WHEREAS:

We are suffering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and, in large part because of the economy but also because of deliberate decisions to give tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations, the revenues that fund state and local public services declined at an unprecedented pace in recent years; and

WHEREAS:
Private sector union membership continues to decline and this year, for the first time in history, there were more members in public sector unions than in private sector unions; and

WHEREAS:
The anti-union, anti-public service right wing has seized this opportunity to step up their attacks on unions and public services. Cable television and talk radio endlessly repeat their mantra that public service employees are overpaid, that we have “Cadillac” health care benefits, that our “opulent” pensions are bankrupting state and local governments and that we have too much influence in politics. This mantra is even being repeated in the so-called mainstream media; and

WHEREAS:
This has emboldened many elected officials whose ideas for downsizing government and destroying public employment were until recently far out of the mainstream, and it has exposed a shocking lack of courage and vision in many politicians who profess to be our friends; and

WHEREAS:
Lost in the noise about public service employees are the facts: when you compare similar jobs and years of experience, public service workers earn less than private sector workers. Most public service workers have insurance that covers us when we’re sick and helps us stay well, and we fought hard to make sure that everybody has that kind of coverage. While some pension systems are in serious financial trouble, that is a result of the recent financial meltdown combined with the fact that some employers failed to contribute to our plans over the years – not because our pensions are too generous. And, while we are a political force, in the 2008 political cycle corporations spent almost five times as much as unions did; and

WHEREAS:
Fewer and fewer private sector workers have even modest health insurance or pension benefits, and wages have been stagnant for decades. The problem is not that AFSCME members have it too good, it’s that many workers are losing ground; and

WHEREAS:
Many of the loudest voices criticizing public service workers are the very CEOs who drove our economy into the ground yet profited spectacularly. The gap between the rich and poor has grown, the middle class has shrunk and those who have gotten richer want to keep it that way; and

WHEREAS:
AFSCME affiliates across the country are facing unprecedented demands for wage concessions, benefit cuts and furlough days, as well as threats of massive layoffs on a scale never before experienced; and

WHEREAS:
At the same time, demand for public services has skyrocketed; and

WHEREAS:
We are subject to these relentless attacks because we are the main obstacle standing in the way of those whose goals are to get rid of unions and public services altogether.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will not let these attacks go unanswered. We will tell our story about our members and the vital services they provide and will respond quickly and decisively whenever and wherever myths about unions and public services are spread. And we will arm affiliates and our members to do the same, so that our voice is as loud as theirs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
We will continue to fight for the revenues needed to fully fund the services Americans depend on and to end the tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations that are starving public services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
We will continue to fight income inequality. We will hold accountable those CEOs who devastate our economy, profit handsomely from it and then tell workers it’s their fault; and
 
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
We remain firm in our resolve to do everything possible to preserve and defend the wages, benefits, retirement security, and jobs of AFSCME members who provide vital public services; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED: 
We will develop and lead broad coalitions to support public structures and services upon which shared prosperity for all Americans can be built.

SUBMITTED BY: 
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD