American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
From Ballotpedia
Contents |
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the second- or third-largest labor union in the United States. It is also one of the fastest-growing, representing over 1.4 million employees, primarily in local and state government and in the health care industry. AFSCME is part of the AFL-CIO, one of the two main labor federations in the United States.[1]
According to their website, AFSCME organizes for social and economic justice in the workplace and through political action and legislative advocacy. It is divided into more than 3,500 local unions in 46 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each local union writes its own constitution, holds membership meetings, and elects its own officers. Councils are also a part of AFSCME's administrative structure, usually grouping together various locals in a geographic area.
AFSCME has endorsed Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.[2]
History
AFSCME was founded in 1932 as the Wisconsin State Administrative, Clerical, Fiscal and Technical Employees Association (quickly becoming the Wisconsin State Employees Association) amid fears of the possible elimination of the civil service and a return to patronage jobs. Its driving force and first president was Arnold Zander.
It grew slowly over the next several decades, gradually changing from an association formed to protect civil service systems to a union interested in collective bargaining. It started growing particularly quickly in the 1960s under the presidency of Jerome Wurf. In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while in Memphis, Tennessee to support a strike by the black sanitation workers' union, AFSCME Local 1733. In 1993 a documentary movie was produced, titled At the River I Stand, about the Memphis sanitation workers' strike that brought Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis.[3]
Leadership
The leadership of AFSCME consists of a president, secretary-treasurer, and an executive board. The President of AFSCME International is Gerald McEntee. McEntee was first elected AFSCME President in 1981 and was re-elected in June 2004 to another four-year term. McEntee is a vice-president of the AFL-CIO and is the chair of the AFL-CIO Political Education Committee. McEntee is an influential political player in the Democratic Party.[4]
The Secretary-Treasurer is William Lucy. Lucy was first elected AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer in May 1972 and was re-elected in June 2004 to another four-year term. Lucy is a former President of Local 1675, Contra Costa County Employees Association of Contra Costa County, California, where he was employed for 13 years. Lucy also serves as president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU).
Contributions to political campaigns
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the AFSCME is the United States' largest single contributor to political campaigns, having donated more than $38 million since 1990.[5] The organization contributes almost exclusively to Democratic Party campaigns; since 1990 the ratio of Democratic to Republican contributions by the AFSCME has exceeded 98:1. In addition to combating the privatization mentioned above, key political objectives for the group include raising the minimum wage and opposing the substitution of vacation time for overtime pay due workers.[6]
External links
References
- ↑ AFSCME Directory
- ↑ Campaign call reveals Clinton debate concern
- ↑ Film reel
- ↑ [1] [2] [3] [4]
- ↑ Center for Responsive Politics retrieved 21 Jun 2007
- ↑ Center for Responsive Politics retrieved 21 Jun 2007
Portions of this article have been taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Copyright Notice can be found here.
