The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest union for government workers other than teachers in the United States. Founded in 1932 in Wisconsin, a state that was for decades a stronghold of organized labor, AFSCME represents over 1.3 million government workers and over 188,000 retirees.¹

ASFCME is the largest member union of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) labor federation. AFSCME engages heavily in political activity and is a major player on the left wing of the Democratic Party. Its agenda today includes support for a government-controlled single-payer healthcare system, support for increased taxes and an expanded welfare state, opposition to entitlement and pension reforms, and support for granting legal status to illegal immigrants.³⁷

AFSCME Council 31, which represents government workers in the state of Illinois, is the named respondent in a case before the Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of mandatory “agency fees” paid by non-members of the union forced to submit to union representation in the public sector.³⁷

Political Activity

AFSCME is a powerful force in left-wing American politics. The union’s support is coveted by Democrats planning to run for public office at all levels, and AFSCME’s lobbying and advocacy efforts support liberal activists nationwide. The potential payoffs are lucrative for AFSCME: Former AFSCME DC 37 boss Victor Gotbaum immortalized the dynamic in 1975 when he bragged, “We have the ability, in a sense, to elect our own boss.”⁵⁰

Perhaps most strangely, AFSCME contributed $500,000 to a nonprofit associated with Hollywood director Martin Scorsese to develop a pro-union and pro-left-wing film curriculum for K-12 schools.⁵⁴ Critics have suggested AFSCME and other unions used contributions to National Action Network to secure commentary segments on Sharpton’s MSNBC show; AFSCME president Saunders sits on the National Action Network board as of 2016.⁵⁷ AFSCME is also involved in the related state-level liberal funding network Committee on States, for which the union is an “institutional partner.”⁵⁷

Policy Programs

AFSCME is a leading defender of traditional defined-benefit government worker pension plans. Critics note that government worker pensions have strained state budgets, leading AFSCME to demand tax hikes to cover government benefits for government workers.Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, is considered a landmark case in U.S. labor law and First Amendment free speech rights.

The ruling bars public sector labor unions like AFSCME from forcibly collecting “agency fees” (fees paid as a condition of employment) from non-members. Under the reversed Abood precedent, government worker unions were able to collect agency fees in non-right-to-work states from employees who opted out of union membership.⁷³

Leadership

Lee Saunders

Lee Saunders has served as president of AFSCME since 2012. He has worked for or served as an officer of AFSCME since 1978, when he took a position as a labor economist with the union.⁷⁷

Elissa McBride

Elissa McBride serves as the AFSCME secretary-treasurer. She, like Saunders, is a career union official⁸⁰ and is married to AFL-CIO policy director Damon Silvers.⁸²

1. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2016, Schedule 13
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3. “Are Your Union Dues Funding Planned Parenthood?” Family Policy Institute of Washington. September 9, 2015. Accessed September 17, 2017. https://www.fpiw.org/blog/2015/09/09/are-your-dues-funding-planned-parenthood/.
4. “Alliance for Justice.” Finances. Accessed September 10, 2017. https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/529-alliance-for-justice/.
5. AFSCME’s Kerry Korpi Speaks with ACS blog. Performed by Kerry Korpi. August 25, 2011. Accessed October 6, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJqRPyZdmOM.
6. “RELEASE: AFSCME—CAP Report on LGBT Discrimination in the Public Sector.” AmericanProgress.org. August 30, 2012. Accessed October 7, 2017. https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release/2012/08/30/34988/release-afscme-cap-report-on-lgbt-discrimination-in-the-public-sector/
7. “AFSCME and SEIU: Unstoppable Unions That Never Quit.” AFSCME. Accessed October 10, 2017. https://www.afscme.org/members/conventions/resolutions-and-amendments/2016/resolutions/afscme-and-seiu-unstoppable-unions-that-never-quit.
8. “American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.” Encyclopædia Britannica. February 26, 2008. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Federation-of-State-County-and-Municipal-Employees.
9. “ARNOLD S. ZANDER, LABOR CHIEF, DIES.” The New York Times. July 21, 1975. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/07/21/archives/arnold-szander-labor-chief-dies-exhead-of-state-county-municipal.html.
10. Quoted in Moreno, Paul. “The History of Public Sector Unionism.” Hillsdale College. 2011. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://www.hillsdale.edu/educational-outreach/free-market-forum/2011-archive/the-history-of-public-sector-unionism/.
11. Watson, Michael. “Government Unions after Wisconsin.” Capital Research Center. July 25, 2017. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://capitalresearch.org/article/government-unions-after-wisconsin/.
12. Moreno, Paul. “How Public Unions Became So Powerful.” The Wall Street Journal. September 11, 2012. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444017504577645550224040874.
13. McFadden, Robert D. “JERRY WURF, LEADER OF FEDERATION OF MUNICIPAL WORKERS, DIES AT 62.” The New York Times. December 11, 1981. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/11/obituaries/jerry-wurf-leader-of-federation-of-municipal-workers-dies-at-62.html.
14. Meyerson, Harold. “McEntee, Head of AFSCME, to Retire.” The American Prospect. November 3, 2011. Accessed April 26, 2018. http://prospect.org/article/mcentee-head-afscme-retire.
15. DiSalvo, Daniel. “The Trouble with Public Sector Unions.” National Affairs. Fall 2010. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-trouble-with-public-sector-unions.
16. Moreno, Paul. “How Public Unions Became So Powerful.” The Wall Street Journal. September 11, 2012. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444017504577645550224040874.
17. Moreno, Paul. “The History of Public Sector Unionism.” Hillsdale College. 2011. Accessed April 26, 2018. https://www.hillsdale.edu/educational-outreach/free-market-forum/2011-archive/the-history-of-public-sector-unionism/.
18. Greenhouse, Steven. “Countering the Siege.” The New York Times. April 12, 2011. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/business/13mcentee.html.
19. Labash, Matt. “JOHN SWEENEY AND THE STATE OF HIS UNION.” The Weekly Standard. October 20, 1996. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.weeklystandard.com/matt-labash/john-sweeney-and-the-state-of-his-union.
20. Shlaes, Amity. “Labor’s Return.” Commentary Magazine. October 01, 1996. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/labors-return/.
21. Quoted in Greenhouse, Steven. “Countering the Siege.” The New York Times. April 12, 2011. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/business/13mcentee.html.
22. Lewis, Charles. “Cloud of Corruption around Democrats’ Union Patron.” Center for Public Integrity. May 19, 2014. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.publicintegrity.org/2000/08/09/3277/cloud-corruption-around-democrats-union-patron.
23. Curry, Tom. “Labor’s McEntee Powers Dean.” NBCNews.com. December 17, 2003. Accessed May 14, 2018. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3737305/.
24. “Unionists launch drive to win White House.” People’s World. May 23, 2003. Accessed October 16, 2017. http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/unionists-launch-drive-to-win-white-house/.
25. “Statement by AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on President Bush’s State of the Union address.” AFSCME. January 31, 2006. Accessed September 22, 2017. https://www.afscme.org/news/press-room/press-releases/2006/statement-by-afscme-president-gerald-w-mcentee-on-president-bushs-state-of-the-union-address.
26. MacGillis, Alec. “Obama Meets With Labor Leaders.” The Washington Post. June 19, 2008. Accessed May 14, 2018. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/18/AR2008061802935.html.
27. Montgomery, Lori. “Obama Team Assembling $850 Billion Stimulus.” The Washington Post. December 19, 2008. Accessed October 15, 2017. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/18/AR2008121804204.html.
28. Ciaramella, C.J. “Road Rules: Union Edition.” The Weekly Standard. August 31, 2009. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.weeklystandard.com/cj-ciaramella/road-rules-union-edition.
