Press Releases

  • President, secretary-treasurer of AFSCME reelected by acclamation

    LOS ANGELES – The top two leaders of AFSCME, the nation’s leading public service union, were reelected Tuesday, Aug. 13, to four-year terms. Delegates reelected President Lee Saunders and Secretary-Treasurer Elissa McBride by acclamation on the second day of…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders on Harris’ VP pick: Tim Walz is a labor champion who personifies what public service is all about

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate: “Tim Walz personifies what public service is all about: Doing for…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders calls out Trump’s NABJ comments, celebrates a multiracial society

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders issued the following statement about Donald Trump’s appearance Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists convention:  “I have two mixed-race grandchildren. And like the vast majority of African…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Supreme Court reform will end the culture of corruption that puts our rights up for sale

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after President Joe Biden proposed major reforms to the Supreme Court:   “Within a few short years, the Supreme Court has worked to undermine workers’…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: We are ‘all in’ for Kamala Harris

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders issued the following statement announcing AFSCME’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president: “In a unanimous vote at a meeting this afternoon, AFSCME’s International Executive Board endorsed Vice…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders salutes President Biden’s ‘patriotism, service and sacrifice’

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released this statement following the news that President Joe Biden is withdrawing from the presidential race: “Joe Biden is a statesman and a patriot. Throughout his years in the…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders at NAACP Labor Luncheon: We must vote for candidates who believe, as Dr. King said, that ‘all labor has dignity’

    LAS VEGAS – At a labor luncheon hosted as part of the NAACP’s national convention, AFSCME President Lee Saunders delivered a speech on the importance of civic activism, especially in this critical election year. During the event,…

  • Saunders: ‘Political violence has no place in our nation’

    AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after a shooting occurred at a Trump Rally in Butler, Pennsylvania: “Political violence has no place in our nation. We resoundingly condemn this act. Our thoughts and…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: New heat standards reflect the realities of working in 2024

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor announced new heat standards: “Climate change is undeniable — the last eight years on earth are the hottest on…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Let Juneteenth, our nation’s second Independence Day, serve as a call to action

    WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in recognition of Juneteenth: “Juneteenth is a moment for celebration, as we recognize the end of slavery and the freedom that Black Americans fought so…