scaloia's blog

Fifty-five years ago, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees elected a new president who would dramatically change the trajectory of the union.

A founding member of the Wisconsin Service Employees Association in 1932, Arnold Zander took the lead in forming the national public employee union that would become AFSCME.  read more »

Lillian Roberts almost spent Christmas in jail.

The series of events leading up to December 1968 began more than a year before. New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller decided to make the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) the sole collective bargaining representative for state employees, rather than allowing those employees to make their own choice. Rockefeller promised to hold a representation election after a year, but he failed to keep his word.  read more »

Learn more about the information offered in our December Historical Calendar, featured in person during the 2018 Noel Night:

December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Alabama.
December 2,  read more »

The Walter P. Reuther Library, in collaboration with the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, is proud to host photographer Richard L. Copley as he discusses his work and experiences during the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike.  read more »