Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
States, counties and cities across the country currently face massive shortages of public service workers. State and local governments still dealing with recovery from the Great Recession saw things get worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to AFSCME President Lee Saunders, the public service sector is short 500,000 jobs. Communities are struggling.
AFSCME is launching “Staff the Front Lines,” an initiative to improve retention, recruitment and outreach for public service workers. “We’ve got to be creative,” Saunders said. “States and cities across the country are working on this issue, and we’re hopeful that we can work together.”
Among the tools the initiative will use are outreach to high school and community colleges, job fairs, streamlined hiring practices, and apprenticeships. With help from Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.), AFSCME Council 75 recently secured $900,000 for pre-apprenticeship education and training. This money will help 60 people pursue careers in behavioral health and another 60 will become certified drug and alcohol counselors.