I’m pleased to report that late last night SB 135, a bill granting collective bargaining rights to more than 20,000 Silver State public service workers, cleared the state legislature and will be signed soon by Gov. Steve Sisolak. This historic victory -- the largest expansion of collective bargaining rights for state workers in years -- will help grow our union, which is why it has been AFSCME’s top priority for 2019.

While the bill does not include everything we wanted, it is a giant leap forward for 20,000 state workers who will now have a seat at the table to negotiate a host of workplace issues, among them wages, paid leave and ways to improve safety on the job. And through our organizing efforts, we will come back again and again to make the law even stronger in the coming years.

I would like to thank the thousands of public service workers and allies in the Silver State who made the calls, signed the petitions, spoke with the media, and testified to the legislature to make this happen. I particularly want to thank the volunteer member organizers from affiliates around the country, and the staff from both affiliates and the national union, whose blood, sweat and tears made this law a reality. And I know they will continue to organize to ensure that Nevada state workers join the biggest, baddest union around.

Finally, I’d like to take a moment to recognize that none of this would have happened if AFSCME Strong had not prepared us to capitalize on the opportunity. This victory is the direct result of the organizing and activism culture we’ve been building over the last several years. AFSCME Strong not only helped us surviveJanus, but it will allow us to grow as a union in the years ahead.

Lee A. Saunders

President

AFSCME