29. Melchior, Jillian Kay. “Leviathan Eats Its Tail.” National Review. August 12, 2013. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.nationalreview.com/2013/08/leviathan-eats-its-tail-jillian-kay-melchior/.
30. Greenhouse, Steven. “Gerald W. McEntee, Head of Afscme, to Step Down.” The New York Times. November 03, 2011. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/business/gerald-w-mcentee-head-of-afscme-to-step-down.html.
31. “American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Gerald McEntee, Intl President.” Union Facts. Accessed October 5, 2017. https://www.unionfacts.com/employee/American_Federation_of_State_County_%26_Municipal_Employe/GERALD/MCENTEE/.
32. Elk, Mike. “Saunders Wins AFSCME Presidential Election, But Big Questions Remain.” Thousands of Garment Factory Workers Across Cambodia Are Fainting on the Job. June 22, 2012. Accessed May 14, 2018. http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/13433/saunders_win_afscme_presidential_election_but_big_questions_remain/.
33. Cohen, Rick. “AFSCME Union Divided on Election Spending.” Nonprofit Quarterly. June 14, 2013. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2012/06/12/afscme-union-divided-on-election-spending/.
34. “Expectedly, AFSCME Endorses Obama, Vows to Spend $100 Million on 2012 Election.” RedState. December 6, 2011. Accessed October 20, 2017. https://www.redstate.com/diary/laborunionreport/2011/12/06/expectedly-afscme-endorses-obama-vows-to-spend-100-million-on-2012-election/.
35. Scheiber, Noam. “A Power Broker Who Wants Labor at the Table, Not on the Menu.” The New York Times. July 29, 2016. Accessed May 14, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/30/business/a-union-power-broker-in-an-age-of-insurgencies.html.
36. “About AFSCME.” AFSCME. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://www.afscme.org/union/about
37. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2017, Schedule 13
38. McMorris, Bill. “Labor’s Last Stand.” Washington Free Beacon. January 13, 2018. Accessed May 14, 2018. http://freebeacon.com/issues/labors-last-stand/.
39. Quoted in DiSalvo, Daniel. “The Trouble with Public Sector Unions.” National Affairs. Fall 2010. Accessed May 15, 2018. https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-trouble-with-public-sector-unions.
40. McMorris, Bill. “Government Workers Union Spent $20 Million More on Politics than Representing Members.” Washington Free Beacon. June 02, 2017. Accessed May 15, 2018. http://freebeacon.com/issues/union-spent-20-million-more-on-politics-than-representing-members/.
41. ”2019 Issues Conference (Brochure).” House Democrats. Accessed April 11, 2019. Available: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/04/2019-Issues-Conference-Agenda-House-Democrats.pdf
42. Lowry, Rich. “The Party of AFSCME.” National Review. October 25, 2010. Accessed May 15, 2018. https://www.nationalreview.com/2010/10/party-afscme-rich-lowry/.
43. Quoted in Mullins, Brody, and John D. McKinnon. “Campaign’s Big Spender.” The Wall Street Journal. October 22, 2010. Accessed May 15, 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303339504575566481761790288.
44. Rubin, Jennifer. “Forget the Chamber, Look at AFSCME.” Commentary Magazine. October 22, 2010. Accessed May 15, 2018. https://www.commentarymagazine.com/american-society/forget-the-chamber-look-at-afscme/.
45. O’Brien, Reity. “Donor Profile: AFSCME.” Center for Public Integrity, May 19, 2014, Accessed May 15, 2018 www.publicintegrity.org/2012/12/21/11969/donor-profile-afscme.
46. Center for Responsive Politics. “Top Organization Contributors—2012.” Opensecrets.org. March 25, 2013. Accessed May 15, 2018. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?cycle=2012.
47. “Lee Saunders.” Ballotpedia. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://ballotpedia.org/Lee_Saunders.
48. Marinucci, Carla, and Anna Palmer. “Tom Steyer’s Shadow Campaign.” Politico. October 17, 2016. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/tom-steyer-california-governor-229870.
49. Epstein, Jennifer. “Democrats Plan to Name Lobbyists, Operatives Superdelegates.” Bloomberg.com. October 18, 2017. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-18/democrats-plan-to-name-lobbyists-operatives-as-superdelegates.
50. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2017, Schedules 16 and 17
51. Watson, Michael. “AFSCME Funds Hollywood School Curriculum.” Capital Research Center. May 1, 2018. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://capitalresearch.org/article/afscme-funds-hollywood-school-curriculum/.
52. Goodman, Ted. “Big Labor Donates to SPLC Following Charlottesville.” The Daily Signal. August 22, 2017. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://www.dailysignal.com/2017/08/22/big-labor-donates-to-splc-following-charlottesville/.
53. McMorris, Bill. “Unions Send Dues Money to Planned Parenthood.” Washington Free Beacon. August 03, 2015. Accessed May 16, 2018. http://freebeacon.com/issues/unions-send-dues-money-to-planned-parenthood/.
54. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2017, Schedule 17
55. Melchior, Jillian Kay. “Unions Donate to Sharpton’s Nonprofit and Win Airtime on Sharpton’s MSNBC Show. Hmmm.” National Review. May 04, 2015. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/05/are-unions-getting-msnbc-airtime-donating-sharptons-nonprofit-jillian-kay-melchior/.
56. “Lee Saunders.” Democracy Alliance. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://democracyalliance.org/people/lee-saunders/.
57. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2017, Schedule 16
