John,

My name is Pam Campbell, and I’m a member of the Eau Claire Schools Classified Staff Federation in Eau Claire, Wis.

I know there’s a lot of talk about the national impact of elections, but I always like to remind folks about the importance of national and local allies working together.

This month, the AFT Votes bus came to visit me and my colleagues in Eau Claire to get out the vote for pro-education, pro-worker candidates including Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and more. And I have to tell you: It meant a lot to us. It gave us hope about what’s possible with this election, especially here in Wisconsin.

For the last 10 or so years, when I voted, it felt like an uphill battle because of how the legislative district maps in Wisconsin were unfairly created by Republicans. The deck was really stacked against workers like us, with districts drawn to favor more conservative candidates.

What’s exciting is that, after a lot of hard work and organizing, we now have redrawn legislative maps in Wisconsin that are fairer and more representative of our communities. With this change, we can really impact and improve the way our state operates.

If we take this local example and zoom out, we should all be inspired to know that by voting and turning out our friends and family, we have the chance to fund a high-quality public education for all students and to restore collective bargaining rights to workers across the country—something we in Eau Claire and our AFT-Wisconsin union family have fought tooth and nail for ever since former Gov. Scott Walker got rid of those rights.

Whether you’re in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or any other part of the United States, adequate funding for public schools will create more opportunities for our kids and for generations to come. And collective bargaining will give us a stronger voice to fight for good schools, safe hospitals and vibrant communities where every family can thrive.

We’re so close to this future. We just have to turn out and vote for it. I’m asking you to take a few minutes to visit AFTvotes.org to make a plan for you and your loved ones to vote. Let’s give our kids a future we can be proud of.

Thanks for all that you do.

In solidarity,
Pam Campbell
Member, Eau Claire Schools Classified Staff Federation, AFT-Wisconsin