States, cities, towns and schools face a staffing crisis. Hiring for public service jobs has failed to keep pace with the private sector. In April, for instance, there were 833,000 job openings in state and local governments, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In response, AFSCME is kicking off a national bus tour this summer to recruit talented, diverse and dedicated people to staff the front lines.

A normal part of our daily jobs involves clocking in, working through a shift and clocking out at the end of the workday. But what happens when a traumatic event occurs at work that stays with you beyond your shift? Disturbing and tragic events, such as witnessing a co-worker injured on the job, or even worse – dying on the job – can inflict trauma that may last a lifetime.

That is why Council 4 advocated for and won passage of legislation restoring workers’ compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) for all workers, regardless of job type or setting.