AFGE has just had a big win at USDA!
806 IT Specialist and IT Support workers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have joined the AFGE family following an election to form a union with AFGE. The voting period was May 25-July 5, 2022.
This campaign was an exciting one. The workforce was remote and scattered across every state in the country. Coworkers did not know each other, have relationships or connections with each other.
Because folks were so distant from each other, the agency had been implementing negative, anti-worker policies for years. The employees never spoke up or even thought to because they were isolated from one another working remotely. The employees had been getting taken advantage of. It is a clear example of what an agency can do if workers do not have a voice on the job.
AFGE was able to reach out to a remote workforce and begin building connections where there had been none. Through phone banking, sending texts, holding virtual meetings, and, most importantly, tasking activists to contact their coworkers, we began to see the workforce become organized.
“They became organized under the basic principle of wanting a say in their working conditions because they saw firsthand what a difference having a seat at the table could mean,” said John Dean, the lead organizer for the campaign. “This election was the workers’ chance to stand up to the agency, and they did.”
Considering the workforce was remote, and more or less only heard about the election from their union and their coworkers, turnout was great.
And of those that voted, nearly all -- 70 percent -- voted to stand with their coworkers in forming a union with AFGE. This is a huge victory for AFGE and the labor movement, but this is an even bigger victory for 806 IT Specialist and IT Support workers who now have a collective voice.