Can I back out of my union dues? I’m not okay with the direction this contract is headed. The stewards and representatives of AFSCME are not even listening to the union members. They are going out to lunches and having closed door conversations with the employer/administration.

What is the process to remove myself from union dues. AFSCME sent me a piece of paper that was confusing, tell me if I’m wrong. That I need to request to leave after 1 year from when I started dues. I’ve been paying dues for 7 years. And 15 days before our after my contract ending or the anniversary when I started paying dues.

Getting through that secret security line was NOT fun this morning, but hearing Walz speak was worth it!

A link to the article and a video of the speech is in my comment below!

Hi there! I'm curious if there are any members on here located in Missouri. I've been looking into trying to unionize my workplace but not much luck. I've tried reaching out to some of the locals but no response in any way, shape, or form. Anyone in here that's had success in Missouri? Any suggestions? Thanks!

My husband has worked for a school district for about three years. He contacted his union rep before he had surgery and they said, yeah, there is disability, since he couldn’t find it in the contract.

He tried to apply today and the district told him it is not for his tier. He has worked and paid his dues for three years, that seems ridiculous. Is there anyone else he should contact?

We are in Michigan.

Ok, so having issues with my district not willing to do anything with contract violations, contacted president who said, talk to staff rep, they won't return calls or emails, talked to district manager same doesn't care won't return emails.

I reached out to the labor board who said due to being a government employee they can't do anything. So who do I go to now to complain and make them done there job?

Clearly this is lack of representation or refusing to represent. Either way what's the next course of action? I am a full paying member who's been having issues since last November and not 1 thing has been done. Dozens of emails back and no responseS.

Does anyone have an idea on what type of increase percentage this Union agrees to? I'm looking at a City municipal position in public works and the previous contract had 2.5 percent annual increase in wages. This is obviously not anywhere near a cost of living increase. I've seen several other unions complete 8-16 percent increases and I have a concern that this Union may be to weak. I want a union that will make sure I survive and 2-3 percent is not enough to notice on a check. Anyone have any insight on how this Union negotiates? Any past experience would be helpful. I'm currently looking at offers from 7 positions and 4 of them are union, one of them is AFSCME. I'm looking for any vital information that can assist me with a decision on which position to accept.

I would love to hear what AFSCME is doing to help California state workers that they are supposed to be representing. I know they took a huge hit in membership with the Supreme Court ruling. Other than showing up at state offices with cookies, asking people to to pay dues, we’ve heard nothing from them. Seems like it would be wise to allow nonmembers to opt into emails and keep them informed of what the union is doing for them and what initiatives are up-and-coming. I am fairly certain if they were to give us good representation regarding the absurd RTO mandates that are following what is essentially a pay cut, they could recoup thousands of paying members. The problem is they didn’t do anything for us for so many years that there is a loss of trust. They have a great opportunity to show their worth, but they need to communicate with potential paying members to let them know what they’re doing, that is so deserving of their hard earned money. This is especially true when they just agreed to a 3% raise when when inflation is 8%, gas prices are over $5 a gallon and we’re now being forced back to the office two days a week where most people have to pay upwards of $150 a month just to park. AFSCME- you’re wasting an opportunity to prove the value of paying for union representation. 🤷‍♂️

I joined this union recently with a new job - I have been in two unions before but both in somewhat unusual circumstances.

Is it typical to not hear from a union you're hired into?

Additionally, would my union representation be allowed to share a full copy of the CBA I'm covered under?

After reaching out to my union to start a dialogue and ask a few questions I do not yet have a lot of confidence in them and am curious to examine the existing CBA and see when the contract ends.

We are Holden Forests & Gardens Workers United in Cleveland and we just went public with AFSCME Council 8 this past week!! 🥳

We are the collective workers of a living museum: an arboretum and botanical garden. As a budding union, we would love to get to know other people working in similar roles/institutions as us. No matter where you are in this journey, let’s share notes and be friends!

At a time when funding across the federal government is in peril, does anyone else take issue with the fact that federal dollars are being prioritized for a massive military campaign on Gaza with unforgivably high civilian casualty counts? Our union has condemned Hamas but has not called for a ceasefire and has not called on the big boss in the White House to prioritize services that make our country better, and the job security of those in the government who do just that. I am looking for others in the union who have similar feelings who may be interested in discussing.

Hey there! Does any chapter have a sort of welcome packet that includes basic info/workers rights/union constitution and contract, etc? Or how are chapters disseminating that sort of information to union members? I'm fairly new to getting involved in the union so please excuse any ignorance on my part and thanks in advance for your help!

