News

TODD COPLEY ELECTED

AFSCME COUNCIL 61 PRESIDENT

Yesterday, at the 23rd Biennial Convention of AFSCME Council 61, Todd Copley was elected as President by acclamation.

Todd Copley is a lifelong resident of Des Moines, Iowa and has worked for Polk County Government for 31 years. Copley has been a proud AFSCME member for over 25 years and has held various local leadership positions. For the past 11 years, Todd has proudly represented AFSCME Local 1868, Polk County as their Local President.

Connecticut Rep. Jahana Hayes recently introduced a resolution calling on Congress to affirm its support for providing living wages, good benefits and fair working conditions to paraeducators, classroom assistants, bus drivers, custodial workers and others who are vital to our public education system.
AFSCME’s “I AM Story” podcast has received a nomination for an NAACP Image Award in the “Outstanding Podcast – Limited Series/Short Form” category.

Despite the growing wave of worker organizing across the country, the union membership rate last year ticked down slightly, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today, underscoring the importance of initiatives like AFSCME’s Staff the Front Lines to fill job vacancies in the public sector.

For John Campion, a monitoring officer with AmeriCorps, the potential for a federal government shutdown beginning this month brings fear, insecurity and frustration.

As the year comes to a close, I am celebrating the incredible surge of worker activism in 2023. Current and future members of AFSCME and many other unions were in the streets, on the picket lines, and at the bargaining table demanding fairness and respect. I want to also take a moment to recognize and celebrate some of the most inspiring activists in our AFSCME family: AFSCME retirees.