Tax Cuts - 10 Months Later
10 months have gone by since the GOP $1.5 trillion tax cuts were passed into law. So how have those cuts worked? These tax cuts were supposed to spur businesses into spending which in turn was to keep the economy growing and increase the wages of the American worker. ...
Breaks during your shift - right or perk?
DOL wage an hour divisoon dosesn't regquire an employer to give your aa break.
Trade tariffs affects trade deficit
President Donald Trump wanted to lower the trade deficit between China and the US. So he increased the tariffs on good imported from China. Those tariffs have had the opposite effect on the trade gap. As it stands now, the trade deficit is at a 10 year high. In one...
More out of pocket expense for families
The Kaiser Family Foundation has recently released a report employer sponored health insurance stating that out of pocket medical cost for families could reach $20,000. That dollar figure includes increasesd cost of employees contributions to portion of health insuranc...
Work Zone Safety
So far this year there have been 2361 crashes, 933 injuries and 13 fatalities. Distraction is a big part of the problem. Drivers are not concentrating on traffic.
House Bill Simplifies and Fixes PSLF, Overhauls Higher Education
A bill that has been introduced in the House of Representatives would simplify the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program for current and would-be participants.
Supreme Court Nominee Named
President Donald Trump announced tonight that Brett Kavanaugh is his pick to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh serves on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which often rules on major challenges to federal laws and p...
A Decade Later: Four Ways Working People Are Still Paying for the 2008 Financial Crisis
It was 10 years ago this month that the 2008 financial crisis kicked into high gear. When storied Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers shut down, bankers walking out of the building carrying cardboard boxes of their possessions made the perfect image for TV cameras.
Caught in Limbo: AFSCME Member Struggles with Student Loan Forgiveness
As a public librarian for the Philadelphia Free Library, Sheila O’Steen embodies what we think of when we imagine a public service worker. Every day, she interacts with members of her community. Whether her patrons are young or old, affluent or impoverished, O’Steen sha...
Health Insurance Premiums on the Rise
Health insurance is one of the most costly expenses for businesses. Premiums have risen by double digits over the years. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual premium for single coverage for 2018 was $6,896 an increase of 3% from 2017. Family...
Brett Kavanaugh: No R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Women’s and Workers’ Rights
Like others around the world, I mourned the death last week of Aretha Franklin. The Queen of Soul set a new standard for enduring classic songs with both artistic and political impact, like her mega-hit “Respect,” which became an anthem for both the civil rights and wom...
2020 Minimum Wage Hikes to Benefit 7 Million Working People
The new year brings good news for millions of working Americans. Nearly 7 million of them are in line to get pay raises this year thanks to state and local minimum-wage hikes.
Injured on the Job, Corrections Officer Links Safety with Collective Bargaining Rights
The day after he was released from a hospital, a bruised and swollen Kelvin Chung told a state Senate committee that state employees like him need collective bargaining rights to advocate for safety on the job.
“I want you to see my face. We need a voice on the job, so...
Believe It or Not, Congress Seeks More Tax Cuts for the Rich
At a time when our country needs real investments in infrastructure, education and public services, congressional leaders are doubling down on tax cuts for the rich.
Cool Under Pressure
The work Joe Martinez does for the Los Angeles County Fire Department is emblematic of countless AFSCME members: he’s never in the spotlight and he’s always under pressure while lives are on the line.
Across the Nation, Workers Are Striking Like It’s 1986
Last year, nearly half a million workers went on strike across the nation, the largest number since 1986, when the country’s union membership rate was considerably higher (17.5%) than it was in 2018 (10.5%).
Minnesota Outperforms Wisconsin
A new report shows Minnesota is a better state for working people than Wisconsin by nearly every important measure.The Economic Policy Institute compared the two states’ records following the end of the Great Recession and the election of Gov. Mark Dayton and Gov. Scott...
Billionaire Spends Millions to Gut Public Pensions
Hardworking Americans’ right to retire with dignity is in danger because billionaires are spending a lot of money to take away our pensions.John Arnold is one of the worst offenders. He’s a former Enron trader who’s spent $50 million of his own fortune trying to gut ret...
Pension Bill Passes
On May 31st, Govenor Dayton signed into a law a pension bill that has been toted to stabilize and protect public pensions for decades to come.
Right or Perk?
You've probably heard said sometime while working. You might have said it yourself. "I have a right to a lunch break. It is the law." But the employer does not have to give you a lunch break. This is confirmed by researching of Federal and State laws. No where doe...
Court Case Threatens Health Care for Millions
Today, the latest attempt by the Trump administration to repeal the Affordable Care Act will unfold at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans, where oral arguments in Texas v. Azar will be heard. The case threatens the future of the ACA, which prov...
Public Charge Rule Would Turn American Dream into Nightmare for Millions
This summer, I joined thousands of union members at a rally in Philadelphia to speak out against the Trump administration’s family separation policy. I was there to represent our union’s vision and values. We reject an immigration policy based on fear and cruelty. We em...
Public Service Loan Forgiveness: A Broken Promise
Megha Desai is a public defender in Multnomah County, Oregon. In a given week, she might work upwards of 60 hours. Right now, she has about 145 open cases.“It's like a conveyor belt. Every day you work on your assigned cases, new ones roll in,” said Desai, a member of L...
Walleye Season: A Year-Round Labor of Love
While we’re known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minnesota could just have easily adopted the moniker ‘Land of Abundant and Delicious Walleye,’ and no one this side of the Wisconsin border would have batted an eye.Each spring, anglers across Minnesota gear up for one of o...
The Numbers Are In: AFSCME Members Are Sticking with Their Union
Our union gained more than 9,000 dues-paying members and nearly 19,000 dues-paying retirees in the last year, suggesting that billionaires and corporations are failing in their effort to “defund and defang” public service unions.