By DARRELL JACKSON, Staff Writer

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) will be holding their meetings at local Peoria business to help increase their appearance within the city.

“The members brought up the idea of holding our meetings at local businesses and everyone has agreed to this,” said Executive Board member Eric McMorrow. “We want to get the city workers a better face because the public is not aware of what we do.”

AFSCME is the city workers union that shares a common commitment to public service. McMorrow said the idea of holding their monthly meetings at local businesses gets numerous things accomplished.

“First, it gets our face out there because people don’t think about city workers unless something goes wrong,” McMorrow said. “We want to be like the firefighters and police and give back to the community as much as we can.”

The purpose of AFSCME is to improve the wages, hours and working conditions of its members; to promote their intellectual, social, and economic welfare; and to represent its membership in disputes with their employers.

“The new leadership has really turned this union around,” McMorrow said. “We want to work close with the firefighters and police and mold ourselves like they are and work within the community.”

They held their first meeting at Dash Grill, which was chosen based on its menu and owners.

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“The owners have been very well receiving of us and with the city,” McMorrow said. “When they were getting their business set up, they had a good experience with our building and safety department and thanked workers by name. Plus, their menu is healthy food, which I appreciate.”

McMorrow said AFSCME will hold its future meetings at local Peoria owned businesses to show their support for them.

“Our goal is to have more meetings at local businesses and we would like to expand into other areas,” McMorrow said. “We want to support local businesses and let the public see the great things we want to do within the community.”

Original Source: Peoria Times