58. Hart, Jason. “Wealthy Leftists Help Unions Bankroll ‘progressive’ Groups.” Watchdog.org. November 19, 2014. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://www.watchdog.org/issues/labor/wealthy-leftists-help-unions-bankroll-progressive-groups/article_3647a0cc-203b-52b0-a355-d41a4ee4bb3d.html.
59. See among others Lentino, Chris. “AFSCME Pressuring Cook County Commissioners to Raise Sales, Alcohol, Parking and Cigarette Taxes.” Illinois Policy. July 23, 2017. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.illinoispolicy.org/afscme-pressuring-cook-county-commissioners-to-raise-sales-alcohol-parking-and-cigarette-taxes/. ; Hart, Jason. “AFSCME Bosses Call for $559 Billion in Tax Hikes, New Spending.” Media Trackers. December 16, 2013. Accessed May 17, 2018. http://mediatrackers.org/2013/12/16/afscme-bosses-call-559-billion-tax-hikes-new-spending/. ; Sherk, James. “The New Face of the Union Movement: Government Employees.” The Heritage Foundation. September 1, 2010. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.heritage.org/jobs-and-labor/report/the-new-face-the-union-movement-government-employees.
60. Martin, Timothy W., and Kris Maher. “States’ Pension Woes Split Democrats and Union Allies.” The Wall Street Journal. December 30, 2015. Accessed May 16, 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/states-pension-woes-split-democrats-and-union-allies-1451434368?mod=searchresults&page=2&pos=15.
61. Mapes, Jeff. “AFSCME Launches Campaign against Union Critics.” OregonLive.com. December 03, 2010. Accessed May 16, 2018. http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2010/12/afscme_launches_national_campa.html.
62. Clark, Anna. “This Woman Has a Solution to America’s Pension Problem.” Next City. September 1, 2014. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://nextcity.org/features/view/gina-raimondo-and-the-pension-crisis-rhode-island-pension-reform.
63. O’Connor, John. “Speaker Madigan Wants Limits on Pension Increases.” NBC Chicago. April 13, 2012. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Speaker-Madigan-Wants-Limits-on-Pension-Increases-147241005.html.
64. Droze, Rachel. “State Pensions Could Be in Jeopardy If Illinois Goes Bankrupt.” WICS. June 20, 2017. Accessed May 17, 2018. http://newschannel20.com/news/local/state-pensions-could-be-in-jeopardy-if-illinois-goes-bankrupt.
65. McMorris, Bill. “Labor’s Last Stand.” Washington Free Beacon. January 13, 2018. Accessed May 17, 2018. http://freebeacon.com/issues/labors-last-stand/.
66. “Cab Drivers United/AFSCME Local 2500 Statement on Uber and Lyft’s Price Gouging.” Chicago Dispatcher. August 15, 2017. Accessed October 24, 2017. http://chicagodispatcher.com/cab-drivers-unitedafscme-local-statement-on-uber-and-lyfts-price-gou-p3220-159.htm.
67. Garcia, Evan. “Chicago’s Taxi Industry Is In Crisis: Can It Be Saved?” Chicago Tonight | WTTW. June 13, 2017. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/06/13/chicago-s-taxi-industry-crisis-can-it-be-saved.
68. Sullivan, Sean. “Major union cuts ties with United Negro College Fund over Koch connection.” The Washington Post. July 10, 2014. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2014/07/10/major-union-cuts-ties-with-united-negro-college-fund-over-koch-connection.
69. Tuttle, Ian. “Sharpton Nonprofit Rebukes United Negro College Fund over Koch Money.” National Review. July 25, 2014. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/sharpton-nonprofit-rebukes-united-negro-college-fund-over-koch-money-ian-tuttle/.
70. See Editorial. “Union Wrong to End UNCF Support.” The Philadelphia Tribune. July 15, 2014. Accessed May 17, 2018. http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/union-wrong-to-end-uncf-support/article_45efaee3-7afb-572f-91c6-871b2f519e1a.html. ; Beatty, Robert. “What We Think: AFSCME Must Restore UNCF Funding.” South Florida Times. July 21, 2014. Accessed May 17, 2018. http://www.sfltimes.com/opinion/what-we-think-afscme-must-restore-uncf-funding. ; Goff, Keli. “If AFSCME Breaks With Black Colleges Over Koch Money, It’s Not Being Principled, It’s Grandstanding.” The Root. July 17, 2014. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.theroot.com/if-afscme-breaks-with-black-colleges-over-koch-money-i-1790876415.
71. Goodman, Alana. “Unions Back Israel-Bashing NY Democrat.” Commentary Magazine. June 12, 2012. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/liberals-democrats/unions-back-israel-bashing-new-york-democrat/.
72. Haberman, Maggie. “HILL ALLY IS SUSPENDED IN NEW DC 37 $CANDAL.” New York Post. March 04, 1999. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://nypost.com/1999/03/04/hill-ally-is-suspended-in-new-dc-37-candal/.
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76. Epstein, Jennifer. “Democrats Plan to Name Lobbyists, Operatives Superdelegates.” Bloomberg.com. October 18, 2017. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-18/democrats-plan-to-name-lobbyists-operatives-as-superdelegates.
77. Economic Policy Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2016, Part VII
78. “Elissa McBride.” Social Transformation Project. Accessed May 17, 2018. http://stproject.org/lio_directory/elissa-mcbride/.
79. “Elissa McBride Is New Secretary Treasurer of AFSCME.” United Association for Labor Education (UALE) – Home. March 2017. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://uale.org/news/408-elissa-mcbride-is-new-secretary-treasurer-of-afscme.
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82. Smith, Harrison. “Paul Booth, Labor Leader and Antiwar Activist, Dies at 74.” The Washington Post. January 19, 2018. Accessed June 20, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/paul-booth-labor-leader-and-antiwar-activist-dies-at-74/2018/01/19/d36b1884-fd29-11e7-a46b-a3614530bd87_story.html.