Joseph Trujeque and Gia Hargrove are from different parts of the country and are pursuing different careers. But these AFSCME members have one thing in common — like many other front-line public service workers, they were overworked during the COVID-19 pandemic due to severe staffing shortages.
To help our communities recover from the pandemic, AFSCME members fought to include state and local aid as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s American Rescue Plan.
Last year, to fill the tens of thousands of vacant public service jobs, AFSCME launched the one-of-a-kind Staff the Front Lines (STFL) campaign to partner with state and local officials to recruit and retain qualified professionals. Another goal of the ongoing STFL campaign is to develop a pipeline of future public service talent by creating a new job training center and setting up apprenticeships.
Trujeque is a member of AFSCME Council 18. Hargrove is a member of New Jersey District 1199J, the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE)/AFSCME.
They told their stories on Thursday during the 46th AFSCME International Convention in Los Angeles and described the STFL campaign, whose most visible symbol was the STFL bus tour.
Painted in AFSCME green, the STFL bus logged more than 7,800 miles, stopped in 17 cities and attracted more than 2,000 job seekers to hiring fairs in cities nationwide, including in New York; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Los Angeles and Minneapolis, among others.
Trujeque, a corrections officer at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, said his workplace’s guideline calls for 411 corrections officers on staff. But during the height of the pandemic, it had just 119 active officers.
“That could mean having a single officer supervising more than 500 inmates at any given moment,” Trujeque said.
The American Rescue Plan provided invaluable assistance but it “only stopped the bleeding,” Trujeque said. “To truly solve the staffing crisis, we need to get more people through the door. That’s why, in 2023, AFSCME launched our Staff the Front Lines initiative.”
The bus tour provided the spark to light state and local efforts to staff the front lines in New Mexico and elsewhere.
Hargrove, a certified nursing assistant, said the STFL bus tour’s listening tours proved valuable. When the bus rolled into Jersey City, members of 1199J had candid discussions with their employers — executives from the hospital systems — who showed up at the event.
“Together, we identified roadblocks, like pay discrepancies and a lack of community outreach,” Hargrove said.
“We have certified nursing assistants, housekeepers, dietary workers, and other ancillary staff who have been with us for 20-plus years, through thick and thin,” Hargrove added. “But their pay does not reflect their years of service. We should be rewarding their dedication and commitment, otherwise their sacrifices for the community can feel like it’s not worth it financially. Staff the Front Lines is about making these careers worth it!”
Photo: Joseph Trujeque of New Mexico Council 18 said the Staff the Front Lines initiative is vital to increasing public service staffing. Photo by Javeon Butler
