AFSCME members at community disability agencies are standing up for a desperately needed wage increase in this year’s state budget—with language requiring employers to pass the raise directly to frontline workers.
When a massive tornado swept through the Midwest on December 10, AFSCME Local 799 members at the Madison County Emergency Management Agency helped manage logistics for the rescue effort.
AFSCME Local 1216 members at Loretto Hospital uncovered a system payroll error—more than 100 nurses had been underpaid to the tune of $148,000. Back pay returned to individual employees ranged from a few dollars to more than $10,000.
“I could see the angst in her eyes,” AFSCME Local 2953 executive board member and chief steward Serbekian Minas said. “How can I not help this woman as much as I can and go the extra mile?"
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 Illinois, state workers have a strong union voice and robust collective bargaining rights. In Missouri, their bargaining rights are restricted and unions weakened. There's a stark union difference between the two sides of the Mississippi River.
Marlon and his coworkers do essential work supporting individuals with developmental disabilities at state-funded human service agencies. The median wage? Just $12 an hour. AFSCME is lobbying to raise wages and ensure they go directly to workers' pockets!
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.
"We are heartbroken at the loss of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) investigator and AFSCME member Deidre Silas of Springfield, murdered Tuesday while responding to a report of children in danger."
On December 29 Arbitrator Edwin Benn ruled against AFSCME members in the interest arbitration regarding the State’s plan to require COVID vaccinations for employees in IDOC and IDJJ.
Positive cases of COVID-19 are surging in Illinois at a time when family and friends gather for the holidays. IDPH is offering opportunities for residents to get tested, vaccinated or boosted in their communities.
Members of the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United (AICWU) are seeking the union difference with AFSCME. Their union vote is now underway, with mail-in ballots due in early January. This inspiring video captures the spirit of their organizing drive.
A yearlong fight to save Rock Island’s public water service ended in victory for the public works employees of AFSCME Local 988 when the city in September announced it would drop plans to privatize.
AFSCME Local 981 members at Eastern Illinois University fought long and hard to win a new union contract that protects their jobs and increases their wages.
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.
