r/AFSCME

Hey brothers and sisters,

I’m looking for some quick tactical advice from seasoned stewards and organizers.

I work for a municipal DPW in Massachusetts and I’m in line to become the Shop Steward. Our contract expired two years ago. We’ve been working without an agreement because the town’s last offer was a flat 2% with zero new perks or benefits. Our negotiators walked away, and we are officially heading to mediation.

Here is my immediate crisis: We have a picket (since public sector strikes are illegal in Massachusetts and our previous contract had a no strike clause) scheduled for next Tuesday at 6:00pm.

I’ve reached out to a few friends in outside locals (neighboring town DPWs, transit unions, electricians) to let them know what's going on. They said they would spread the word and try to come down to support us.

The problem? My own guys are dragging their feet. Our shop has gone 5 to 10 years without a single major contract win, and the guys suffer from total learned helplessness. They think 2% is our inevitable fate, they are terrified of being singled out by management, and they value their free time over everything.

To jumpstart things and eliminate excuses, I personally bought shirts for my guys out of my own pocket. No union dues, my own hard-earned cash. Everyone took the shirts. But now that Tuesday is getting closer, I’m getting hit with a wall of excuses: "maybe," "it's my anniversary," "I'm going to be away for the long weekend." Some are valid excuses, but if outside union guys actually take the time to show up for us and our own rank-and-file is invisible, it’s going to look completely pathetic. Management will laugh at us, the other locals will be embarrassed they even tried to help, and our yard will be permanently labeled as soft.

My questions for you all:

1. How do you break a decade-long mindset of defeatism in a stubborn yard, especially when they’ve been out of contract for two years?

2. For those who have dealt with "free riders" who take the gear but skip the pavement, how do you handle the accountability piece without alienating coworkers you have to work with every day?

3. What are some tactical moves I can make over the next 5 days to turn these "maybes" into bodies on the sidewalk for that crucial 30-minute window?

Appreciate any insight or old steward wisdom you can throw my way. Stay strong.

The highlights alone show this is identical to UC's last offer. Strike called off in the middle of the night. Be warned, it was utilized to sell you a terrible contract and claim its a victory. (They said the same thing last time.)

If for no other reason, reject the contract on principle. Everyone should insist they will not accept ANY deal before having the FULL TA and at least a week to read and discuss it. Also Organize to impose rank-and-file oversight of the voting itself.

The West Campus and all the valuable research here is all but done for. Our union has completely abandoned us. All we've gotten is a token photo op of the President, Secretary, and a couple others at a board meeting, acting like they cared- conveniently right before the election. We have over 140 members here who are going to lose our jobs we love. That we do in terrible conditions for no money. Why do we pay dues to this union that uses us and then deserts us?

Hello I (F 31) have been a union member for a year, and I was wondering what do I need to do to cancel my membership? My year anniversary will be the 20th.
Although I enjoyed being apart of it and I thank union members for fighting for our rights I simply cannot afford the dues at all even if it is a small percentage, so please no rude comments, I just would like input and information as to what to do if you can. Please and thank you 😄

as some of you may already know via the email UCLA sent out, the worker union AFSCME 3299 are beginning their indefinite strike THIS THURSDAY (May 14th) and we want to help the people that run our university!! It would be amazing if we could show up for them, learn about their demands, and also help in other ways!

for context, these are the workers who keep UCLA functioning every single day, including hospital patient care workers, service workers, custodians, food service and dining hall workers, medical center workers, and so many other staff who do the work that makes this campus livable! they’ve been without a contract since 2024 because UC has refused to meet them at the table with the respect they deserve.

their current demands are very basic and include asks for livable wages, housing and job security, pension protections, and affordable healthcare. the people who keep UC running should be able to afford to live, get the care they need, retire with dignity, and not have their lives thrown into precarity because our university wants to drag its feet! (link to AFSCME 3299 demands, worker testimonials, and more: https://afscme3299.org/our-fight/#our-demands)

picket info:

time: 8am to 1pm
starting: thursday, may 14th, continuing each strike day (since it's indefinite)!
location: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (757 Westwood Plaza, outside the medical center entrance near Westwood Plaza)

below are some ways students can support!!

1) join the pickets! one of the best ways students can support is by joining the picket lines! even coming for part of the day helps strengthen turnout and shows AFSCME workers, and the UC, that students are paying attention and ready to stand up for workers' rights!

2) student-workers, avoid picking up strike-impacted shifts! if you are a student worker, please do not pick up struck work or take on tasks meant to replace striking workers! a strike is strongest when the university cannot simply shift the work onto other people.

3) try not to spend money at UCLA-affiliated businesses during the strike! meal swipes are prepaid, so you can still go to dining halls without crossing the picket line. outside of those needs, avoid spending money at UCLA-affiliated businesses (e.g. Hilltop, UCLA store, etc) during the strike. discretionary spending helps UC maintain business as usual, and the point of a strike is to disrupt exactly that!

4) join the strike solidarity groupme :D! this is meant to connect supportive students across UCLA who want to stay updated about picket activity, turnout needs, and other ways to support. link to the groupme! --> https://groupme.com/join_group/114441470/pL5cSmfJ

please come out if you can, even a little bit of time on the picket line helps y'all!

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this but essentially. I am a MA state employee in the AFCSME union. As of now 3 other people in my office get remote work 2 of them are in a different union APA and the other is in AFCSME. My coworker who is in AFCSME is retiring and June. I will be taking over her position/ job and will get her job title. I was told i will not be getting remote time when i take her job even though she had remote time. Is there anything i can do in this situation even though once she retires my supervisor who abuses the remote work and coworker will still have remote time but they are in a different union?