When Casey Gotcher of Austin, Texas, went into cardiac arrest, his wife Tonya dialed 911 and was left on hold for 15 minutes. Casey did not survive his heart attack—in part because the city didn't have enough dispatchers to ensure that all emergencies receive a timely response.
Nikita Chase, a single mother from rural Alaska, waited hours to speak with a representative at the state Division of Public Assistance to resolve a delay in the nutrition benefits she needs to put food on the table for her children. Eventually, she was told there was a backlog of more than 18,000 cases.
These aren't isolated anecdotes. We see similar stories playing out across the country. State and local governments don't have enough workers to keep up with demand for services.
Take Marilyn Anthony, who has been a registered nurse at Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut for 32 years. Short staffing means Marilyn and her co-workers are on their feet 12 hours a day, running from patient to patient, unable to take breaks longer than 30 minutes. It's exhausting, physically and emotionally, and Marilyn is seeing more and more bedside nurses abandon this essential work. As she has told state legislators, of the 82,000 active registered nurses in Connecticut, fewer than half provide bedside care. She knows how unsustainable this is, and she knows from experience that it will lead to lost lives.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is working to address the staffing crisis head on with a new initiative called Staff the Front Lines, designed to recruit and retain qualified people to public service. And we are launching a nationwide summer bus tour beginning today, visiting approximately 20 cities and state capitals across the country—including Hartford, Conn., a short drive from Marilyn's hospital—to raise awareness about what is both an urgent need and a promising opportunity.
Public service jobs are stable and secure, with excellent health care, retirement security, and other benefits. These are very often union jobs—jobs with a purpose that allow people to make a decent living while also strengthening their communities.
But many young people don't know how to access public service opportunities. We must increase outreach through job fairs and build stronger relationships with high schools and colleges to create pathways to public service. AFSCME will partner with state and locally elected officials to develop hiring strategies, and with the bus tour and the overall initiative, we will connect with diverse communities and people of color, who are underrepresented in public service.
We need to expand training programs to build a talent pipeline for public service. In the building trades, for example, apprenticeships have been a springboard to the middle class for decades. Why can't that same model, which has produced so many licensed carpenters and pipefitters, also prepare the next generation of water treatment system workers and mental health counselors?
We also need to take a hard look at whether unnecessary requirements are keeping promising candidates out of public service. Why, for example, must applicants show math aptitude on a civil service exam if the job they want requires no meaningful math skills? Furthermore, the hiring process is often a sticky tangle of red tape—it can take up to a year to bring someone on board. In a hot labor market, the public service is losing out on good people who are jumping at other offers, rather than waiting for state and local agencies to process their paperwork.
A smaller workforce doesn't mean a smaller workload. Fewer people on the job means the remaining staff must pick up the slack, and they are buckling under the weight of the burden. Mandatory overtime is increasingly commonplace. Working conditions are treacherous, especially in facilities that operate 24/7—like prisons, psychiatric hospitals, and veterans' homes. A recent report from AFSCME Council 3 in Maryland revealed that the state must add a staggering 3,400 additional corrections officers to operate its facilities safely.
The more punishing the work, the more likely people are to look elsewhere. One 2021 study found that 52 percent of public service workers were considering leaving their jobs. There's a vicious cycle, with staffing shortages breeding more staffing shortages.
The time is right to address this crisis. With the threat of COVID-19 mostly behind us, we can take a step back and evaluate exactly what is needed to deliver the best possible public services. Let's do it now, so that we are prepared if and when we face another national emergency.
Public service workers take pride in building healthy and vibrant communities. During the pandemic especially, at a moment of chaos and confusion, they answered the call. They stood on the front lines, continuing to plow the roads, provide health care, staff the libraries, and so much more. But right now, they are overworked and overwhelmed. And there are qualified people out there to help shoulder the load.
While public service workers must often do more with less, one person cannot do the job of three people—it's simply not sustainable. AFSCME's everyday heroes are ready to work with all stakeholders on a solution. It is time to staff the front lines.
Lee Saunders is president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a union of 1.4 million public service workers.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
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