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United States

On 17 September 1,000 New Yorkers march to demand Robin Hood Tax

17 September 2013

On the second anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, and a day when the United Nations General Assembly convenes to address issues of poverty, public health and climate change, New Yorkers from every sector of the city are joining together to demand a Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street to solve America’s revenue crisis. They will march past the UN assembly meeting, stopping at JPMorgan Chase HQ, and to sites of extreme underfunding to call for a tax to fund the restoration and expansion of vital public services and to implement a real recovery for all the city’s neighborhoods. The Robin Hood Tax also seeks to fund international efforts for AIDS/HIV research and treatment and to address climate change.

Speech by PSI General Secretary on the Financial Transactions Tax

20 Apr 2013

PSI general secretary Rosa Pavanelli participated in a demonstration in Washington D.C. on 20 April 2013 in favour of the Financial Transactions Tax.

PSI stands with Detroit and public workers

Background image is part of a mural by Diego Rivera called Detroit Industry, North Wall at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Detroit is the largest city to file for bankruptcy in United States history. But it is not the only city in economic crisis, and what happens in Detroit matters—it matters to AFSCME members who have dedicated their working lives to providing quality public services to the city and community, it matters to workers and retirees across the United States and around the world, it matters to all public sector workers who we depend upon to provide quality public services to citizens around the world. Detroit matters to all of us and we stand in solidarity with the workers and retirees of the city.

‘American Dream’ Not Realized for Too Many

26 August 2013
AFSCME President - Lee Saunders (Photo by Khalid Naji-Allah)

Fifty years after the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, “the promise of democracy” is still unrealized for too many Americans, AFSCME President Lee Saunders told tens of thousands who came to the National Mall on Saturday 24 August 2013 for the ‘Realize the Dream March and Rally.’

No Trade in Public Services

31 July 2013

The recent wave of trade agreements are direct threats to the provision of Quality Public Services. These new agreements encourage privatisation, restrict governments’ ability to regulate in the public interest and create new and powerful rights for large multinational corporations. They are also a threat to democracy and accountability of government. They are being negotiated in secret, without proper consultation and will bind future governments, often regardless of the decisions of national elections, parliaments and courts. PSI urges all affiliates to understand the implications and join our allies to oppose the harmful effects of these agreements.

Court rules in favour of AFSCME members, Detroit bankruptcy illegal

23 July 2013

Statement by AFSCME President Lee Saunders: Snyder and Orr are not above the law and cannot ignore the Michigan constitution.

Condolences for tragic deaths of Arizona firefighters

02 July 2013
A wildfire at Florida Panther NWR. Photo by Josh O'Connor - USFWS

Members of the global union federation Public Services International are saddened to learn of the death of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a specialist team of wildfire fighters, killed while fighting a fire in Yarnell, Arizona. It appears that a sudden wind change pushed the wildfire back onto their position.

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Firefighters

LGBT Workers

06 June 2013

PSI is committed to equality for all irrespective of sex, marital status, ethnic origin, national identity, disability, sexual orientation, age or religion, at the workplace, in trade unions and in the broader political, social, economic and cultural context. LGBT workers’ rights are trade union rights, and trade union rights are human rights. Trade unions are committed to fight against discrimination and for an inclusive non-violent society.

PSI at the International Labour Conference (ILC)

14 May 2013

The 107th Session of the International Labour Conference will be held at the Palais des Nations and the ILO headquarters, in Geneva, from 28 May to 8 June 2018. PSI will be working in close cooperation with its affiliates and the Workers’ Group at the ILC to make the voices of public sector workers heard!

Rosa Pavanelli joins thousands in FTT rally in Washington

22 April 2013
Rally against FTT in Washington with Rosa Pavanelli holding banner

Nearly 2,000 people, including PSI affiliates from across the Inter-Americas, gathered in Washington on 20 April to demand President Obama and Treasury Secretary Lew stop pursuing austerity and instead support a financial transaction tax on Wall Street, commonly referred to as a “Robin Hood Tax.