Lee Saunders Delivers Final Keynote as AFSCME President
AFSCME President Lee Saunders delivered his final keynote address this week as thousands of public service workers gathered in Chicago for the union’s 47th International Convention.
Saunders is retiring after nearly 50 years with AFSCME, including 14 years as international president. In his farewell address, he reflected on the union’s growth and history while warning that public workers, public services, collective bargaining rights, and retirement security remain under threat.
“They want to privatize public services,” Saunders told members. “They want to jeopardize your retirement by investing your pension funds in cryptocurrency.”
Saunders called on members to continue organizing and mobilizing, particularly ahead of the November midterm elections, and urged them to support candidates who respect public service workers and “will fight for our safety on the job and our dignity in retirement.”
Despite the challenges ahead, Saunders pointed to AFSCME’s recent growth as evidence of the strength of organized public workers. The union has recovered all of the membership it lost during the pandemic and now has more members than at any point since 2017.
Closing his final convention keynote, Saunders emphasized that AFSCME’s strength ultimately rests with its members.
“Our voice can’t be silenced or stifled,” Saunders said. “For 90 years, we have used our voice to build power, to make change and to kick ass—and we’re not going to stop now.”
Oklahoma’s Pension Promise Is on the Ballot Tuesday
Oklahoma voters are just days away from a gubernatorial runoff that could have major implications for the retirement security of the state’s public employees.
On Tuesday, August 25, Republican voters will choose between Attorney General Gentner Drummond and former State Senator Mike Mazzei. The two candidates present sharply different records on defined-benefit pensions and the public workers who rely on them.
Earlier this month, NPPC examined those records in a blog post.
As Attorney General, Drummond has emerged as a defender of Oklahoma’s existing pension systems and has earned support from public-employee organizations including police officers, firefighters, and retired educators.
Mazzei’s record tells a different story. During his time in the Oklahoma Senate, he supported pension changes that raised retirement ages for new teachers, increased firefighter contributions, moved new state employees into the OPERS Pathfinder defined-contribution plan, and contributed to a 12-year pause in cost-of-living adjustments for retirees. More recently, his campaign has proposed shifting county employees toward 401(k)-style retirement plans.
Oklahoma voters face a choice about more than one election. It reflects a debate playing out across the country over whether public workers should continue to receive the secure, defined-benefit pensions they earn over a lifetime of service.
With Election Day approaching, read our full breakdown of the candidates’ pension records and what the outcome could mean for Oklahoma’s public servants.
Immigration Crackdown Cost Twin Cities Workers More Than $100 Million
New research from the W.E. Upjohn Institute found that the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis–St. Paul significantly affected workers and the local economy.
Following the launch of Operation Metro Surge, employment in the Twin Cities fell 2.8%, the number of operating businesses declined 1.7%, and hours worked dropped 1.9%.
“If you take that impact on the number of hours and put that into dollars… workers in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area lost over $100 million in wages,” Upjohn economist Aaron Sojourner said.
The leisure and hospitality industry was particularly hard hit, with researchers estimating that 4,600 jobs were lost statewide, along with 3.8 million working hours and approximately $71 million in wages.
Those losses can have consequences that extend well beyond a single paycheck. When workers lose jobs, wages, or hours, they also lose opportunities to save for retirement, earn pension service credit, or contribute to employer-sponsored retirement plans. For workers already facing economic uncertainty, disruptions like these can make long-term retirement security even harder to achieve.
Be sure to check back next Friday for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement! For now, sign up for NPPC News Clips to receive daily pension news from across the country directly to your inbox.