Local 1262
WE are 1262 and WE keep Cowlitz County Going!
With members in hundreds of different occupations, AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.
AFSCME is nurses. Corrections officers. Child care providers. EMTs. Sanitation workers. School bus drivers. Civil engineers. More than a million people doing hundreds of different jobs, all with one thing in common: a dedication to making our communities stronger, healthier, and safer.
Public service isn’t just a job: it’s a calling. And the work of people in public service deserves respect. That’s why we stand together in AFSCME to advocate for fairness in the workplace, safety on the job, fair wages, good benefits, a secure retirement, and excellence in public services.
Local 1262
How AFSCME Works
AFSCME has approximately 3,400 local unions and 58 councils and affiliates in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Every local writes its own constitution, designs its own structure, elects its own officers and sets its own dues.
The International Union, based in Washington, D.C., coordinates the union’s actions on major national issues such as privatization, fair taxes and health care. The International also provides resources to councils and local unions for organizing, bargaining, political action and education, and administers members-only benefits. Every two years, delegates to AFSCME’s International Convention decide on the union’s basic policies. Every four years they elect the International Union’s President, Secretary-Treasurer and 35 regional vice presidents.
Local 1262
Who We Are
AFSCME members work everywhere our communities need us.
We take care of people in hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, mental health care facilities and in their own homes.
We provide transportation, sanitation and public works in our cities. We support the educational mission of universities, community colleges and our public schools.
We help people get back on their feet with access to work, housing, job training, meals, child care and health care resources.
AFSCME members like you set the standards of our pay, benefits and working conditions by coming together to negotiate for strong contracts. We fight for justice in the workplace and in our communities. We negotiate not just for ourselves and our families but to meet the needs of the people we serve. We stand for excellence in public service.
Local 1262
The Union Difference
When AFSCME members face discrimination, poor working conditions, or any form of unfairness on the job, we have sisters and brothers nationwide ready to stand with us.
That’s what makes AFSCME strong. We’re effective at fighting for each other, for our families, for higher standards at our jobs and for the resources we need to serve our communities.
And we win. Workers who are union members earn 25.2 percent more than nonunion workers. The difference is even greater for women and people of color. And union members earn better benefits, like health care coverage and paid sick days as well. Ninety-four percent of union members have a retirement plan available, compared to just 66 percent of those not in a union.
Union members are better trained, have workplaces with higher safety standards and are more likely to have the resources we need to serve our communities.
By building on the standards set by over 10,000 AFSCME contracts covering working and retired members across the country, we are winning raises and rights and respect at the bargaining table in state legislatures, city councils and public service agencies across the country.
ABOUT AFSCME
HISTORY OF THE AFSCME
AFSCME was founded during the Great Depression on a simple idea – that a professional civil service is essential to a strong democracy. The business of the people should be carried out by individuals dedicated to serving their communities, not those who have close connections to politicians. This idea has sustained AFSCME through nearly nine decades, as it has grown from a fledgling organization of a few thousand people to one of the most potent forces in the labor movement.
