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.
Big decisions about our working conditions and livelihoods were made in Olympia during the 2024 legislative session. Through our union, we had a seat at the table and came away with major improvements for public employees.
The 2020 legislative session brought new hope to a little-known group of unrepresented public service workers: Washington’s Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). After years of attempting to gain the right to bargain over wages and benefits, a passionate group of ALJs joined forces with WFSE and successfully passed House Bill 2017, granting them the right to collectively bargain.
Worker leaders in the ALJ campaign filed their petition for union recognition with a generous majority of ALJs expressing support for a voice on the job.
As New York City became the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic, emergency medical services (EMS) professionals, including AFSCME member Laura Hartnett, were working 16-hour shifts instead of their normal eight-hour shifts to respond to the flood of emergency calls.
During Law Enforcement Week, we honor public safety officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. We also recognize the unique role that first responders like AFSCME law enforcement members play during times of crisis.
Roxie Nelson remembers her father, Ed Nelson, as a caring and passionate man who often put the needs of others before his own.
“When I was around him his phone was always busy, and he would take calls from people all the time,” she recalls. “He was always working to help somebody, whether it was at the union or friends or family. He would take care of people whenever they needed help.”
Editor’s note: The following is a story from the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, as told by a member in Washington state:
“My name is Kristina Johnson-Short and I am a social services specialist with the Division of Children, Youth and Families in Washington state. I’m a proud AFSCME member, a shop steward and president of AFSCME Local 1054 (WFSE). I am also a domestic violence survivor.
It’s become clear that relief bills Congress has approved thus far, including the record $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, won’t be enough to quell the health and economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
What other aid should Congress provide? AFSCME has recommendations.
