Our hard work paid off this election year. WFSE voters took down three anti-worker initiatives, which would have resulted in job loss, income stagnation, and fewer services for Washingtonians and elected labor-friendly representatives that we'll need to vote to fund our contract. With a budget shortfall on the horizon, we need all hands on deck.
The last few years have seen a rise in worker momentum, with unionized workers raising their voices to demand higher pay, safer working conditions and more.
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.
“I value all of my clients and their relationships with their kids,” she said. “Despite Washington being so much further ahead than other states, I see it as unsustainable for the people in the field doing their jobs.”
Andrews-Garcelon has seen cases of fentanyl-exposed children under 2 skyrocket in recent years. She’s been threatened at gunpoint on the job. And she has been denied backup in unsafe home situations.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders praised the White House’s announcement Thursday that the Biden administration will forgive student loans for an additional 78,000 borrowers — including many AFSCME members — under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders congratulated Nicole Berner, a longtime labor lawyer and general counsel of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), on being confirmed to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
