Fight for Our Union: Saturday Feb 24, 10:30 am Rally at Capitol Rotunda
Next Saturday, February 24, our union, along with tens of thousands of workers across the Country, will be participating in the Working People's Day of Action to rally against billionaires and their think tanks who are trying to take back the hard won gains unions have...
Kickoff 2018 Contract Campaign
Kicking off the Hennepin County contract campaign with a rally at the Government Center in Minneapolis!
Contract ratified by Membership, approved by HC Commissioners
2019-2021 Contract Ratified by Membership85% of 2822 voters voted to accept the new contract with Hennepin County. We know we deserve better; we have already started fighting for our next contract!Thank you to everyone who voted and everyone who has been fighting for be...
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.
A New Voice: July 2019
Check out the July issue of the 2822 newsletter to read about the President's take on happenings around the county, Congressional Round table from the Recording Secretary, and Unions refusing increases in Healthcare Costs.
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...
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...
Bargaining Table Talk Contract Update 6.21.18
The 2018 Contract campaign continues! Locals 34, 552, 1719, 2822, 2864, and 2938 are at the table. The Union will keep members updated through this newsletter known as “Table Talk” Please keep in mind, Economic Issues will not be discussed in negotiations until August.
Our Union Makes Us Strong! AFSCME 2822 Class Action Grievance Updates
Salutations Union family, this is an update on class action grievances from your AFSCME 2822 chief steward and on behalf of all of our stewards in AFSCME 2822.During the past three years we have fought for all of our AFSCME 2822 members and this has resulted in more gri...
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...
Tentative Agreement Reached!
Early in the morning on August 29, after nearly 19 hours of mediation, all 6 Hennepin County AFSCME locals reached a tentative agreement for our contract with Hennepin County. As members you will vote on whether or not to accept it. Voting ratification dates, locations,...
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...
Congressional Labor Roundtables
In May, AFSCME 2822 delegates to the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation (MLRF) attended two congressional roundtable discussions with US House Representatives Ilhan Omar (MNCD5) and Dean Phillips (MNCD3). This was historic as both these US reps are new to Congress. P...
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.
Protecting Nurses During National Nurses Week
During National Nurses Week, we celebrate the heroes who, with skill and compassion, care for the sick. This year, we’re honoring their hard work and dedication by supporting the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, a bill that s...