AFGE 17 Organizing Efforts Lauded
Monday, November 25, 2013
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
The organizing efforts of AFGE Local 17
– which represents workers at the US
Department of Veterans Affairs -- were
recognized last week by AFGE’s National VA
Council (NVAC) for having “helped make a very
positive difference” within NVAC, which
represents all 200,000 plus AFGE-represented
employees at the VA. Local 17 president Bill
Preston accepted the award on behalf of the
local “in recognition of our local’s
organizing and union building, which has
resulted in an unprecedented 102.67 percent
increase in membership over the past three
years.” Preston notes that with over 700
dues-paying members “We are now slightly more
than twice the number of dues-paying union
members Local 17 had in 2010, a sign of
strength that has not gone unnoticed by
management.” Local 17 was further honored
when NVAC President Alma Lee asked Preston to
nominate her for re-election from the floor at
NVAC’s triennial Convention, held last week
and attended by more than 450 delegates from
138 locals. Lee, who has served as
President since 1992, was re-elected with 69
percent of the vote, which Preston says
reflects her efforts to continue to build the
National VA Council, which has grown from
35,000 to 94,000 dues-paying members during her
tenure.