Press Releases

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: 911 dispatchers deserve respect, not defunding

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement recognizing National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which runs from April 13-19: “AFSCME members do lifesaving work every single day as 911 dispatchers and emergency phone…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Forcing Social Security beneficiaries to use X is Elon Musk’s latest money-making scheme

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after it was reported that the Social Security Administration is moving all public communications to Elon Musk’s X: “Retirees, disabled individuals and the millions of…

  • Saunders: AFSCME members won’t let Congress defund public services for billionaire tax cuts

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the House passed a budget reconciliation package that will force devastating cuts to essential public services nationwide: “Today, Congress again passed a budget framework…

  • Coalition Statement Responding to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling

    Public Service Unions, Small Business, Veterans and Conservation Organizations and Rule of Law Advocates Vow to Continue Fight WASHINGTON – In response to today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court granting the government’s request for a stay of…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Library workers are always there for our communities – now, let’s be there for them

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement recognizing National Library Workers’ Day on April 8, 2025: “This National Library Workers’ Day, AFSCME proudly salutes the dedicated workers who power our nation’s public…

  • AFSCME and union partners join with members of Congress to reintroduce bill to expand workers’ freedoms

    As workers face unprecedented attacks despite support for labor unions remaining at near-historic highs, the bipartisan Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act is needed to protect and expand the freedom of public service workers to…

  • American Library Association, AFSCME Challenge Trump Administration Gutting of Institute of Museum and Library Services

    Cuts to Independent Agency Threatens Libraries Nationwide Washington, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA), the largest library association in the world, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the largest union…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: As the economy sinks, senators vote to further enrich billionaires

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the Senate passed a budget plan that opens the door to massive cuts to public services including Medicaid: “Working people are watching their hard-earned…

  • Unions, Retirees File Motion for Preliminary Injunction to Halt Unlawful DOGE Access to Social Security Data as New Facts Emerge

    Filing Seeks to Restore Control Over SSA’s Data Systems and Suspend DOGE’s Unlawful Activity Until the Lawsuit is Resolved Baltimore, MD — Today, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American Federation…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Patients who depend on Medicare and Medicaid deserve better than Dr. Oz

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the Senate confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): “At a time when our population is growing…