WHEREAS: 

AFSCME members often face limited opportunities or clear pathways for career advancement when effective career development programs would benefit employees with higher paying, more challenging work of increased responsibility; and 

WHEREAS: 

Career development programs also benefit employers by creating an internal talent pipeline which retains workers’ institutional knowledge, reduces turnover, increases job satisfaction and employee morale, and opens lower- and entry-level jobs for new and incumbent workers; and  

WHEREAS: 

Registered apprenticeship and other work-based training programs are effective, proven recruitment and training tools which prepare workers to gain sufficient knowledge, skills, and abilities for entry into an occupation through a combination of on-the-job training and related instruction; and 

WHEREAS: 

AFSCME resolved at the 45th International Convention (Resolution No. 1) in 2022 to support the expansion of public sector apprenticeships in state and local government. In 2023, AFSCME launched the Job Training and Development Center as part of the Staff the Front Lines initiative to address the staffing crisis in public services across the country and enhance opportunities for members; and 

WHEREAS: 

Civil service laws around recruitment and hiring are intended to safeguard the public and public employees from political patronage and abuses of power by regulating government practices in areas such as testing, selection, job tenure and appointment. However, job applicants applying to public sector jobs in the civil service may experience barriers that unintentionally but effectively deter or deny them access to entry including unaffordable application fees, infrequent, outdated or poorly designed testing, lengthy application processing times, or strict education requirements that overlook alternative routes to knowledge, skill, and ability acquisition like registered apprenticeship; and  

WHEREAS: 

Since 2020, civil service reforms around recruitment and hiring practices have been passed or are currently under consideration in more than 30 states and territories as well as major cities like New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco; and  

WHEREAS: 

It is important that civil service reforms promote fair and equitable recruitment and hiring practices free from political patronage while ensuring that applicants are assessed for their knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform job requirements proficiently; and 

WHEREAS: 

AFSCME passed resolutions at previous International Conventions supporting attempts to revise civil service regulations to the extent they truly improve the civil service but do not interfere with the basic protections preventing political patronage, coercion and influence in public service and ensuring due process for workers. These include the 35th International Convention (Resolution No. 31) in 2002, the 36th International Convention (Resolution No. 22) in 2004 and the 37th International Convention (Resolution No. 27) in 2006. 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: 

AFSCME will bring the public service worker voice to civil service reform efforts and seek to ensure that civil service regulations provide fair and accessible career entry and advancement pathways espousing the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion while preserving the integrity of job classifications and basic safeguards to eliminate political patronage and protect employees’ right to due process; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: 

AFSCME will continue to pursue opportunities to collaborate with employers to institute career development strategies such as registered apprenticeship and work-based learning programs which support current and future AFSCME members in their career goals. 

SUBMITTED BY: Corey Hope Nicholson, Delegate 
AFSCME Local 3500, Council 75 
Oregon