Local delegates, executive board members, and member of PEOPLE, our union's political action fund, came together on April 27 to decide which candidates our union endorses in a critical 2024 election season.
No workforce in the state of Washington has more at stake in decisions made by the legislature than public employees. That’s why we want you to know which legislators walked the walk and voted to support public employees—and which didn’t.
The good news is, legislators work for us. They go to Olympia to represent the voters, and we choose who will be reelected.
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.
