News

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.

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.

In his first days on the job, President Joe Biden has taken swift executive action to protect and empower public service workers, strengthen public services and help working people. On his first day alone, he signed 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations that showed the kind of bold leadership our country needs now.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders called the victories of the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s Senate runoff elections “a bold mandate for change.”

Here’s a crucial reason for working people to do all they can to help Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock win the Georgia Senate runoff elections in January – federal aid to states, cities, towns and schools.

If Ossoff and Warnock prevail, there will be a pro-worker majority in the U.S. Senate. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, will cast the tie-breaking vote when the chamber is deadlocked.

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris on Monday brought together business and union leaders, including AFSCME President Lee Saunders, for a virtual meeting to discuss an economic recovery agenda for the country.

Following the meeting, Biden warned of a “dark winter” ahead for the nation and highlighted consensus among the labor leaders and CEOs alike on the need to fund the front lines.