News

Today the hardworking men and women represented by AFSCME in the City of Opa-locka voted almost 98% in favor of recertifying their union.

AFSCME Florida Statement on Recertification Wins in City of Pinellas Park

Spread across more than 600 acres on two major campuses as well as several branch campuses and research facilities throughout South Florida and the Florida Keys, it has always been a challenge for coworkers to connect at Florida International University. And that has made it hard for AFSCME Local 3346 activists and leaders to communicate all the success they have had for their coworkers.

Tallahassee – This week, state employees that are part of the AFSCME Florida bargaining unit voted 99.5% in favor of a new three-year master contract. Voting took place on Wednesday and Thursday across 25 ratification locations around the state. The contract will be effect until June 30, 2020.

AFSCME members from across north Florida overwhelmed the picnic area at the City of Jacksonville’s Fretwell Park on the west side of the city last weekend. Members were there to celebrate the summer, rekindle of friendships, form new connections and celebrate the momentum AFSCME is enjoying with 509 new members signed up in 2017 the Jacksonville area alone. 

For years, Sheryll Brown made sure the students and staff at the University of North Florida had an efficient postal services unit. But when the university won the effort to outsource her department she made sure her contract was enforced, which led to a multi-year effort and tens of thousands of dollars in back pay.

When AFSCME wins a good contract, the first thing members and non-members usually look for is the pay raise the union was able to negotiate. But what if pay is not something the union can bargain over? Will non-members still have a reason to fill out a membership card?

If you communicate throughout the process and put together a strong ratification campaign, like the members of AFSCME Florida’s Local 1328 and Local 1781 recently did, the answer is yes.

And yes to the tune of 33 new members in just a couple of days in North Florida.