News

Oregon AFSCME Statement on Murder of Cascadia Mental Health Aide

July 18, 2023 - The horrific murder of Cascadia McCarthy Place Mental Health Aide, Haley Rogers has placed a spotlight on the issue of safety at one of Multnomah County’s mental health provid

AFSCME-backed bill would help child care providers with food costs

AFSCME supports a proposal in Congress to ease the financial burden on child care professionals who provide meals and snacks.

At AFSCME’s Iowa Coffee Caucus, Candidates Champion Public Services and Unions

If you followed every Democratic presidential primary debate and read the candidates’ positions on every topic and watched the AFSCME Public Service Forum held in August, you might think there is nothing left to know about the men and women vying to be the next president of the United States.

Join a Union. Your Wallet Will Thank You.

Here’s a big reason to join a union – a bigger paycheck.New numbers from U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show just how much of a difference a union makes in terms of worker pay.

Help Our Sisters and Brothers in Puerto Rico

On a normal day, Sandra Pacheco, an administrative assistant in Puerto Rico’s Department of Transportation and Public Works, begins her day at 7 a.m., filing paperwork for her colleagues in the field. It’s a job that Pacheco, who is president of her local, AFSCME Local 3889, Council 95 (Servidores Públicos Unidos de Puerto Rico), does with pride and dedication.

2020 Minimum Wage Hikes to Benefit 7 Million Working People

The new year brings good news for millions of working Americans. Nearly 7 million of them are in line to get pay raises this year thanks to state and local minimum-wage hikes.

Workers Win: ‘Cadillac Tax’ Repealed

Working people won a major bipartisan victory this week with the permanent repeal of the “Cadillac tax.” This ill-advised and misleadingly named tax threatened the health care security of millions of working people—pushing employers to hollow out benefits while driving up deductibles and copays.

Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor responded to the news:

Caught in Limbo: AFSCME Member Struggles with Student Loan Forgiveness

As a public librarian for the Philadelphia Free Library, Sheila O’Steen embodies what we think of when we imagine a public service worker. Every day, she interacts with members of her community. Whether her patrons are young or old, affluent or impoverished, O’Steen shares knowledge and information with everyone she serves.

Beating the Expectations, Believing in His Community


AFSCME Supports Bill to Restore Voting Rights Protections

The 1965 Voting Rights Act worked. In the years and decades that followed its implementation, the law helped minority voters make their voices heard, especially African Americans who had been discriminated against at the polls. As a result, our democracy became stronger.

But in 2013, despite bipartisan reauthorization of the law by Congress, the Supreme Court gutted it, ruling 5-4 that a key provision was no longer necessary because the Voting Rights Act had worked and the problem was fixed.