AFSCME President Saunders delivers keynote address: We are growing. We are fearless. And we will win.
LOS ANGELES – On Monday, Aug. 12, AFSCME President Lee Saunders delivered the keynote address at the union’s 46th International Convention in Los Angeles. The leader of the 1.4-million-member union discussed major organizing successes and the negotiation of record-breaking contracts nationwide.
“We are growing — through innovative campaigns like Cultural Workers United,” said Saunders. “We are growing once again in Michigan. We are growing by winning bargaining rights in Nevada, Virginia and Colorado. We are growing by doing the hard work of organizing in tough states like Texas and Louisiana.”
With momentum on their side, Saunders encouraged AFSCME members everywhere to take advantage of this moment and make lasting change for public service workers nationwide.
“With all the anxiety and uncertainty in the country, we have a responsibility to bring people together around common values,” said Saunders. “Instead, anti-worker forces have decided to double down on the most extreme, divisive agenda you can imagine. They call it Project 2025, and it is a clear and direct threat to you, your union, your job, and the people you serve. ...We must offer an alternative vision — a plan for the future of public service workers.”
"The Fearless Agenda” is a plan to strengthen public services and build worker power. The agenda will focus on:
- Fighting for new health and safety standards. This includes mental health services for front-line public service workers and protections against the growing threat of heat exposure due to climate change.
- Addressing chronic short staffing impacting public services through AFSCME’s Staff the Front Lines initiative.
- Strengthening the care economy. AFSCME will focus on increasing community access to affordable care options while expanding rights and freedoms for care workers.
Saunders emphasized to the crowd of thousands that to win a “Fearless Agenda,” the union must be engaged in the 2024 election cycle. He urged AFSCME members to make phone calls, knock on doors and get out the vote for pro-worker candidates up and down the ballot, including Kamala Harris for president and Tim Walz for vice president.
“Kamala Harris once said that AFSCME members — and I quote — ‘do some of the most noble and selfless work that anyone can do,’” said Saunders. “So, if you want a president who honors your sacrifice; a president with the deepest respect for everything you do to strengthen your communities; it seems to me you should get on the bus and support Kamala Harris.”