News

AFSCME President Lee Saunders praised the White House’s announcement Thursday that the Biden administration will forgive student loans for an additional 78,000 borrowers — including many AFSCME mem

AFSCME President Lee Saunders congratulated Nicole Berner, a longtime labor lawyer and general counsel of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), on being 

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.”

ACTION ALERT

The Senate passed an interim aid package this week that failed to provide additional funding for struggling state and local governments, threatening the ability of workers to contain COVID-19.

Watch the video below and then click here to tell Congress, to fund the front lines: 

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.

It’s become clear that relief bills Congress has approved thus far, including the record $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, won’t be enough to quell the health and economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What other aid should Congress provide? AFSCME has recommendations.

GET TESTED

If you need a COVID-19 test, you have several options:

If you are an AFSCME New Jersey Member and you are engaged in First Responder work for the virus, you are eligible for First Responder testing. (example: our 24/7 healthcare workers, Child Protective Services workers, on the job Dept. of Health responders, EMTs, public-facing emergency social services.)

AFSCME members working for the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) are hopping busy these days fulfilling a critical mission. They are helping Louisianans survive as the Bayou State’s economy buckles under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

Updating wills before heading into work. Extending the lives of single-use masks. Self-isolating from their own families. These are just some of the shameful realities and conditions health care workers on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic are facing each day.

We were notified recently of a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 for two people who attended the rally at SERV in Ewing on March 11, 2020. One is an AFSCME member and the other is an elected public official. Neither of these individuals were displaying any symptoms at the time of the rally on March 11. However, out of an abundance of caution, we are notifying all members who attended this rally, and those who could have come in contact with someone from the rally. We will continue to actively monitor the situation and advise you of any new developments.