2026 AFSCME Day on the Hill

AFSCME Council 5 Union Family,

More than 400 AFSCME Council 5 members, in addition to other AFSCME members and AFSCME Retirees, came together to advocate for our workplaces, investing in frontline workers, fighting against fraud and privatization of our work, and ensuring the voices of working people were heard LOUD and CLEAR in the halls of power!

Our union works with Republicans, DFL'ers, and everyone in between as long as they want to improve the lives of our union members, protect and expand workers' rights, protect our pensions, our healthcare AND our right to collectively bargain. We do not care if they have a R or DFL after their name, our union proudly supports and works with any elected official who has our back, and we remember the names of those who seek to harm us.

💪 Being a union member means we have the collective power to advocate for the issues that bring us all together: Fair pay and benefits, safety on the job, due process protections, our pensions and healthcare, combating the use of Artificial Intelligence that seeks to replace workers with software, and so much more. That is why it is no surprise that anti-worker politicians and organizations want you to give up your union membership and your voice - don't let these corporate-funded groups take away your voice on the job!

And we also honored the life and legacy of a major champion for our union members, Speaker Melissa Hortman, who was tragically assassinated last June in a politically-motivated attack.

💔 Click here to watch our union's tribute video to Melissa Hortman.

We also had a surprise special guest... Senator John Hoffman! Senator Hoffman was shot 9 times by the same assassin who took the life of Speaker Hortman. By the grace of God, their doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and others, he and his wife, Yvette, survived their injuries. (A video of John's speech to our members will be uploaded to our YouTube channel soon).

💚 During our AFSCME Day on the Hill together, we:

Fought against the privatization and outsourcing of our work,
Fought back against the massive fraud we have seen in various programs throughout the state. Every dollar that was defrauded could have been a dollar invested in workers and the people we serve every day. We will continue this fight and ensure that management is held accountable and hears the concerns of frontline workers. Tax dollars should be invested in workers and our communities.
Defended our defined-benefit pensions so that our members can retire with dignity after years of dedicated service to our communities,
Fought to save Hennepin Healthcare that is at risk of potentially shutting down, by advocating for fair and sustainable revenue to keep Minnesota's largest public safety net hospital, our only burn unit, and other essential services that not only Minnesotans need, but countless residents in our region.
Fought against unregulated Artificial Intelligence (AI) that seeks to cut public service jobs and leave Minnesotans worse off and in more dangerous situations in the event AI takes over our workplaces and takes humans out of critical processes.
Advocated for bonding requests to keep our workplaces safe and healthy,
Fought to have mega-corporations, including data mining companies, AI, and social media companies pay their fair share in taxes, as well as from very wealthy individuals, so we can invest in public services and in the workers who deliver those critical services. We must tax the rich and invest in the working class.

... and so much more!

➡️ Click here to see pictures of our Day on the Hill! ⬅️

NOTE: To download an image, do not click "buy." Simply hover your cursor over the image you want to download and click the download icon in the bottom right of the image.

And click here to follow our AFSCME Council 5 Facebook page!

✊ Nearly all of the jobs in our union family are funded directly or indirectly by tax dollars.

That means it is critical that we participate in the legislative process to pass legislation that helps our union members and stop bad legislation that will harm us. That starts with electing pro-worker, pro-union candidates from every corner of Minnesota and holding them accountable when they serve in elected office. We are their bosses, and we must always hold them accountable.