‘Save Public Services’ week of action brings out the fight in the Green Machine

Now in the hands of the Senate, the bill would also rip huge holes in state budgets, leading to layoffs and furloughs of AFSCME members.

AFSCME members also warned senators, who will soon vote on the budget bill, that we will also hold them accountable if they choose billionaires over working families.

In Arizona, events were held outside AFSCME locals in Phoenix and Tucson. Andrew Soto, a member of AFSCME Local 2960 and a neighborhood inspector for the City of Phoenix, blasted Arizona Rep. David Schweikert for supporting the budget bill. 

 “If the budget that Congressman Schweikert supports becomes law, it will make the biggest cuts to Medicaid ever,” Soto said. “Don’t give billionaires tax breaks at the expense of workers, families, children and seniors.”  

In Des Moines, Iowa, AFSCME members and allies gathered outside Sen. Joni Ernst’s office to rail against the so-called “big, beautiful bill.”  

They held a giant check for $4.5 trillion — the amount billionaires will rake in in tax breaks, paid for by working families, children, veterans and retirees.   

Their message — don’t cut public services to pay for billionaire tax breaks — was also directed at Iowa Rep. Zach Nunn, who supported the House plan. 

AFSCME Council 61 President Todd Copley warned that federal budget cuts “don’t just trim fat — they cut to the bone the programs our members operate, and our Iowa families rely on. We ask everyone here — every AFSCME member, every ally, every elected leader with a conscience — to stand up and stand with us.” 

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, members like Ross Thomas of Local 3033 (Council 13), an equipment operator for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, turned out because cutting programs like Medicaid is personal to him. 

“My family, we rely on Medicaid. I have two children who desperately need that as secondary insurance. The idea that they’re going to take this away from me scares the bejesus out of me,” Thomas said.  

In Bakersfield and Anaheim, California, AFSCME members called out California Reps. David Valadao and Young Kim for voting for the dangerous bill. 

In Bakersfield, Monica Escalante, an in-home support services provider and member of United Domestic Workers, warned: “Without federal funding, all the services AFSCME & UDW provide, and our jobs, could be on the chopping block. We are essential, we are needed. Our clients are in need of our services; they can die without us.” 

AFSCME retiree members also held events in Cleveland, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Tucson, Arizona. Those events featured a giant iPad. Community members used the iPad to send letters to Congress to oppose cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, food assistance and public services.

Fired up by AFSCME retiree members, people have so far sent nearly 140 letters to senators. These letters described how the House’s budget bill puts billionaires before working families, and the price we will all pay, especially from deep cuts to Medicaid. 

“Medicaid helps pay for care that seniors, people with disabilities, and many families need to live healthy and safe lives,” the letters say. “If Congress cuts Medicaid, schools, towns, and local programs could lose funding. Jobs could be lost. Services people count on could disappear.” 

In Philadelphia, AFSCME Retiree Sheila Bennett, president of Retiree Chapter 1199C, described how important Medicaid has been in her life and how cutting it would be disastrous. 

“I was raised on Medicaid, and without it, I can’t say I’d be here today,” Bennett said. “Because of programs like Medicaid and nutrition assistance, I was able to get the health care I needed, have healthy meals, and make a life for myself. That’s what we’re here to protect.” 

And a group of AFSCME Local 875 nurses from Flint, Michigan, and a CSEA lab technician from New York took the fight to Capitol Hill, where they met with lawmakers to explain how cutting Medicaid, Medicare and other essential services will harm our health care system.

Online, two virtual “teach-ins” were led by Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey to educate the public about how the cuts in the proposed budget bill will affect everything from health care to the environment.  

AFSCME Council 32 member Zabdiel “Zab” Martinez, a Medicaid and SNAP eligibility specialist from Dane County, Wisconsin, participated in one of the teach-ins.   

And a group of AFSCME Local 875 nurses from Flint, Michigan, and a CSEA lab technician from New York took the fight to Capitol Hill, where they met with lawmakers to explain how cutting Medicaid, Medicare and other essential services will harm our health care system. 

AFSCME members partnered with allies at other events across the country throughout the week of action. 

If you want to take part in the movement to stand up for public services and protect lifesaving programs that working people and retirees rely on, text GO to 237263. Join the fight and Get Organized.