The Future with AFSA This column usually focuses on issues affecting you, our alumni. But as the court case on our status as a union winds its way through what sometimes seems a Dickensian legal labyrinth, we must look at multiple scenarios for our future. The March 2025 executive order, “Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs,” and other actions by the administration limit our ability to engage directly with leadership at most of our member agencies. Nevertheless, outreach efforts to Congress, various policymakers, news organizations, and others spread our message that “diplomacy matters” and help protect both active-duty and alumni members. than a hundred years ago, and we gained union status a little over a half century ago. Before I became involved with AFSA, I used to describe the association as “either a professional organization that wants to be a union, or a union that wants to be a professional organization.” In fact, I found that we are both—and we are excellent at both. No matter how the court decides on the executive order, we will continue to represent our members in certain foreign affairs agencies not covered by that order. But should the case go against us for State and RETIREE VP VOICE | BY JOHN O’KEEFE AFSA NEWS Contact: okeefe@afsa.org We are doing well despite the administration’s attempts to diminish our work. The financial situation is more fraught. Without payroll or annuity deduction for dues and with our difficulty reaching new hires to explain the advantages of AFSA membership, the revenue shortfall we are experiencing is significant. Revenue from our alumni membership is growing, so thank you. But even with a 12 percent jump in alumni dues, we are down overall. Our significant reserves will sustain us in the short run, but not forever. Over the coming months, AFSA’s staff and Governing Board will consider our future status. We started as a professional association more other agencies, we will continue to be a professional association caring for the interests of the more than 90 percent of our members employed in those agencies. AFSA’s functions as a professional association remain critical for our members— presenting our interests to Congress, influencing legislation, providing legal counsel, providing information useful to our alumni, and a host of other activities. I welcome your thoughts as we move forward (okeefe@ afsa.org). Hearkening back to Dickens, it may not be the best of worlds, but it’s the one we have. n 48 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Manage Your AFSA Membership Online Renewing your AFSA membership and managing your account is now easier than ever. AFSA’s new and improved renewal path lets you quickly confirm your mailing information, update your membership type (for example, switching from active duty to alumni), adjust your grade, and finish in fewer clicks. Want to stop worrying about lapsed membership? Enroll in autorenewal, and your dues payments will be handled automatically. You can see your next payment date and how your membership is set up on the “My Membership” page so there are no surprises. Keeping your payment information current is simple too. On your “My Saved Payments” page, you can see which card is being used for automatic payments, update an expiration date, or add a new card. Take a few minutes to log in, check your status, and make sure your details are up to date. Thank you for staying with AFSA! n NEWS BRIEF AFSA’s functions as a professional association remain critical for our members.
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