News
May 31, 2023
New! State contract negotiations heat up

With no clear signs that the Management Bargaining Committee recognizes the importance of the work that state employees do, union members are beginning to take more forceful actions to secure a fair contract.

May 30, 2023
New! Peggy Notabaert Nature Museum workers win union election with AFSCME

In the sixth big win in the past year and a half for Chicago-area cultural workers organizing with AFSCME, employees of the Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and its off-site collections facility won their union election.

May 30, 2023
New! Whiteside Co. health workers determined to win fair contract

The 90 employees of the public health department who formed their union with AFSCME in December 2021 have been at the bargaining table for more than a year.

May 30, 2023
New! SIUE workers find solidarity in contract fight

The administrative staff of AFSCME Local 2887 and the building service workers of Local 2232 are spreading solidarity across campus, standing arm in arm to support each other’s fights for better working conditions.

May 26, 2023
New! AFSCME park district workers across Illinois welcome summer

The frost of winter has given way to a sea of green—the grass is growing, the trees have sprouted new leaves. In park districts across the state, AFSCME members are there to help shepherd the summer season in.

Apr 05, 2023
New! 2023 Election Results for AFSCME-Recommended Candidates

In communities across Illinois, candidates endorsed by AFSCME PEOPLE won their elections on April 4.

Mar 16, 2023
Chicago City Council passes labor peace ordinance

The Chicago City Council passed the AFSCME-sponsored Human Service Workforce Advancement (HSWA) ordinance by a veto-proof majority of 42-2 on March 15.

Mar 10, 2023
Field Museum employees win union with AFSCME

Nearly 300 employees of the Field Museum have won their union with AFSCME Council 31.

Feb 10, 2023
DSP wage increase campaign set to kick into high gear

AFSCME members who care for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities in community agencies are ramping up for a wide-ranging, concerted effort to get wage increases through the state budgeting process.

Dec 14, 2022
Logan County Health Department wins healthy new contract

They battled through a pandemic. Now, workers at the Logan County Health Department have won a new contract that rewards them for the good work they've done throughout the public health crisis.

Dec 13, 2022
New! SAIC adjunct professors, lecturers vote to join AFSCME

More than 600 non-tenure-track faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) have voted overwhelmingly to form their union with AFSCME. 92% of ballots cast were in favor of the union.

Dec 13, 2022
Local 3328 makes big improvements in wages

Members of Local 3328 in the DuPage County Probation Department won a great contract where the smallest increase for each employee was $7,000, and the average increase for all members was 25% over the three-year life of the contract.

Dec 12, 2022
State bargaining committee gears up for negotiations

AFSCME members in state government are gearing up for contract negotiations for a new state of Illinois master contract, which covers some 35,000 state employees.

Dec 12, 2022
Rushville exposure incident underscores need for mail safety

A security therapy aide at the state of Illinois’ Rushville Treatment and Detention Center nearly died in October after coming into contact with an unknown substance sent to the facility by mail.

Dec 12, 2022
Randolph County voters back measure to keep care center open

Randolph County residents delivered an overwhelming vote to keep the community’s nursing home in public hands. A referendum to sell an unused portion of the nursing home passed with 67% of the vote.

Dec 27, 2022
Field Museum workers file for union election with AFSCME

Employees of the Field Museum filed union representation petitions with the National Labor Relations Board, triggering a union election in the coming weeks in which the employees can vote to formally certify their union.

Nov 09, 2022
2022 Election Results For AFSCME-Recommended Candidates

AFSCME-recommended candidates won up and down the ballot in the Nov. 8 general election.

Dec 12, 2022
IPI sinks even lower in failed attempt to defeat Workers' Rights Amendment

In the IPI's failed campaign to defeat the Workers’ Rights Amendment, it sunk to new, unimaginable lows.

Feb 10, 2023
HRDAC pushes to gut university worker protections

The State University Civil Service System (SUCSS) was created to ensure the fair and equal recruitment, retention and development of university staff and provides critical protections to workers in the university system. But now it has come under threat.

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