John,

Millions of Americans will join “No Kings” events today, Saturday, Oct. 18—and I hope you’ll be among them. These events, like our previous “No Kings” and “Hands Off” rallies, will be peaceful assemblies of people who want to make the promise of America real.

While many of us are fighting for families to have a better life—addressing kitchen-table issues like affordable housing and healthcare—the president is taking us in the opposite direction: driving up grocery prices, increasing healthcare costs and defunding our schools.

But even more is at stake. About 249 years ago, our Founding Fathers declared independence from a king. While they were far from perfect, they envisioned a nation where the people governed themselves through the rule of law—not the rule of a king or a dictator.

Yet today, the federal government is turning its power against Americans—militarizing cities, disappearing people and targeting those with differing opinions. Today is the day to say no—we don’t want that. We don’t want to be ruled by a king; we want a democracy, just as our Founding Fathers did.

Click here to join a “No Kings” rally near you today!

As labor, we know the value of having a voice at work and a voice in our future. The same is true for our nation. “No Kings” is a day of action bringing people together from across the political spectrum—Democrats, Republicans and independents—to exercise our rights and protect the America we love so dearly.

This nation belongs to the people, and we will peacefully and powerfully defend our democracy.

See you out there!

In unity,

Randi Weingarten
AFT President

PS: Organizers are asking attendees to wear yellow to show unity, so please do so if possible, and don’t forget to tag the AFT in your social media posts!