Posts tagged AFSCME
AFSCME’s Beverly Hansen Charged with Theft by Swindle
September 4, 2025 // On August 4, 2025, in the Seventh Judicial District Court of Minnesota, Beverly Hansen, former Finance Director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) State Council 65 (located in St. Cloud, Minn.), was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of theft by swindle, in the amount of $63,031, in violation of Minnesota Statute 609.52.2(a)(4). The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit-Milwaukee District Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Baltimore union leadership faces shake-up as DPW workers push for change
August 26, 2025 // AFSCME Local 44 represents employees at several city agencies, including the Department of Public Works, Recreation and Parks, and Department of Transportation. Several DPW previously voiced their frustration with Local 44 over safety conditions within the agency and their pay. “The Union, we don't have a union. You know, we really, really don't because they totally aren't 100% for us,” said Reginald Nobel during a previous interview with FOX45 News. “Yeah, they're totally for their self.
Workers in Missouri and Minnesota Challenge Union Bosses’ Scheme to Coerce Workers into Funding Union Political Activities
August 15, 2025 // Cases against AFSCME, Guards Union, are latest to argue federal law prohibits “window periods” that trap nonmembers in full union dues payments
Lower courts ignore Supreme Court precedent to force union payments
August 2, 2025 // The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to answer that question. In an amicus brief filed July 24, the two organizations ask the Court to reaffirm and enforce the constitutional standard it set in the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision: that no money may be taken from a public employee’s paycheck for a union without the employee’s clear and affirmative consent. The brief supports two public workers who are respectively suing the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees as well as the International Union of Operating Engineers. Marcus Todd and Terry Klee
Penn Museum workers demand raises, protest Univ. pay proposals in picket after authorizing strike
July 10, 2025 // “The average annual salary in the bargaining unit is less than $45,000,” Shaw said. “We’re looking for raises that will not only allow workers to keep up with increases in the cost of living, but to do better over time.” Union leaders also handed out flyers that emphasized Penn’s continued “lowball pay proposals” despite the University’s “annual operating budget of $4.7 billion.” “It’s not so much to ask from the University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer and one of the wealthiest in the city,” Shaw said.
Commentary: Throwing out the garbage? Did you ask your local union first?
July 9, 2025 // The behavior of public-sector unions is enough to make you puke. This is true figuratively, when, as a matter of course, these groups bankrupt cities and states with unsustainable contract demands and tie the hands of elected officials to run the governments voters chose them to lead. But it was also true literally in Philadelphia, where an eight-day strike caused trash to pile up across the city.
Nation’s most liberal, union-beholden congressman wants out
July 8, 2025 // Notably, he has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from major public-sector unions such as SEIU and AFSCME. Evans was a vocal supporter and co-sponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a controversial bill criticized by opponents for undermining workers’ freedom to choose union membership and expanding the political power of union leadership. Before serving in Congress, Evans spent 35 years as a Pennsylvania state representative. In 1998, he notably opposed the teachers union, which spent more than $150,000 in an unsuccessful effort to defeat him.
Mayor Parker, unwavering in negotiations, dangles holiday pay incentive to end strike
July 6, 2025 // Though typically not part of a union negotiation that often includes wages, paid time off policies and health benefits, the Parker administration is trying to lump in dedicated low interest 30-year home mortgages for DC33 union members as part of their contract deal. The administration is also offering special dedicated access to all the home affordability programs she’s been spearheading.
Philly strike updates: Negotiations to resume as trash piles up; city worker charged in tire-slashing incident
July 2, 2025 // DC 33 worker charged with vandalism for slashing PGW tractor tires A Philadelphia Parks and Recreation employee and member of District Council 33 has been charged with slashing the tire of a Philadelphia Gas Works digger loader amid the municipal worker strike, police said.
Supreme Court likely to decide fate of federal unions
June 30, 2025 // How the Supreme Court will view the matter is anybody’s guess, though the Roberts Court has shown deference to the executive branch and a willingness to revisit precedent involving public sector unions. In its 2018 Janus v. AFSCME ruling, the court said public sector employees could not be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. Federal government collective bargaining is relatively recent, having only been codified in 1978. The Roberts Court may decide collective bargaining is a privilege, not a right, for federal workers.