The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the second- or third-largest labor union in the United States and one of the fastest-growing, representing over 1.4 million employees, primarily in local government and in the health care industry. Employees at the federal level are represented by other unions, such as the American Federation of Government Employees, with which AFSCME was once affiliated, and the National Treasury Employees Union. A union (labor union in American English; trade union in Commonwealth English) is an organisation formed by workers. ... The American Federation of Government Employees is an American labor union representing over 600,000 employees of the federal government. ...

AFSCME was founded in 1932 as the Wisconsin State Administrative, Clerical, Fiscal and Technical Employees Association (quickly becoming the Wisconsin State Employees Association) amid fears of the possible elimination of the civil service and a return to patronage jobs. Its driving force and first president was Arnold Zander.

It grew slowly over the next several decades, gradually changing from an association formed to protect civil service systems to a union interested in collective bargaining. It started growing particularly quickly in the 1960s under the presidency of Jerry Wurf. In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while in Memphis, Tennessee to support a strike by the black sanitation workers' union, AFSCME Local 1733. Collective bargaining is the process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers (represented by management) in respect of the terms and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions and grievance procedures, and about the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. ... The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Jerome (Jerry) Wurf (May 8, 1919 – December 10, 1981) was a U.S. labor leader and President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees from 1964 to 1981. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr, Ph. ... Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, of which it is the county seat. ...

President Gerald McEntee is the chair of the AFL-CIO Political Education Committee and an influential political player in the Democratic Party. The union was one of only three to endorse Howard Dean in the race for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, a joint endorsement it made with the rival Service Employees International Union. The AFL-CIO is the largest labor union federation in the United States. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Howard Brush Dean III, M.D. (born November 17, 1948) is a prominent American Democratic politician, currently serving as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. ... The 2004 U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination process was a series of primaries and caucuses culminating in the Democratic National Convention that decided which pair of candidates would represent the Democrats in the 2004 election for President and Vice President of the United States. ... Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is the fastest growing labor union in the United States, representing 1. ...

External link

• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
• publicintegrity.org
• AFSCME Local 910 Los Angeles Superior Court Research Attornyes & Law Clerks