News

DCYF Member Fights to Pass Bill Protecting Children, Fellow Workers

Like many DCYF workers in Washington, Taylor Andrews-Garcelon loves her clients but has felt her job get more stressful and dangerous in the last few years. 

Union membership numbers show momentum remains strong despite staffing shortages

Despite the growing wave of worker organizing across the country, the union membership rate last year ticked down slightly, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today, underscoring the importance of initiatives like AFSCME’s Staff the Front Lines to fill job vacancies in the public sector.

At DCYF, Member Action Turns Staff Assault into Stronger Safety Protocols

Dedicated WFSE members at the Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families show up for kids and families during some of the hardest times in their lives. They deserve to come to work not fearing for their safety. That’s why Heather Gregory, WFSE Local 53 member and DCYF social service support specialist, successfully fought for stronger safety protocols after being assaulted on the job.

As a government shutdown looms, AFSCME members voice alarm and frustration

For John Campion, a monitoring officer with AmeriCorps, the potential for a federal government shutdown beginning this month brings fear, insecurity and frustration.

Elmore Nickleberry, Memphis sanitation worker who went on strike in 1968, dies at 92

Elmore Nickleberry, Memphis sanitation worker who went on strike in 1968, dies at 92

2023 Recap, Message from the President

I visited the avalanche crew keeping Stevens Pass safe for drivers. I did a ride along with some of our Department of Corrections members in Mt. Vernon. I drove the Green Machine to Walla Walla. I flew to Medical Lake and met the WFSE heroes who pushed residents in their wheelchairs over a mile to safety when the blaze approached Lakeland Village.

Union Ensures DOT Crew is Warm this Winter

Thanks to union action, a Department of Transportation maintenance crew in Eastern Washington is no longer facing a frigid winter without a critical piece of gear: fleece liners for their winter coats.

Public Safety is a Fair Union Contract at the Pierce Co. Prosecutor’s Office

Despite a 3,700-case backlog, the Pierce Co. Executive wants to limit the hours of Prosecutor’s Office support staff — the folks who process those cases — to 35.

Retired from the job, but not from activism

As the year comes to a close, I am celebrating the incredible surge of worker activism in 2023. Current and future members of AFSCME and many other unions were in the streets, on the picket lines, and at the bargaining table demanding fairness and respect. I want to also take a moment to recognize and celebrate some of the most inspiring activists in our AFSCME family: AFSCME retirees.