In 2018, I became a member of AFSCME Local 4041. I’ve never been a union member before and when the opportunity presented itself to me as a new state employee at the DMV, I figured there would be no harm in becoming an AFSCME member.  

In addition to having the support of my fellow union members should I face issues in the workplace, I knew I would have access to additional benefits as a union member, like AFSCME’s free college program. I attended a few meetings but at the time, I could not stay fully engaged with my union.  

When COVID-19 hit Nevada and the state wanted to balance the budget on the backs of state workers, I was devastated. I immediately began to think about how I would re-do my personal budget to factor in furloughs and losing my step increase this year, and possibly for the unforeseeable future.   

I thought, as state employees what could we do? Our state was severely hit by the economic impact of COVID-19 and we would have to passively take the same cuts state employees faced just a decade ago. 

Then one day in July one of my co-workers came up to me and excitedly shared: “We won!”  

“Won what?,” I skeptically asked her.  

She shared with me how our fellow union members of AFSCME Local 4041 really stepped up to fight for state workers. Through collective action, AFSCME members were able to reduce and delay furloughs, reinstate merit pay increases, and preserve dozens of state jobs.  

I was impressed. It wasn't some outside group that came in to save state employees. It was us, AFSCME members, who fought back and spoke out to protect our livelihoods.  

And our voice was heard!  

This motivated me to look into what could I do to make sure that our union voice is stronger. Paying my monthly dues and just showing up to meetings isn’t enough if we really want to see changes in our workplaces. 

I’ve committed to being a leader in my workplace. Over the last few weeks, I’ve talked to many co-workers about the benefits of union membership and how, together as AFSCME, we have real power to imporve the lives of state employees and the communities we serve.  

In the coming months, we will be negotiating our very first contract with the state under the collective bargaining law that AFSCME members won in 2019. But before we can do that, we must get our bargaining units certified to negotiate.  

To get our bargaining unit certified, we need DMV staff to sign an authorization card!  

The authorization card does not have a cost, but we have plenty to lose if our co-workers don’t sign the card in support of AFSCME as our exclusive bargaining representative. We will miss out on having a say in what we would like to see in our contract and what changes we can bring to our workplaces. 

We can’t get left behind! Join thousands of state employees in negotiating as AFSCME Local 4041 by signing an authorization card today.