When Fran Krugen’s late husband was first diagnosed with diabetes, his insulin cost about $35 a bottle.
But Krugen, an AFSCME retiree from Arizona, will never forget the day when she and her husband went to the drug store to pick up his insulin and the pharmacist told them it now cost $900 a bottle.
“This was medication he needed to live, and we had insurance,” she said at a press briefing earlier this month. “We looked at each other and had to ask ourselves: Do we make the house payment? Do we buy food? Or do we pay for his medication?”
The pandemic has led many of us to take stock of our lives and our goals. For AFSCME New Jersey member LaTrenda Ross, the pandemic ignited a long-held dream—starting her own life coaching business.
“I was thinking about revamping my whole entire life,” recalls Ross, a member of Local 2306. “I was looking out for things I want to do, things I haven’t been going after.”
More than two-thirds of poll respondents – 68% – approved of labor unions. That means a clear majority of voters views labor unions favorably. Among adults 18-34 years of age, 77% approve of unions. Support is also high among those with annual household incomes under $40,000.
RICK EILANDER ELECTED PRESIDENT OF AFSCME COUNCIL 61
Todd Copley Elected Secretary/Treasurer at Biennial Convention This Weekend
URBANDALE – In convention this weekend, the delegates of AFSCME Council 61 unanimously elected Rick Eilander to be the next Council President. Eilander has been a union representative with the council since 2006, and most recently was an organizer working with locals and bargaining units to expand the reach of the union in their workplaces.
DANNY HOMAN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AS PRESIDENT OF AFSCME COUNCIL 61 AFTER 16 YEARS
New President to be elected at Council 61 Convention July 24th
DES MOINES – Danny Homan, President of AFSCME Council 61, today announced that he will retire at the end of his term. A new President will be elected at the union’s upcoming convention on July 24th. Homan, 68, has been an employee of Council 61 for over 33 years and was elected President in 2005.
Workers Memorial Day 2021 arrives at a moment of the greatest urgency, when the front lines of the war against COVID-19 run through America’s workplaces.
