News

Federal money for programs and services that help millions of vulnerable Americans and employ many AFSCME members could be in jeopardy next year.

For Immediate Release: 
June 26, 2024
Contact: Patrick Wycoff, (608) 826-1932‬, [email protected]

Georgia Veiga has been a proud member of AFSCME New Jersey Local 3440 for the last 17 years. She regularly seeks out opportunities to support companies that employ union workers. 

As the world marked the anniversary of the official start of the coronavirus pandemic Thursday, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law and offered words of hope to a weary nation.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders praised the House of Representatives for passing the American Rescue Plan on Saturday and urged the Senate to follow suit as soon as possible.

There is good news for AFSCME members looking to pursue higher education. AFSCME Free College has made its bachelor’s degree completion program a permanent benefit.

That means that AFSCME members and their families can earn a bachelor’s degree for free, making an even wider choice of career options a possibility for more people.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AFSCME Wisconsin Statement on Governor Evers’s Biennial Budget Proposal Respecting Essential Public Workers

AFSCME Wisconsin applauds Governor Tony Evers’s 2021-2023 biennial budget proposal promoting frontline essential workers’ freedom to bargain with their coworkers. As introduced, the budget proposal includes collective bargaining rights for all essential public workers. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers are risking their lives and the health and safety of their families to serve our communities.

Here’s a sure sign of new leadership in Washington. There’s a renewed push to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, an idea that went nowhere when the Trump administration and anti-worker members of Congress were in power.

The coronavirus pandemic won’t be controlled until states, cities, towns and schools – and particularly health departments – have the funding they need from the federal government, says AFSCME Retiree Sue Conard.

Conard should know. She spent 24 years as a public health nurse serving Wisconsin’s La Crosse County. One of her many areas of expertise? Immunization.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has sent a letter to Congress that echoes what AFSCME has been saying for months: It’s long past time to robustly fund the front lines.