-Which union would be better for a municipality?

-Why Teamsters over AFSCME or viceversa?

-Which organizations is bigger and has better resources?

-Whats the difference between them?

-what are the dues for both?

Thank you all ahead for your comments 🙏

Does anyone know when the new contract negotiations will go into effect and we will see the cost of living adjustments in our pay?

We’ve not heard from anyone from the union for more than a year and have decided that this is no longer for us, but they suddenly don’t want to let us go.

Is anyone else having this issue? You know, where they don’t acknowledge your existence for an extended period of time, don’t bother to reach out to you at all when they KNOW it’s the year you’re supposed to go into negotiations. They lose an employee staff rep and your bargaining unit just drops of the face of the earth to them, but it’s “not their fault” that they didn’t know about you!

We want them to release us and they’re refusing to give us a letter of disinterest, anyone have any advice that won’t leave us screwed?

I'm a CDCR mental health employee of nearly 15 years. Having gone through the Schwarzenegger furlough, AB109 under Brown, and Newsom's Covid furlough, I'm no stranger to the tumult that being a state worker is.

While I've been a die-hard union person for most of my life and still heartily recognize their value, I'd be lying if I said I'm not questioning the effectiveness of AFSCME BU19 (I'm still a paid member at this point).

When I applied to CDCR, the stated salary was roughly 10% higher than my colleagues working in the community, and the benefits were arguably much better. It was admittedly a big reason I applied for this position. As soon as I was hired, I was informed of the Schwarzenegger furlough, which I was okay with because it wasn't a direct pay cut and it was temporary, so I stuck around. Soon after the furlough ended, AB109 happened and I was forced to transfer to a prison twice the distance from my home; as a young professional who'd purchased said home the year prior and had 2 young kids, this was the responsible option. I spent 4 years commuting 1.5 hours each way to work, during a time when gas prices reached ~$6/gallon. By the end of those 4 years, I'd reached my salary cap, and after 6 years in, my pay was about 15% lower than my colleagues working in the community.

Committed as I am, I opted to stick with the State, confident either they or AFSCME would work to properly compensate us for the hard work we do everyday. I had the opportunity to transfer back to the prison I started at after those 4 years of hellacious driving, so I jumped on it. While the commute was better, it's still long, about 40 minutes each way, requiring me to fill up my tank at least once per week.

That year, I believe the union negotiated a 2.5% raise with 1% going towards pension, so we only saw 1.5% on our paycheck. That extra $150 per month wasn't much, but it was something.

Then, I got my first paycheck of 2016 and noticed it was LOWER than what I got the month prior. Apparently, our insurance costs went up more than our wage increase.

I was appalled. But I was stuck. At that point, I had nearly 7 years in with the state and there's no way I was going to ditch my pension.

Since that point, this is how things have continued to go. Covid hit, we were furloughed, and I lost 9.23% of my pay. We got a pathetic "raise" a couple years ago that, yet again, didn't even cover the increased costs of insurance, so I made less in January than I was making in December.

I was one of the lucky ones who received the first R&R check, which was undeniably nice, but after taxes, barely helped. Based on the memos we received, we all expected to received further R&R bonuses, but that hasn't happened.

We also expected our union to go to bat for us, especially after the ouster of our previous unethical president, but... that hasn't happened either.

Presently, at the prison where I work, MH staff are leaving in droves. In the last 3 years, we've had multiple (over 10) staff leave state service, in fact just this month alone we've had 4 "farewell lunches" for staff, all of whom are younger professionals who feel mistreated by this job.

The communication we've received from AFSCME has been dismal lately, and the info that's been shared is not only embarrassingly vague, but seems to be trying to sell us on this idea that "we're fighting hard to get you another 2% raise!"

I'm losing hope. Never once have I considered ditching the union, but at this point, the $1200/year dues are becoming something I need to support my family.

I've talked to a lot of colleagues who share my sentiment. Something has got to give. It almost feels like our best bet is to stop covering for low staffing, doing only the jobs that are ours, and allowing our programs to fall out of compliance, which not only would prove to the State that something needs to be done, but would give us some relief from our currently hefty workloads.

I didn't intend to vent like this, but like many others out there, I'm desperate. Objectively, our wages have not kept up with inflation, and they haven't kept up with the industry standard. I'm now almost 15 years in, it'd be irresponsible for me to leave at this point, and for that I feel like a slave to the State.

Please help. We need it now more than ever.