Press Releases

  • AFSCME’s Saunders on mass layoffs at the Department of Education: This is Project 2025 in action

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the Department of Education announced it will be eliminating nearly half of the agency’s staff: “These mass layoffs are Project 2025 in action, and…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: The mask is off – Elon Musk wants to cut Social Security

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after Elon Musk called Social Security ‘the big one to eliminate’ when it comes to his plans to cut public services: “The mask is off:…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: This retaliatory attack on TSA agents jeopardizes public safety

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security moved to strip Transportation Security Officers of their collective bargaining rights: “AFSCME stands in solidarity with the 47,000 unionized…

  • Unions, Retirees Seek Emergency Relief to Block DOGE’s Unlawful Social Security Data Overreach

    AFSCME, Alliance for Retired Americans, AFT Challenge DOGE’s Illegal Access to Confidential, Private Data of Hundreds of Millions of Americans Baltimore, MD — Yesterday, a coalition of unions and retirees filed a motion for emergency relief…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Children and workers will suffer the cost of Linda McMahon’s plans to cut education

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in opposition to Linda McMahon’s confirmation to lead the U.S. Department of Education: “Billionaires led by Elon Musk are hellbent on dismantling the U.S. Department…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: ‘The biggest scheme of all time is Elon Musk’s takeover of the federal government’

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after Elon Musk called Social Security ‘the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time’: “The biggest scheme of all time is Elon Musk’s hostile takeover of…

  • Federal Court Finds Firing of Probationary Federal Employees Illegal

    Judge Alsup calls probationary federal employees “the lifeblood of our government”   SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, presided over by Judge William H. Alsup, granted a…

  • Maryland State Supervisors Vote Overwhelmingly to Join AFSCME Maryland

    Vote signifies one of the largest expansions of collective bargaining rights in Maryland in decades   Annapolis – After three weeks of voting, nearly 5,000 supervisors employed by the State of Maryland have joined AFSCME…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: This budget proves anti-union extremists are more concerned about tax breaks for billionaires than helping working people

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the House passed a budget plan to gut Medicaid, SNAP and essential public services nationwide: “This budget proves that anti-union extremists in Congress are…

  • Coalition of Unions, Small Businesses, Veterans, and Conservation Organizations Seek Injunction to Prevent Unlawful Firings

    Amended Complaint also Targets Illegal “Five Things” Email   WASHINGTON, D.C. – In their lawsuit attempting to block the unlawful mass terminations of probationary federal employees, some of the nation’s largest and most influential public…