New Bargaining Start Date: February 27th
Due to a family emergency on the Labor Relations team, they’ve requested Bargaining to start on February 27th instead of February 20th. We’re sorry we didn’t notify members of this change beforehand. The Local 88 Bargaining Team caucused and worked on initial proposals on February 20th. Because of our new start date, the next Bargaining Update will drop March 3rd.
Open Bargaining
Bargaining starts Thursday, February 27th and you can watch us do it! We want to be as transparent as possible throughout this process. It’s important you know we’re working for all our members and what that work looks like. We want as many union members to join as observers and listen to the dulcet tones of your Bargaining Team facing off with Labor Relations. If you’re interested, fill out this form!
Listening Sessions
We’re kicking off our fight for a fair contract, but it’s not too late to shape the outcome. When our team meets with management, there are risks and rewards to opening any part of the Contract. The bargaining team has to weigh those options with every single proposal. We want to prioritize issues that are deeply felt, widely felt and have the strongest support behind them. In order to make those decisions, the bargaining team wants to hear you! Immigrant voices, voices of color, queer & trans voices, disabled voices, parents, all our union siblings have a say on what needs to go, and what you want to win!
So far we’ve had Listening Sessions with staff from Central Library, the Justice Center, Five Oak, and a more tailored one for Parents of Kids with Disabilities. These conversations are ongoing; make yourself heard by attending a listening session with us! Even more, if you want to schedule one for your work unit, contact 88cabinet@afscmelocal88.org to set one up.
Calendar
We have two upcoming Listening Sessions for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and Immigrant and Refugee Employees:
- BIPOC Virtual Listening Session
February 25, 2025
11:15 am to 1:30 pm
Sign-up here for the BIPOC Virtual Listening Session! - Immigrant and Refugee Virtual Listening Session
February 26th, 2025
1:00 pm to 2:30 pm.
Registration is Required for the Immigrant and Refugee Virtual Listening Session!
Member Action Team (MAT) Call to Action
Lost wages are one of the greatest barriers workers face when fighting for fair contracts. The fear of losing pay crushes many collective actions before they begin. But you can push back—tell Oregon lawmakers that Striking Workers Deserve Unemployment Benefits! Sign on in support of SB 916/HB 3434 today!
Bargaining starts Thursday, February 27th, and we’ll be wearing green—will you? Let’s show management the grass is greener on the AFSCME side. Not in the office? Change your meeting background to support too! We can even match with your camera off: swap your work profile pic for a union logo—new styles are dropping all the time.
Did You Know?
The Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike of 1968 started mid-February, this time of year. It was the final organizing push of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life—and an AFSCME action, led by Local 1733.
More than 1,300 black sanitation workers continued the strike through two hard months, facing open hostility and violence. Dr. King was assassinated during this work, and mere days after his death Coretta Scott King organized and led more than 42,000 AFSCME members and supporters through the streets of Memphis. They stood in solidarity and fought for a fairer tomorrow.
As Dr. King said to the Sanitation Strikers in his “I’ve been to the mountaintop” speech, given the day before his death, “The world is all messed up, and the nation is sick.” The echoes of that statement ring through the hostilities we see today, and wins of the past feel tenuous. It’s easy to despair—but we are built by those who came before us. They made the progress we stand on today, and we honor their work when we continue to fight for a fairer tomorrow.
Happy Black History Month, AFSCME siblings. Stand together and stay green.
**Sent by email to all members on February 21, 2025. Didn’t get it? Check your spam folder. Be sure to add 88cabinet@afscmelocal88.org to your contacts. Need to update your contact info or check your membership status? Contact the Member Services Center.
