AFSCME

Health care and social workers are already severely understaffed. Now, the administration is making the path to these advanced degrees even more unaffordable.

Submit a comment today. Tell the Dept. of Education: Nurses and social workers are professionals! act.afscme.org/letters/tell...

AFSCME member Nerissa Marcum knows how much heart, responsibility and patience being a school bus driver requires. She shares a special relationship with the kids she drives — many of whom are special needs students. It makes her job feel rewarding and that’s why she never quits.

In Ohio, a big-hearted school bus driver brightens the lives of everyone around her Ohio school bus driver Nerissa Marcum is our latest Never Quit Service Award winner.

Our latest Never Quit winner, Ohio school bus driver Nerissa Marcum, lifts up the students she serves and her co-workers. www.afscme.org/blog/in-ohio...

America’s 911 dispatchers deserve respect and recognition. That’s why AFSCME members are meeting with lawmakers to push for the passage of the Enhancing First Response Act — a bipartisan bill that will give these workers official recognition as public safety professionals.

US union membership soared to 16-year high in 2025 despite Trump assault Union coverage slightly increased last year even as White House tried to eliminate contracts for thousands of workers

Union power is growing.

16.5 million workers were covered by union contracts in 2025 — the highest number in 16 years. In the face of unprecedented attacks on collective bargaining rights, workers organized anyway. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

AFSCME child care provider warns of bad policies favoring billionaires over families CSEA/AFSCME Local 1000 member Armett Newman joined a Families Over Billionaires event in Washington to say: It’s time we put working families first.

CSEA/AFSCME Local 1000 member Armett Newman strongly defended child care funding at a Families Over Billionaires town hall in Washington, D.C. www.afscme.org/blog/afscme-...

90% of Armett's families rely on federal funding to afford care—funding the administration is illegally trying to withhold.

Instead of taking steps to fix the affordability crisis, the White House's efforts would hurt working parents, children and child care providers. We demand more.

Child care provider & CSEA member Armett Newman is speaking out with @fobaction.bsky.social to say: 

Rising costs are hurting everyone. Parents are struggling to afford care, while providers struggle to stay open. We need leaders who will fight for the people – not billionaires!

Nurses, social workers, and public service workers are the backbone of our communities. They deserve respect and dignity.

Submit a comment today to join AFSCME members in solidarity. Tell DoE that these public service workers aren’t disposable. act.afscme.org/letters/tell...

Nurses, health care workers & social workers deserve respect for the work they do. That means being classified as the professionals they are.

Submit a comment today and stand in solidarity with AFSCME members: act.afscme.org/letters/tell...

Extreme weather safety protections didn’t appear on their own. AFSCME members organized, bargained, and stood together to demand more.

Collective action is what keeps workers safe. That’s the union difference.

Learn more here: www.afscme.org/blog/afscme-...

Without federal funding, Erika Prado would lose the majority of the kids at her child care center because their parents could no longer afford it. 
 
Working families deserve better than an administration that would withhold essential funding. That's why AFSCME members are speaking out in court.

Kaiser Permanente nurses and health care professionals are holding the line for better conditions for both providers and patients. Kaiser Permanente nurses and health care professionals are holding the line for better conditions for both providers and patients.

Kaiser Permanente nurses and health care professionals who are members of @unacuhcp.bsky.social are entering their fourth week on an unfair labor practice strike. They are holding the line for better conditions for both providers and patients. www.afscme.org/blog/kaiser-...

Overcoming attacks on working people, public service workers are organizing The latest annual report on union membership by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the power of the union difference.

Union membership in the public sector is growing and shows the power of the union difference. “Despite unrelenting attacks on working people, public service workers are organizing,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. www.afscme.org/blog/overcom...

FEMA cuts would harm emergency response mission, AFSCME members warn AFSCME members explain how cuts to FEMA would harm emergency response work in the states

AFSCME Local 3241 President Lilli Lessey explains how proposed cuts to FEMA would harm emergency response work across the country. www.afscme.org/blog/fema-cu...

Despite the odds, workers at Utah’s first library union win contract AFSCME members who work for the Salt Lake City Public Library have achieved their first union contract.

Their efforts paid off: Nearly three years after they announced their unionization efforts, workers for the Salt Lake City Public Library who are members of AFSCME Local 1004 have achieved their first union contract. www.afscme.org/blog/despite...

Read the full statement here:

The annual Bureau of Labor Statistics report on union membership & earnings showcases how, despite unrelenting attacks from anti-worker billionaires, public service workers are fighting together & organizing for a voice on the job.

Child care providers who are AFSCME members are fighting back after the Trump administration froze child care funding to five states for political reasons. They have provided statements in a lawsuit brought by AFSCME. www.afscme.org/blog/afscme-...

Happy Lunar New Year! Wishing everyone celebrating a year filled with peace, prosperity and togetherness. 🧧🐴

Love is more than chocolates and roses. It's early mornings, long shifts, tough calls and quiet sacrifices. It's public service workers choosing their communities every single day. This Valentine's Day, we honor the dedication, care and commitment that keeps our communities strong.

Courtney Brenton is a public health care worker who delivers for her community — but freezing child care funding would force her to quit her job and pull her son out of preschool. That’s why Courtney and other AFSCME members are fighting to restore this funding.

Public service workers show up — in snow storms, in heat waves, in hurricanes. They deserve rest breaks, protective equipment, and fair compensation. With a union, these protections become rights — not favors. That’s the union difference.

After 14 Years at the Helm, AFSCME President Lee Saunders to Retire in August 2026 Following a Historic Tenure Saunders energized AFSCME's activist culture, leaving it on strong footing for the future

After 14 Years at the helm, AFSCME President Lee Saunders will retire in August 2026 following a historic tenure. Pres. Saunders energized AFSCME's activist culture and will leave it on strong footing for the future. www.afscme.org/press/releas...

HAPPENING NOW: AFSCME Retiree joins pro-worker members of Congress to urge an investigation into DOGE’s misuse of Social Security data.

AFSCME members are fighting to protect funding for kids so that parents can go to work and providers can keep their doors open. Without this funding, child care providers like Juana Cortez would likely lose 8 out of her 10 students. www.afscme.org/press/releas...

The Trump administration's decision to eliminate the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency that reviews federal workers' appeals to mass firings, is blatantly rigging the system.

The communities that rely on an impartial public service workforce will pay the price.

Protect health care workers’ access to higher education A new Department of Education rule threatens the higher education pathway for health care professionals.

A new Dept of Education rule excludes nurses, social workers and public health workers from being considered “professionals,” restricting their access to federal student loans to pursue advanced degrees. Protect the path to higher education for these professionals. www.afscme.org/blog/protect...

Higher education is already too expensive. Now, the Trump administration is making it even harder for nurses, social workers and others to get the degrees they need to serve our communities.

Tell the Department of Education: We are professionals! actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...