Portland never rests. Streets need sweeping. Families need clean water. Our neighborhoods demand safety. That’s why people who work in public service never stop. This isn’t just a job. It’s a calling. Nobody does this work to get rich. It’s hard work, and it’s largely unsung. Our work matters because it means something to make our community better.  

AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is not a "them". It's not some outside organization that comes in to "save the day" and then goes away.  It's us.  It's public service workers coming together in solidary to empower each other to strive, through collective action, for the best common good in terms of wages, hours and working conditons.  We believe that every person working to sustain their community deserves respect.  Together, we negotiate better pay and benefits because fighting for every member’s future is a form of respect. We educate about the issues that keep working families up at night because informed advocates command respect. And we organize because respect is offered to individuals who build power together. We honor the risks and sacrifices of the members who came before us to win the rights that the workers of today have we fight to preserve and improve upon them for those who will come after us.  We stand together fighting to secure opportunity for public service workers wherever, and whoever, they are.

When people in public service connect, big things happen. Fairness. Equality. Democracy. AFSCME is the union that honors solidarity without conformity — drawing each member’s story into a force of experience and commitment that can’t be ignored. That’s how we win better lives for ourselves, our families, our communities and our country. For people proudly committed to the public service that makes America happen, we never quit.