John,

My name is Everett Kelley, and I am the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. I represent 820,000 federal and DC government workers―and we are being attacked by Donald Trump and Elon Musk in retaliation against AFGE members standing courageously against the reckless attempts to privatize and politicize government agencies.

Our union has been beating them in court, so now they want to get rid of our union.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a Fight Oligarchy rally in Folsom, California. 26,000 people turned out to see us. I want you to see what I told them. Would you watch my speech, and then chip in to the Federal Worker Defense Fund to help our union keep standing up to Trump and Musk?

Donald Trump’s unprecedented executive order targets the union rights of over a million American workers, a third of whom are veterans. Trump wants you to believe that after nine decades, throughout wars, terrorist attacks, and pandemics, our union is suddenly a threat to national security.

Give me a break.

We’re fighting them in court. And we’re going to win. But it’s going to be a marathon―not a sprint. Here’s the challenge: Our members ordinarily pay their dues automatically, through their paychecks. But Trump’s unprecedented executive order ended that. So right when we’re facing the fight of our lives, our union is scrambling to contact every single member to help them sign up to pay their dues by credit card, instead of the simple paycheck deductions they’re used to.

That’s why we partnered with The Labor Force to set up the Federal Worker Defense Fund. Because we are going to keep fighting―but we need to be able to keep our team together in the meantime.

Can you split a donation with Democratic Values and the Federal Worker Defense Fund to help protect American workers?

This fight isn’t just about our union, or even our government. It’s about the millions of Americans who believe in democracy. Together, we will deliver this message: Federal workers will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. We’ll stand up and we’ll say Hands Off Our Union! Hands Off Our Democracy!

We won’t let them dismantle Social Security and steal from seniors who worked hard all their lives. We won’t let them steal benefits from veterans who served our country with honor. We won’t let them cut agencies that protect us from pollution and disease, and we won’t let them abolish the agency that keeps workers safe on the job.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk want us to shut up, but instead, we are going to stand up. That’s what unions do.

Fight Oligarchy with Federal Workers! Split a donation with Democratic Values today!

In solidarity,

Everett Kelley

President, American Federation of Government Employees