Press Releases

  • AFSCME’s Saunders applauds return to merit staffing in Employment Service programs

    WASHINGTON — AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement responding to the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule on Wagner-Peyser Employment Service staffing:   “Qualified, nonpartisan public service workers are the lifeblood of strong communities, and recent…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Nicole Berner will ‘bring much-needed experience’ to the Fourth Circuit

    AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the White House nominated Nicole Berner, general counsel for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth…

  • Saunders: AFSCME members mobilized their communities to elect a pro-worker majority in the Virginia legislature

    RICHMOND, Va. — AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after voters flipped the Virginia House to elect a pro-worker majority within both chambers of the state legislature:   “Virginians made a strong, clear statement…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: With Laphonza Butler, ‘working people have a new world-class fighter in the United States Senate’

    AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to fill the state’s vacant U.S. Senate seat:  “Working people have a new world-class fighter in the United States…

  • Saunders: ‘There is work to do to ensure that we don’t face another race against the clock’

    AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in response to the bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown:   “We can breathe a sigh of relief – for now.   “Once again, extremists in…

  • Saunders: Sen. Feinstein was a pioneer and gifted legislator

    AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement on the passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein: “AFSCME mourns the loss of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a giant of the U.S. Senate and American politics. For decades, she…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: ‘UAW workers are striking for all working people

    WASHINGTON — AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced plans to expand their strike: “UAW workers are striking for all working people. For decades, insatiable corporate greed has driven…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders: Congressional extremists must ‘stop using our lives as bargaining chips’ and keep the government open

    AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement as Congressional extremists threaten a government shutdown: “Despite shaking hands on a bipartisan budget agreement just a few months ago, anti-worker politicians in Congress are now going…

  • ICYMI: Following a summer of activism, AFSCME boosts public service hiring through ‘Staff the Front Lines’ bus tour

    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…

  • AFSCME’s Saunders commends bold step to protect nursing home staff and residents

    AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement responding to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ proposed rule on nursing home minimum staffing requirements:  “Current conditions in nursing homes are notoriously harrowing –…