Category: City of Chicago / Cook County

This Black History Month we honor the foundational contributions of Chicagoan James Riley, former sanitation worker and AFSCME member in Memphis who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968.

In February we celebrate Black History Month, and AFSCME’s long legacy of standing up for racial justice—from the strike of Memphis sanitation workers 56 years ago this month, to affirming that Black Lives Matter today.

Staff at the Art Institute of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago voted overwhelmingly to form their union—the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United—with AFSCME Council 31 in mail-ballot elections tallied January 11 and 12.

Growth is one of AFSCME Council 31’s most vital missions. Seeking the union difference, more than 1,500 workers have organized with AFSCME Council 31 since March 2020.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear four cases aimed at expanding the scope of its 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31.

With the theme of Better Together, AFSCME Council 31’s 22nd biennial convention focused on all that has been achieved through solidarity over the last two years—and the importance of staying united to overcome the challenges ahead.

This memorial video of AFSCME members who we have lost since our last convention in 2019 was aired at convention on October 15, 2021 and includes a beautiful performance by Renee Barnes who is on the staff of our international union.

AFSCME members have been on the front lines of this pandemic since Day One and we’re still going strong. Don’t miss this video that premiered at the Council 31 convention on October 16.

A member of AFSCME Local 799 and a Madison County Probation Officer, this AFSCME member makes a difference every day.

Three Child Protection Specialists in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services share their stories of protecting the well-being of vulnerable children despite the risks to their own health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.