December 06, 2024 In Iowa, a county supervisor pays price for union busting Iowa union busters take note: Don’t mess with AFSCME Council 61. Read More
September 26, 2024 Two recent assaults at Iowa penitentiary highlight safety crisis, governor’s leadership failure After two corrections officers were assaulted at an Iowa prison, AFSCME Council 61 demands action from governor.Iow Read More
July 15, 2024 The 2024 Gerald McEntee Scholarship winner was raised in union power The 2024 Gerald McEntee Scholarship winner is an AFSCME member from Iowa. Read More
June 14, 2024 Sheriff’s deputy rides out tornado in vehicle after saving lives of others An Iowa sheriff’s deputy had to ride out a tornado after saving people from it. Read More
February 15, 2024 AFSCME retiree blasts fiscal commission bill as a backdoor way to gut Social Security, Medicare An AFSCME retiree from Iowa spoke out on Capitol Hill against establishing a fiscal commission. Read More
December 21, 2023 After board reversal, workers secure first-ever library contract in Missouri Victory! Workers at a Missouri library system finally have a “transformative” contract. Read More
September 27, 2022 St. Louis city and county employees fight for – and win – paid family and medical leave Member of AFSCM Local 410 (Council 61) were key in ensuring workers for the city and county of St. Louis, Missouri, get paid FMLA leave. Read More
May 25, 2022 Historic union win for workers at one Missouri library system Meet Missouri’s first active library union. Daniel Boone Regional Library Workers United was formed through AFSCME Council 61. Read More
February 17, 2022 Workers at MO library system seek voluntary recognition of their new union Workers at a library system in Missouri are asking management to recognize their union. Read More
June 04, 2021 Iowa corrections package is good but not good enough The Iowa legislative package for increased corrections funding – coming two months after the Anamosa State Penitentiary killings of AFSCME members – is a good start but isn’t good enough. Read More
April 09, 2021 Iowa prison worker deaths prompt urgent call for reforms Two AFSCME prison workers in Iowa were killed on the job. This could’ve been avoided if there had been adequate staffing, Council 61 argues. Read More
November 12, 2020 Iowa workers vote to recertify union – despite enormous challenges For the fourth straight year, AFSCME Council 61 workers have recertified their union. Read More
February 03, 2020 At AFSCME’s Iowa Coffee Caucus, Candidates Champion Public Services and Unions The event held Saturday – two days before the Iowa caucus – gave Council 61 members an opportunity to hear from presidential candidates and surrogates. Read More
December 09, 2019 A Minor Gesture Makes a Major Difference Iowa utility worker Chris DeHarty, a member of AFSCME Local 212 (Council 61), helped his fellow public service worker, Lynette Tiede-Beals, in a time of crisis. Read More
November 01, 2019 Iowa Workers Vote for Recertification – Again For the third consecutive year, Iowa workers have voted overwhelmingly to recertify their union. Read More
June 26, 2019 Former Iowa Nurse Speaks Up for Union Bill in Congress A former Iowa nurse and AFSCME member who was attacked on the job supports congressional legislation that would protect union rights. Read More
June 20, 2019 Following Attack, AFSCME Iowa Nurse Speaks Out for Safe Workplaces "They refused to let my co-workers donate vacation days to help me make it through. They refused my request for unpaid time off once my paid sick time ran out. And finally, they fired me." Read More
October 30, 2018 AFSCME Members in Iowa Overwhelmingly Vote Yes to Recertify their Union This is proof that despite attacks against public service workers and their unions, if we stand together, we can be stronger than ever before. Read More
October 16, 2018 Union Lawsuit Seeks to Block Missouri’s New Anti-Worker Law Missouri workers are holding strong against another wave of attacks by anti-worker politicians. Read More
November 22, 2017 AFSCME Appeals Judge’s Ruling in Collective Bargaining Lawsuit AFSCME in Iowa is taking its fight against an anti-collective bargaining law all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court. Read More
October 27, 2017 Iowa Workers Give Their Union a Resounding Vote of Confidence In a resounding vote of confidence, virtually all of the more than 1,700 AFSCME Iowa public service workers voted this week to remain with their union. Read More
October 20, 2017 Iowa Prison Stabbing Leads AFSCME to Demand Action ‘Before Someone Gets Killed’ AFSCME Iowa Council 61 is demanding action from Iowa Department of Corrections officials after two correctional officers were attacked by inmates in less than a week. Read More
August 15, 2017 Lessons from Iowa This past February, Iowa’s collective bargaining law was gutted. Learn how they’re standing up to take back what’s theirs. Read More
April 11, 2017 Welcome to Our New Podcast: About That AFSCME Life! Listen to the very first episode of About That AFSCME Life, the new podcast bringing you the stories of your sisters and brothers and news you can use. Read More
March 09, 2017 Saunders to Iowa: We’ll Stand Together and Build Together Hundreds of Iowa Council 61 members – clad in AFSCME green – flooded the Iowa State Capital this week to stand up against attacks on working people. Read More
March 07, 2017 IA Pol’s Degree Is Bogus Wile also attacking working families, an Iowa state senator touted his “business degree” from a steakhouse chain. Read More
February 21, 2017 AFSCME Stands by Public Workers in Iowa AFSCME is fighting back in Iowa against the latest attempt to silence the voices of working people and take away their ability to negotiate together for better wages and working conditions. Read More
February 10, 2017 Iowa Pols Should Support Workers’ Rights, Not Squash Them More than 184,000 Iowa public service workers are about to lose important collective bargaining rights. Read More
January 19, 2017 Iowa Vets to Pols: Our Issues Are Working Family Issues Hundreds of Iowa vets tell legislators that their issues are aligned with the concerns of working families. Read More
January 10, 2017 Council 61 Members Stand Up for Their Collective Bargaining Rights Members of AFSCME Council 61 stood together to fight for Iowa communities. Find out how. Read More
June 09, 2016 The Lingering Cost of Education The student debt crisis reaches across generations. Our union can help. Read More
April 01, 2016 Safe Staffing Big Problem in Iowa Corrections Prison escapes and attacks on correctional officers led Iowa Local 451 members to say, “Enough!” Then they took action. Read More
March 07, 2016 Never Quit: Louise Lex, 86, Just Wants to Help People Louise Lex, 86, personifies the theme of National Women’s History Month: “Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.” Read More
February 01, 2016 AFSCME Volunteers Rally with Bill Clinton in Iowa 400-plus volunteers from AFSCME and other unions joined former President Bill Clinton in Iowa for a Get Out The Caucus event. Read More
December 08, 2015 AFSCME Protesters Trump the Donald in Iowa AFSCME members take on The Donald at his own event in Davenport, Iowa, on Dec. 5. His policies: Bad for working families. Read More
April 27, 2015 AFSCME Iowa Council 61 Member Is Life Saver All across America, there are countless public employees who work every day to help keep us safe. Among them is Elizabeth Cleveland, an emergency communications operator and a member of Local 2364 (AFSCME Iowa Council 61). Read More
March 27, 2015 Arbitrator Rules for Iowa State Employees on Health Care An arbitrator empowered to determine a contract impasse between the State of Iowa and its 19,000 state and judicial branch employees ruled in favor of the workers when it accepted the union’s health insurance proposal. Read More