining rights that states must provide. It would empower workers to join together for a voice on the job not only to improve working conditions but to improve the communities in which they work.

For East Bay Parks Members, New Contract Means They Can Keep Protecting Their Jobs and Nature at Same Time

Our brothers and sisters who work at the East Bay Regional Park District recently won a historic wage increase with their new contract, showing that park workers deserve the same respect and pay as people doing similar jobs in the Bay Area.

By organizing and demanding that the park district pay them fairly—and by bringing thousands of people from the community into their campaign—they got a 9 percent raise and a new three-year contract, and they made a strong case for why the park district should continue to pay them higher wages in the coming years.

The union difference: Greatest wealth gains are for Black and Hispanic union households

We’ve said it before: Life is better in a union. 

Workers who belong to unions make more money than their nonunion counterparts. They have better health care insurance and retirement plans, more job security and safer working conditions. They’re happier.

With Patience and Humility, Isaias Lona Keeps His City Safe

Isaias Lona, a hazardous materials inspector, may appear to be a laid-back, patient guy, according to his co-worker Jennifer Rojero, but he’s no pushover. You can’t be when the safety of your community is at stake, and when you’re part of a team whose responsibilities are as broad as Lona’s.

Whether it’s conducting fire inspections, hazardous waste inspections, wastewater treatment inspections or any of the safety checks that Lona performs to ensure that the businesses in Gilroy, are operating safely, being patient yet rigorous with clients are hallmarks of Lona’s approach.