AFSCME Family,

On the Fourth of July, we celebrate freedom and the revolutionary idea that we all deserve a voice in our future – including at work.

But this year, as we gather at barbecues and kick back with family, we face a hard truth: our jobs, livelihoods, and hard-won freedoms are in danger. The budget just passed by Congress is an all-out assault on the public services our communities count on – and the workers like us who provide them.

I want to be frank about what this so-called “big beautiful bill” means.

For AFSCME members, it means layoffs, understaffing, stagnant wages, weaker contracts, less workplace safety, and more privatization. For our communities, it means fewer nurses in our hospitals, fewer staff in our schools, fewer first responders answering calls, and fewer public service workers on the job. And it means millions of working people losing health care coverage and going hungry – all so billionaires can pocket more tax breaks.

AFSCME family, these budget cuts will hurt our communities and make our jobs tougher than ever. Can I count on you to help build a union that’s strong enough to fight the battles ahead?

If there was ever a time to get organized, this is it. If there was ever a time to grow our union and build our power at the bargaining table, this is it. If there was ever a time to talk to co-workers and ask them to join our family, this is it.

I’ve seen it time and time again: the more workers join together, the more power we have to win the wages, benefits, safety, and dignity we deserve. But to build that power, we all need to do our part.

This July Fourth, let’s celebrate the democratic freedoms we all hold dear – including our freedom to form a union, sit down at the bargaining table, and hammer out a contract that gives an honest day’s work the respect it deserves.

And let’s remember: it’s on all of us to defend those freedoms.

In solidarity,
Lee Saunders
AFSCME President