AFSCME’s Saunders: Honor public service workers by standing up to protect their work

AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in honor of Public Service Recognition Week, which runs from May 4 through May 11:

“During Public Service Recognition Week, we honor working people across America who keep our communities safe, healthy and moving forward. We are proud to call 1.4 million of them AFSCME members, and we are grateful every day for their selfless choice to spend their careers serving others. Public service workers are the reason we have access to health care, clean water to drink, safe roads to drive on, and front-line heroes we can count on whenever our families face an emergency or need a helping hand.

“This week, as we celebrate the contributions of public service workers throughout the nation, we must also stand up for their freedom to have a voice on the job, fair wages and benefits, and safe working conditions. Today, our government has been taken over by billionaires and anti-union extremists who want Congress to rig the tax code in their favor, paid for by gutting the federal funding that keeps our nation’s nurses, child care workers, school bus drivers, corrections officers, and other public service workers on the job.

“AFSCME members refuse to stand idly by while billionaire bullies rob our communities and force working people to pay the price. Across the nation, we are getting organized, talking to our coworkers, bringing thousands of new members into our union family, and mobilizing to defend the public services vital to the wellbeing of our communities and the foundation of our democracy. This week – and every week – we proudly say that public service is worth fighting for.”