Thousands of public service workers—members of AFSCME and our allied unions in the We Are One Illinois coalition—gathered in Springfield on Nov. 13 to demand lawmakers fix the broken and unfair Tier 2 pension system.
For too long, low wages had been the norm at ISBE. The Local 2811 bargaining committee vowed to change that.
AFSCME Local 3236 at Illinois State University has secured two strong new contracts for its clerical and health care bargaining units that can both point to a chalking action as their contract campaign’s turning point.
Members of AFSCME Local 1787 at the Quincy Veterans Home took to the picket line on Sept. 4 to call out CMS for not taking the necessary steps to foster hiring at the facility. Victory followed soon after.
Now, after Council 31 prevailed in statewide arbitration, those temporary staff are being converted into permanent state employees and joining the ranks of our union—and they’re already reaping the benefits of union membership.
Bill Lucy, who served as secretary-treasurer of AFSCME for nearly four decades and was one of the most respected and revered Black labor leaders in the world, died at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 90 years old.
When confronted with management inaction in the wake of serious assaults on staff at their facilities, AFSCME members at Menard Correctional Center and Ludeman Developmental Center both took their fight for safe working conditions to the picket line.
For more than a decade, AFSCME members and allies have been fighting to rebuild the network of city-run mental health clinics that were shuttered, neglected or ignored. Now, after a relentless fight, real progress is finally being made.
Members of AFSCME Local 963, which represents nearly 170 building and food service workers at Northern Illinois University, kept their foot on the gas pedal throughout a year-long contract campaign. In the end, their efforts paid off.
As they began bargaining a new contract in early 2024, Rockford Public Library workers’ biggest priority was to expand health and safety procedures. After taking strong action, they succeeded in that goal.
The 52 school bus drivers and monitors from the Illinois Central bus company near Peoria have seen what AFSCME has accomplished for other school bus drivers in their region.
On June 11 and 13, hundreds of AFSCME members from Locals 1866 at Stateville Correctional Center and 2073 at Logan Correctional Center made their voices heard at two COGFA community hearings on the IDOC's proposed closures of those facilities.
The upcoming Fix Tier 2 Town Halls are an opportunity to drive our message home with lawmakers. To do that, we'll need to pack the rooms. Find a Town Hall near you and register today!
Understanding the unfairness of Tier 2 and the challenges of fixing it
How to find out if you're on a Tier 2 pension, why lawmakers are so reluctant to address pensions, and more.
Employees at the Shedd Aquarium are blowing the whistle on management's anti-union misinformation and intimidation campaign.
After experiencing a sharp uptick in the number of on-the-job injuries and violations of their union contract, workers in the Evanston Public Works Department took to the picket line in an action that caught management’s attention.
“A lot of our new members came away seeing what organized labor can do and how it can impact members’ benefits and rights,” local president Jack Sadrakula said. “This contract was pushed through by the entire union."
The 20 employees of the Macon County Conservation District protect Macon County’s precious natural areas. Now they have a union to protect themselves.
At a Springfield hearing on May 10, AFSCME laid bare how detrimental the Illinois Department of Corrections’ proposed plans to close Stateville and Logan correctional centers would be for staff and individuals in custody.