Union Issues

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is one
of the current unions. With 1.4 million members, AFSCME is the largest and fastest-growing
union of public service employees (AFSCME, n.d.). AFSCME advocates issues are better pay,
good healthcare, and secure retirements. Because of its advocacy in these matters, unionized
public sector employees earn $10,000 more a year than workers who are not in unions, 30%
more unionized employees take part in employer-provided healthcare than employees who are
not unionized, and 60% more union employees enjoy a defined-benefit pension plan than non-
unionized employees. Clearly, AFSCME’s members are better off today than they were
yesterday.
AFSCME’s success notwithstanding, in today’s marketplace, a union can successfully
negotiate for better wages, benefits, and a safe work environment only by being alive to the
economic issues and realities employers are grappling with. Taking state and local governments
as an example, the Covid-19 pandemic has seriously affected their finances, a fact that makes
them less able to meet union demands (Sheiner & Campbell, 2020). The situation is made worse
because, unlike the federal government, state and local governments cannot borrow to finance
large deficits; they must therefore balance their operating budgets. Because of the pandemic, it
has been estimated that state and local government revenues declined by $155 billion (or 5.5%)
in 2020 and $167 billion (or 5.7%) in 2021. Meanwhile, it is projected that their revenue will
decline by $145 billion (or 4.7%) in 2022. These declines in revenues are attributed to declines in
income and sales taxes and other fees as a result of employment losses and reduced consumption.

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References

AFSCME. (n.d.). The Union Difference. Retrieved from AFSCME: https://www.afscme.org/
Sheiner, L., & Campbell, S. (2020, September 24). How much is Covid-19 hurting state and
local governments? Retrieved from Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-
front/2020/09/24/how-much-is-covid-19-hurting-state-and-local-revenues/