News

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

October 31, 2018

Contact: Mazie Stilwell, Communications Specialist

(515) 246-2637 | [email protected]

 

INACTION BY MANAGEMENT LEADS TO RAMPANT BEHAVIOR ISSUES AT CLARINDA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

DES MOINES – AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan issued the following statement in response to a series of escalating incidents at the Clarinda Correctional Facility:

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

October 29, 2018

Contact: Mazie Stilwell, Communications Specialist

(515) 246-2637 | [email protected]

IOWA WORKERS OVERWHELMINGLY AFFIRM THEIR UNITY, THEIR VOICE, AND THEIR UNION, AFSCME COUNCIL 61

DES MOINES – AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan issued the following statement regarding the results of the second round of recertification elections:

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

October 25, 2018

Contact: Mazie Stilwell, Communications Specialist

(515) 246-2637 | [email protected]

 

DEPT OF CORRECTIONS DOWNPLAYS SEVERITY OF ASSAULT AT ISP

 

Better wages. Check. Better working conditions. Check. And, thanks to unions, we now know there is also a union difference for workers who have access to critical benefits like paid parental leave.

According to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 17 percent of all U.S. workers have access to paid family leave.  

At a time when our country needs real investments in infrastructure, education and public services, congressional leaders are doubling down on tax cuts for the rich.

It was 10 years ago this month that the 2008 financial crisis kicked into high gear. When storied Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers shut down, bankers walking out of the building carrying cardboard boxes of their possessions made the perfect image for TV cameras.

No politician running for office today would openly advocate for more wealth inequality in our country, where the richest 1 percent of the population owns 40 percent of the wealth. Even candidate Donald Trump in 2016 promised to stand up for the “forgotten men and women of our country,” who feel betrayed by a rigged economic system that benefits a small minority at their expense. Yet every single day, President Trump and congressional leaders seem determined to do more to increase wealth inequality than to alleviate it; do more for corporations and the wealthy than for single parents working two or three jobs to make ends meet.

Like others around the world, I mourned the death last week of Aretha Franklin. The Queen of Soul set a new standard for enduring classic songs with both artistic and political impact, like her mega-hit “Respect,” which became an anthem for both the civil rights and women’s movements.

And that song is on my mind as we embark on a week of action dedicated to shining light on the stakes for women in the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.