• Museum, school employees file for historic union election at Art Institute of Chicago

    Museum, school employees file for historic union election at Art Institute of Chicago

    Employees of the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC, the museum) and the School of the Art Institute (SAIC, the college) took another big step toward forming their union when they filed representation petitions with the National Labor Relations Board.

  • VIDEO: AFSCME Council 31 On the Front Lines

    VIDEO: AFSCME Council 31 On the Front Lines

    AFSCME members have been on the front lines of this pandemic since Day One and we’re still going strong. Don’t miss this video that premiered at the Council 31 convention on October 16.

  • The path forward: COVID-19 vaccines

    The path forward: COVID-19 vaccines

    Getting vaccinated can prevent getting sick with COVID-19 and spreading the virus to your co-workers and loved ones.

  • Art Institute of Chicago workers join AFSCME

    Art Institute of Chicago workers join AFSCME

    More than 300 employees of the Art Institute of Chicago are forming a union, the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United (AICWU), with AFSCME. The announcement came Aug. 3 in a public letter signed by 60 employees.

  • Child tax credits arrive

    Child tax credits arrive

    Last week AFSCME members got a big boost in their “mailboxes”—the largest-ever tax cut for working families in American history is the newly expanded child tax credit, part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

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New! Biden signs bipartisan infrastructure bill

President Joe Biden signed the historic bipartisan infrastructure bill on Nov. 15, bringing more than $17 billion for capital projects in Illinois.
New! Supreme Court refuses to take up cases aimed at weakening unions

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear four cases aimed at expanding the scope of its 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31.
New! Better Together: AFSCME Council 31 Convention

With the theme of Better Together, AFSCME Council 31’s 22nd biennial convention focused on all that has been achieved through solidarity over the last two years—and the importance of staying united to overcome the challenges ahead.
New! VIDEO: In Memoriam—Rest in Power

This memorial video of AFSCME members who we have lost since our last convention in 2019 was aired at convention on October 15, 2021 and includes a beautiful performance by Renee Barnes who is on the staff of our international union.
New! VIDEO: AFSCME Council 31 On the Front Lines

AFSCME members have been on the front lines of this pandemic since Day One and we’re still going strong. Don’t miss this video that premiered at the Council 31 convention on October 16.
On the Job: Bill Van Buskirk

A member of AFSCME Local 799 and a Madison County Probation Officer, this AFSCME member makes a difference every day.
AFSCME helps change the law for Wexford CNAs

In the spring state legislative session, the AFSCME Council 31 lobbying team secured passage of a bill that helps certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in the Illinois Department of Corrections maintain their certification.
AFSCME members keep children safe through pandemic

Three Child Protection Specialists in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services share their stories of protecting the well-being of vulnerable children despite the risks to their own health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What AFSCME has meant to our family”

Miley Worker is winner of a national 2021 AFSCME Family Scholarship and the daughter of AFSCME Council 31 Executive Board member and Local 993 President Tim Worker.
Vaccination offers strong protection against Delta variant

Fully vaccinated individuals are five times less likely to get infected, more than ten times less likely to die of COVID than unvaccinated individuals and more than ten times less likely to be hospitalized.
COVID soaring again—Delta variant strikes hard

Vaccines have proven to be the most effective way by far to protect against the coronavirus and its variants, reducing infection and preventing hospitalization and death.

Americans are pro-union

Americans’ approval of labor unions is at the highest point it’s been in decades—68%—a recent Gallup poll found.
School joins Art Institute of Chicago Workers United and AFSCME

More than 300 employees of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago are forming a union, joining 300 workers on the museum side of the Art Institute. Both groups are coming together as the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United (AICWU).
AFSCME members protest proposed sale of city water service

AFSCME Local 988 members sounded the alarm about a private corporation pushing to take over the city's water service with a robust informational picket: “I don’t think something like water should be used for profit."