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.
States, cities, towns and schools face a staffing crisis. Hiring for public service jobs has failed to keep pace with the private sector. In April, for instance, there were 833,000 job openings in state and local governments, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In response, AFSCME is kicking off a national bus tour this summer to recruit talented, diverse and dedicated people to staff the front lines.
Just three weeks after officially joining WFSE, several Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) employees were dismayed to learn their pay had been cut. After collecting over 1000 petition signatures, months of organizing, and a planned picket, these members won their fight to have their pay reinstated—and showed their coworkers what solidarity and union power can achieve.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders praised President Joe Biden in the wake of a debt ceiling deal that averts a default by the U.S. government on its debt while protecting the interests and priorities of working families and retirees.
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