AFSCME Council 32- Our History

AFSCME stands for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Our International Union was founded in 1932 in Madison, Wisconsin. AFSCME was born out of the Wisconsin State Employees Association, which represented civil service employees who organized against nepotism, believing that it is our skills which should determine our success, not our political relationships.

AFSCME has a rich history of being an active partner in racial and economic justice movements in the United States. We are proud of the organizing efforts of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike, one of the most famous strikes in U.S. history, in response to the on-the-job deaths of two AFSCME members. The strike gained so much traction that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched beside striking AFSCME members. Dr. King’s involvement in the strike was the last action he took publicly before his assassination. We carry the legacy of racial and economic justice with us in the causes we advocate for, to this day.

Check back on Wednesday to learn about AFSCME members!