David Gonzalez report for AFSCME 45th international convention
AFSCME 45th International Convention 2022
A brief report by David Gonzalez AFSCME Local 444 EBoard
This year’s biennial AFSCME International Convention was its 45th, titled “All Together,” and was held in Philadelphia PA at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
I wanted to attend mostly because I recently volunteered to be on Local 444’s PAC and feel that learning more about our international’s structure and networking is and will be important. Thank you to all who voted and thank you again to all who voted for me.
Not unlike coming in to work at EBMUD, attendees were required to verify vaccination status and answer the standard battery of questions to obtain a wrist band to enter the convention center. Contained in the delegate packet each was given was a lanyard with a badge showing our name, state, and local. A blue tag was attached to my badge that denoted I was a first-time delegate. I also received a green “PEOPLE MVP” tag for signing up to give a monthly contribution to PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality).
Apparently, pins (like lapel pins) are a hot commodity at these conventions, and people love trading pins from various Locals, Councils, and historic conventions. There were even booths where pins and various memorabilia like hats, t-shirs, lanyards, and other items from various locals were being sold. We’d like to make a pin similar to our Local 444 sticker for the next International Convention.
Of course, there were several speakers over the five days of the week. In his keynote speech, President Lee Saunders stated that the theme “All together” not only refers to being back together for a convention after the Coronavirus outbreak, but that no matter what challenges and struggles we face as Union members we always have backup. AFL-CIO president Liz Schuler stated she is pushing for a “big union expansion.” United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh spoke and said that when he told President Biden that he was scheduled to speak at the AFSCME International Convention, the President asked him to tell us that “he has our back.” Mr. Walsh also talked about developing strong labor standards to create pathways to the middle class.
Of the 18 workshops that were offered, I attended New Employee Outreach, Beyond Bias, and PEOPLE – how politics impacts your life. New Employee Outreach gave techniques and strategies for talking to coworkers one-on-one about joining our Union, giving donations to the PAC, and finding out what individual workers care about in the workplace. Beyond Bias presented a scientific approach to the concept of subconscious bias each of us have, how it shows up in the workplace, and an opportunity to practice strategies for reducing and interrupting bias. The PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality) workshop was mostly an open discussion of how politics impacts attendee’s workplaces. My part of the discussion focused on mostly on EBMUD’s Board of Directors. There were a few attendees present that work directly for the governor of the state they work in.
Delegates were asked to vote on 41 resolutions over the 5 convention days. From my perspective, resolutions are basically statements that give AFSCME direction without having the authority of constitutional amendments. I’ll mention two here: Resolution Number 1 was titled “Expanding Public Sector Apprenticeships,” which seeks to develop policy recommendations to find opportunities to develop paid apprenticeship with funding from the American Recovery Plan Act of 2021 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which was passed in November of 2021. The motion passed without much discussion and no controversy. On the other hand, resolution Number 26 was titled “For a Cop-Free AFSCME,” was very unpopular and didn’t even come close to passing. Many groups spoke against Resolution number 26 including a few police locals that were present.
On Wednesday we took busses to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and attended a rally consisting of nearly 2000 people to support negotiations between AFSCME District Council 47 and Museum management. There was a sea of green shirts and signs, chants were raised, and AFSCME International President Lee Saunders announced that $25,000 would be donated to the Council 47’s strike fund. This is the museum worker’s first contract, and they have been negotiating since their formation 23 months ago.
I was only able to attend part of the Closing General Session so I could catch my flight home. On that day, President Saunders reminded us that AFSCME is currently the fastest growing Union in the USA and encouraged us to continue to remember that we are here to support each other. Throughout the Convention, I was able to meet and network with people from around AFSCME International, particularly those from Council 57.