News

State Employees' Reopener, Recruitment and Retention Agreement Approved by Appropriations Committee

State Employees' Reopener, Recruitment and Retention Agreement Approved by Appropriations Committee

Agreement will continue efforts to protect and expand our communitie

Council 4 Executive Board Elections

The regular election of AFSCME Council 4 Executive Board members took place on April 6, 2024 at our union headquarters in New Britain, CT.

The results are as follows:

Council 4 Education Scholarships

COUNCIL 4 EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS

To recognize the extraordinary efforts of our members and to foster unionism, Council 4 is offering continuing education assistance in th

In Black History Month event, AFSCME highlights return of public service jobs

The public sector has finally recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of last year, there were 22,000 more public service jobs in the nation than in February 2020, just before the pandemic started.

This is cause for celebration for everyone in our communities, but especially for workers of color, who have been historically overrepresented in state and local government jobs.

AFSCME retiree blasts fiscal commission bill as a backdoor way to gut Social Security, Medicare

AFSCME retiree blasts fiscal commission bill as a backdoor way to gut Social Security, Medicare

AFSMCE Retiree Mary Cannon-James and Connecticut Rep. John Larson. Photo credit: Madalin Sammons/ AFSCME

Lawmakers seek congressional support for paraprofessionals and other school staff

Connecticut Rep. Jahana Hayes recently introduced a resolution calling on Congress to affirm its support for providing living wages, good benefits and fair working conditions to paraeducators, classroom assistants, bus drivers, custodial workers and others who are vital to our public education system.

Council 4 Announces Priorities for 2024 Legislative Session

The General Assembly is convening on February 7 for a "short" legislative session that concludes May 8.

Council 4's legislative priorities, informed by discussions with Council 4 leaders and members, reflect a commitment to four main areas:

  1. Protecting Collective Bargaining and Workers' Rights

  2. Strengthening Public Education At All Levels

  3. Supporting Fair Budgets and a Healthy Economy

AFSCME’s ‘I AM Story’ podcast nominated for NAACP Image Award

AFSCME’s “I AM Story” podcast has received a nomination for an NAACP Image Award in the “Outstanding Podcast – Limited Series/Short Form” category.

Union membership numbers show momentum remains strong despite staffing shortages

Despite the growing wave of worker organizing across the country, the union membership rate last year ticked down slightly, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today, underscoring the importance of initiatives like AFSCME’s Staff the Front Lines to fill job vacancies in the public sector.

As a government shutdown looms, AFSCME members voice alarm and frustration

For John Campion, a monitoring officer with AmeriCorps, the potential for a federal government shutdown beginning this month brings fear, insecurity and frustration.

Elmore Nickleberry, Memphis sanitation worker who went on strike in 1968, dies at 92

Elmore Nickleberry, Memphis sanitation worker who went on strike in 1968, dies at 92