Here's the bottom line: we need at least $1 trillion in financial assistance to states, cities, towns and school districts.

AFSCME Local 3282 took union members, city employees and their families to the local water park, to celebrate Labor Day. Working hard and playing hard, thanks to the sacrifice and commitment of past generations.

AFSCME members fight hard for the respect we deserve for our service and the right to earn a decent living and a secure retirement. But AFSCME has also been on the front lines of many more important fights for justice and fairness.

America isn't powered by quitters. Neither is AFSCME.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Peter King (R-Seaford) called on Congress to pass legislation to reduce the time families of fallen first responders would wait for federal compensation. The Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvement Act would facilitate compensation for families under a federal program specifically for police officers, firefighters and medics killed in the line of duty.

Learn more at http://www.afscme.org/happy about the study The New York Times recently published regarding happiness in the workplace. The findings: If you want to be most happy, join a union!

Available from iTunes, starting October 22! http://georiot.co/n7Y Choreographer Allison Orr finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks, and in the unseen men and women who pick up our trash. Filmmaker Andrew Garrison follows Orr as she rides along with Austin sanitation workers on their daily routes to observe and later convince them to perform a most unlikely spectacle.

The Reverend Doctor William Barber spoke at AFSCME's 41st International Convention in Chicago on Thursday, July 17, 2014.

President Barack Obama's address to AFSCME members at their 41st International Convention.

When AFSCME members mobilize and exercise their political power, real legislative change is possible. By reaching out to their elected representatives and their communities, AFSCME members have won political battles across the country. As Telina Jones of Maryland Local 1535 puts it, "When everyone comes together we can achieve political power!"

Watch highlights from AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Laura Reyes' keynote speech at AFSCME's 41st International Convention in Chicago.

Highlights from Pres. Saunders' Keynote Address

AFSCME members across the country took up the challenge of organizing thousands of new members as part of the 50,000 Stronger campaign. This video follows Freddie Seavers, a corrections officer from local 2173 in Tennessee; Orson Williamson, a facilities electrician from local 304 in Washington State; and Nana Nash, a care coordinator from local 328 in Oregon in their bold, brave, and determined efforts to organize new members.

4,000 AFSCME Convention delegates and alternates gathered in the Windy City this week for AFSCME's 41st International Convention. This year's theme: Bold, Brave, Determined. That is what AFSCME must and will become as we stand up to some of the most difficult challenges workers have ever faced.

Hundreds of AFSCME retirees gathered in Las Vegas for the convention of the labor supported Alliance for Retired Americans. They came to fight for retirement security for current and future retirees, fairness for working families and for the rights of workers to organize.