1: A Democratic Union is a Strong Union

A strong union needs a membership that is active, engaged, and invested in the union’s future. The best way to have an active, engaged, and invested membership is for members to have a real say in the union. Members can do more than just use our union benefits—we can discuss issues and provide feedback for leadership, run committee meetings, vote on key union business, and more.

2: Zero Tolerance for Corruption

Our union’s finances should be transparent and all members should dedicate themselves not only to following the AFSCME Financial Standards Code, but also to a culture that vigorously interrogates whether money is being spent to build the union or to benefit select individuals. Both actual corruption and the appearance of corruption are fatal to our members' faith in a union’s democracy.

3: Union Officers Serve the Members

Union leaders are not “bosses”. Officers should neither live like CEOs nor command our members like managers. All elected officers need to be accountable to members with terms no longer than 2 years, mechanisms for recall elections, and salaries no higher than what our own members are making.

4: The Shop Floor is the Front Line

The shop floor is where our members both feel the pressure from management and the relief from the union most strongly. We need a robust stewards network that meets regularly in order to discuss shop floor conditions, exchange organizing ideas, and build the collective solidarity we need to act as one union. Our union needs to be an everyday part of members’ lives instead of being a passive resource.

5: Standing Our Ground, Fighting For Our City

1 out of every 25 New Yorkers is a public sector worker, and so our welfare is the welfare of the entire city. The economic welfare and workplace conditions for our members also directly impact the effectiveness of services that our city provides to its residents. Therefore we must stand our ground to protect our titles, expand the union’s membership, and bring the political fight needed to save our city from politicians who prefer shortcuts over solutions.