scaloia's blog

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) are drawn from a diverse range of professions and fields, including medical, sanitation, transportation, social work, clerical, and many others in the public service sector. Nothing in the union and the country’s history brought all of them together like the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and aftermath.  read more »

The American Federation of Teachers is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As part of the celebration, the Reuther has opened or added to several collections – the culmination of an 18 month collections backlog-processing project. The records are from the AFT National headquarters, regional, and local offices. These 13 collections represent the breadth of AFT activities from the local to the national level.  read more »

The Detroit Federation of Teachers has seen a number of challenges and triumphs since its founding in 1931 – a significant number of which occurred during the 21-year tenure of president Mary Ellen Riordan. Riordan guided the union through many transformative events, including the introduction of collective bargaining for teachers and the first teacher strike in Detroit, and was involved with various court cases that transformed education policy and public employee unions.  read more »