Lines bus tour made its last stop in Baltimore earlier this month. Six governors, 12 mayors and countless state, city and county employers joined the bus tour to raise awareness about the hundreds of thousands of public service job openings. They also sat down with AFSCME members for listening sessions to find solutions and discuss how to better recruit and retain the essential workers needed to keep our communities running.
In Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, New York City, Providence, Hartford and Baltimore, state and local leaders also partnered with AFSCME to hold job fairs, which attracted more than 2,000 job seekers.
Later this fall, AFSCME will release a policy guide for state and local officials with recommendations on how to tackle the staffing crisis in public services, which will include learnings from the listening sessions. The union has also begun work on a national Job Training and Development Center to build a sustainable talent pipeline into public service and address structural barriers to entry and advancement.
The bus made stops in New York, Michigan, Minnesota, California, Arizona, New Mexico, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maryland.
Read more about the Staff the Front Lines bus tour:
- New York Times: Jobs Sit Empty in the Public Sector, So Unions Pitch In to Recruit
- Route Fifty: The nation’s biggest public union wants to help fix the workforce shortage
- Rochester First: ‘We need help:’ Union leaders, elected officials address staffing crisis in public service sector
- Lansing City Pulse: Gilchrist joins labor leaders to promote public sector jobs amid staffing crisis
- KARE NBC MN: State of Minnesota seeks to fill hundreds of open jobs
- Star Tribune: Government jobs grew this year in Minnesota after post-pandemic lag
- KPBS: Looking for a job? The City of San Diego is currently hiring for public service jobs (article and video)
- Arizona Republic: Gov. Hobbs, Mayor Gallego join effort spotlighting issues facing public workers
- Albuquerque Journal: Job fair for public positions draws attention: “We can put folks to work right away”
- Hudson County View: AFSCME’s ‘Staff the Front Lines’ bus tour to fill public service jobs stops in Jersey City
- The Philadelphia Inquirer: Amid a staffing crisis, Philly Mayor Jim Kenney urged people to apply for city jobs: ‘We need your help’
- ABC 6 Philadelphia: Hundreds turn out for City of Philadelphia hiring event amid worker shortage
- Lehigh Valley Business: AFSCME tour promotes public service jobs throughout Pa.
- Columbus Dispatch: ‘A career with purpose and freedom,’ Columbus rally recruits public service workers
- News 12 NYC: Residents flood hiring fair at Sunset Park
- The Valley Breeze: Officials highlight current staffing crisis
- WGBH NPR: Rally encourages Massachusetts residents to apply for public sector jobs
- Hartford Courant: Lamont a promoter at ‘Staff the Front Lines’
- Spectrum News 1: New laws signed aimed to bolster public sector workforce in New York
- Baltimore Sun: Gov. Wes Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott join workers’ union in a call to staff the public sector
- Daily Bruin: At LA stop, Staff the Front Lines bus tour encourages careers in public service