Friend,

After seven hours, the AFSCME 2020 Public Service Forum made one thing very clear: public service workers and the issues we care about have the attention of at least 19 Presidential candidates.

Every one of them said she or he will support a bill, recently introduced in Congress, that makes collective bargaining for public service workers the law of the land. Candidates answered questions from AFSCME members about the issues that matter most to us and our communities. They talked about the importance of our right to organize. Candidates made a commitment to expanding access to health care and protecting retirement benefits.

Nineteen candidates have heard from us, but we are not done raising our voices! This historic forum was just the beginning of what will be a long and deep process of AFSCME member engagement in the 2020 elections.

If you didn’t get an opportunity to join us for the Public Service Forum, either in person or via the livestream, you’ll definitely want to check it out. We have highlights you can watch — or you can watch the video of the entire forum.

Visit the Public Service Forum website to watch the highlights! The program begins at the 3:15 mark.

As we get closer to the primary elections and then November 2020, we will need your energy and activism. We’ll be in touch with important ways you can volunteer and get involved in this high-stakes election.

I am so proud of the work AFSCME members did to make this forum a success. They showed up, they spoke out, and they held these candidates to account.

We are just getting started.

In solidarity,

Lee Saunders
AFSCME