Dear AFSCME Family,

For months, your union has pulled out all the stops to demand that Washington, D.C., provide badly needed dollars to help budgets in states, cities, towns and schools. These budgets, which pay your wages, have been devastated by the coronavirus and the bad economy.

To date, AFSCME members have made 51,296 calls and written 44,952 letters to the White House and members of Congress. Our union has held more than 20 press conferences to make sure the media and the public understand the essential work you do and why layoffs are unacceptable. We have even aired nationwide television ads.

But the bottom line is this: Led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would protect public service jobs.

President Trump and Mitch McConnell said no.

The only way we can stop more layoffs and major disruptions in public services is to vote out of office anyone who threatens our jobs and livelihoods. Let every relative, friend and neighbor know that Donald Trump and Republicans in the U.S. Senate did nothing as public services in your communities got slashed to the bone. That results in longer emergency response times, dirtier streets, fewer nurses in hospitals and fewer education workers.

AFSCME is a very diverse union, with members of every race, color, creed, sexual orientation and political philosophy. That’s what makes us strong. We have been able to work with Republicans and Democrats alike to support public services and look forward to working with them again.

But this crisis has made it crystal clear that most Republicans in the United States Senate have abandoned public service workers and we must replace them with candidates who support working people. Their incompetence and corruption has led America to where it is today – and they have knowingly put your jobs at risk.

The choice this November is clear, and it is yours to make. The Trump-McConnell gang is hell-bent on gutting public services even more, which means more layoffs and disruptions to public services. A Joe Biden presidency and a Democratic Senate will mean full funding for public services, finally getting a handle on the pandemic, and bringing our economy back better than before.

Please get involved and vote. Your job and your community depend on it.

In solidarity,

Lee Saunders
President, AFSCME