Press Releases

  • Trump Administration “Fork Directive” Unlawful as Written, Unions Urge Court to Find

    Offer, FAQs Are Misleading, Coercive   Lawsuit Seeks to Stay February 6 Deadline, Require Agency to Articulate a Lawful Policy   Massachusetts – In a legal challenge filed today, the American Federation of Government Employees…

  • Public Service Unions File Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration Efforts to Politicize the Civil Service

    WASHINGTON – Today, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), represented by Democracy Forward and Bredhoff and Kaiser PLLC, filed suit against the Trump…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders on the federal funding freeze: This is a blatant overreach straight from Project 2025

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in response to reporting that the Trump administration has halted federal financial assistance including billions in funding to programs that working families depend on:  …

  • Saunders on BLS Report: AFSCME is proud to have welcomed tens of thousands of new members in 2024

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in response to the BLS annual report on union membership and earnings released today: “AFSCME is proud to report that tens of thousands of new…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: White House executive orders are attacks on the entire labor movement

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s executive orders:   “With the stroke of a pen, we are now on a path toward a dark era…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Workers deserve better than attacks on day one

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in response to executive orders Donald Trump signed on day one to weaken workers’ union rights:   “Yesterday, Donald Trump began his presidency by signing…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: We honor the legacy of Jimmy Carter, a man who embodied public service

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement on the National Day of Mourning honoring the life and legacy of President Jimmy Carter: “Today, our nation pauses to honor the legacy of a…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders on SEIU joining the AFL-CIO: Together, we will usher in a new era of union power

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after it was announced that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will be joining the AFL-CIO: “AFSCME is proud to welcome our longtime ally and…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Finally, GPO-WEP is gone for good

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after President Joe Biden signed The Social Security Fairness Act into law: “Finally, GPO-WEP is gone for good. These outdated rules denied over two million…

  • Saunders on repeal of GPO-WEP: Public service workers will finally receive the retirement they were promised

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the Senate voted to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP): “This historic victory for public service workers is…