AFSCME Local 34 Mission Statement

To unite Hennepin County employees within the jurisdiction of AFSCME for mutual welfare, protection and advancement.

To work for the establishment and maintenance of fair salaries, reasonable working hours, adequate working conditions and fair personnel policies for AFSCME members .

To foster and promote a good understanding between the AFSCME employees, their employers and the public.

To fulfill AFSCME's commitment to social justice for all Americans, through reasonable use of union energies and resources.

AFSCME Members Bill of Rights

1. No person otherwise eligible for membership in this union shall be denied membership, on a basis of unqualified equality, because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, or political belief.
2. Members shall suffer no impairment of freedom of speech concerning the operations of this union. Active discussion of union affairs shall be encouraged and protected within this organization.
3. Members shall have the right to conduct the internal affairs of the union free from employer domination.
4. Members shall have the right to fair and democratic elections, at all levels of the union. This includes due notice of nominations and elections, equal opportunity for competing candidates, and proper election procedures which shall be constitutionally specified.
5. Members shall have an equal right to run for and hold office, subject only to constitutionally specified qualifications, uniformly applied.
6. Members shall have the right to a full and clear accounting of all union funds at all levels. Such accounting shall include, but not be limited to, periodic reports to the membership by the appropriate fiscal officers and periodic audits by officers elected for that purpose or by independent auditors not otherwise connected with the union.
7. Members shall have the right to full participation, through discussion and vote, in the decision-making processes of the union, and to pertinent information needed for the exercise of this right. This right shall specifically include decisions concerning the acceptance or rejection of collective bargaining contracts, memoranda of understanding, or other terms and conditions of employment. All members shall have an equal right to vote and each vote cast shall be of equal weight.
8. Charges against a member or officer shall be specific and shall be only on grounds provided in this Constitution. Accused members or officers shall have the right to a fair trial with strict adherence to due process. The accused shall be considered innocent until proven guilty.

What Does Labor Want?

 "We want more school houses and less jails. More books and less guns. More learning and less vice. More leisure and less greed. More justice and less revenge. We want more opportunities to cultivate our better nature." 

Samuel L. Gompers