AFSCME Council 13 is the second largest public sector union in Pennsylvania, representing over 40,000 employees in state, county, and local governments in Pennsylvania. AFSCME Council 13’s latest Form LM2 financial disclosure, filed nearly 2 years past its due date, shows the union has lost 24 percent of its membership over the past 5 years and is $71 million in the red.
AFSCME Council 13 made headlines in March of 2024 when AFSCME International took control of the union, citing “serious financial difficulties.” The recently released Form LM2, which covers AFSCME Council 13’s 2022–23 fiscal year, reveals just how serious the financial difficulties are. AFSCME Council 13 holds $78.9 million in liabilities, over ten times the union’s $7.5 million in assets. Since 2010, AFSCME Council 13’s liabilities have increased by $43 million, while assets decreased by $34 million.
These financial difficulties are the result of exploding debt and declining revenue. The union’s largest financial liability is retirement benefits for former union employees. This accounted for 95.6 percent of all liabilities in FY 2022–23. The retirement benefit liability is so large because AFSCME Council 13 offers its employees a defined benefit pension plan, a complex and expensive way to provide retirement benefits. Since 2009–10, the union’s pension liability has more than doubled from $31 million to $72.4 million.

At the same time, AFSCME Council 13’s revenues declined. In 2009–10, the union collected $35.5 million in revenue and $29.6 million in membership dues. During the latest reporting period the union collected $28.5 million in revenue, with $24.7 million coming from membership dues. This multi-million dollar decrease in revenue corresponds with membership declines. Since the Janus decision in 2018, AFSCME Council 13’s membership has dropped by 12,687, or 24 percent. Despite declining revenues and membership, the union failed to adjust dues rates, which have remained at 1.5 percent of each member’s salary since at least 2000.

Undeterred by financial difficulties, AFSCME Council 13 increased spending on politics during FY 2022–23. The union spent $560,137 in membership dues on political activities and lobbying, up from $408,406 in FY 2021–22. This represents the most AFSCME Council 13 has spent on politics since 2019. Political expenditures included:
- $239,642 to AFSCME COUNCIL 13 officers and employees as compensation for their political activity and lobbying efforts.
- $233,889 in spending at the Hilton Philadelphia Penn’s Landing hotel for legislative meetings.
- $62,500 to Keystone Research Center, a progressive policy institute in Pennsylvania that advocates for policies that lead to higher taxes and more government spending.
- $8,900 on a subscription for legislative tracking.
Outside of politics, AFSCME Council 13 spent $21 million on operational costs, including general overhead, administration expenses, employee benefits, taxes, and required payments to affiliated unions. AFSCME Council 13 Executive Director David Henderson was the union’s highest paid employee. Henderson earned $215,859 during FY 2022–23, nearly 4 times the pay of the average government employee in Pennsylvania.
Representational activities, including collective bargaining, grievance resolution, and arbitration only accounted for $6.5 million in expenditures. In other words, the cost of operating the union was more than 3 times the cost of the services the union provided.
Due to financial difficulties, AFSCME Council 13 is under administrative oversight from AFSCME International. Additionally, a portion of dues paid by AFSCME Council 13 members is transferred to AFSCME International. For more information on AFSMCE International and how it spends membership dues, see AFSCME: Where Do Your Union Dues Go?