WHEREAS:
The United States Constitution establishes democracy as the foundational system of government of the people of the United States of America. President Abraham Lincoln encapsulated the democratic government of the United States as being “Of the People, By the People, For the People,” meaning that it is the people that govern through their freely elected representatives and that government exists to serve the interests and well-being of the people; and
WHEREAS:
In an effort to undermine our democracy, the Trump administration and its allies have demanded that states share voter information with the federal government in an effort to create a federal voter database and purge otherwise eligible voters who may vote against them. The administration continues to restrict voting hours and make voting more difficult through their attempts to pass the SAVE Act. The administration has terminated non-partisan election officials, seized ballots, threatened state and local election officials, conducted searches of non-partisan voter registration organizations, intimidated voter registration volunteers by sending federal agents to their homes, and encouraged states to undertake additional gerrymandering efforts prior to the mid-term elections to further rig the system to maintain power. The administration and its allies continue to try and create “an emergency” to justify stationing federal troops at polling places in blue states during the mid-term elections to disrupt the vote; and
WHEREAS:
The conservative majority on the United State Supreme Court continues to undermine free and fair elections by all but eliminating the Voting Rights Act, and by repeatedly sanctioning the use of unlimited dark money campaign contributions to political action committees and state parties that allow trillionaires, billionaires and large corporate interests to buy elections; and
WHEREAS:
The Trump administration has acted to suppress free speech by threatening and prosecuting activists and attacking the free press, by jailing journalists to force them to reveal their sources and by bringing baseless lawsuits against them. The administration continues to use the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute its political rivals and enemies. The administration continues to pressure public and private employers, institutions, colleges and universities to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or face a loss of federal funding or other penalties. The administration continues to station federal agents in blue states across the country to intimidate their citizens, incite violence and target people of color for harassment, incarceration and brutality. The administration continues to limit the rights of people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals and other marginalized groups to pit the citizens of our country against one another; and
WHEREAS:
The recent and accelerating actions of the Trump administration and its allies to undermine our democratic institutions and norms to hold onto power, plunder the public treasury and use their position to serve their own self-interest above the interest of the American people has led to a breakdown of the public’s trust in government, an erosion of the rule of law, the undermining of social responsibility and accountability and the abdication of the roles of the legislative and judicial branches of government to act as a check and balance on ever-expanding executive power; and
WHEREAS:
It is clear that our union and its members cannot rely on any other branch of government or public or private institution to preserve our democracy, but rather we must stand up and fight for it ourselves by every means available to us through our courts, our legislatures, our collective action in our communities and as participants in our economy.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME and its affiliates renew their commitment to stand up against all actions that undermine our democracy, our democratic institutions, the rule of law, our constitutional and civil rights, our fundamental freedoms and the rights of working people; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME and its affiliates support and participate in nonviolent public demonstrations, campaigns, boycotts and other nonviolent actions of resistance, and undertake legislative and legal actions that seek to preserve and protect our democracy; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
That AFSCME and its affiliates commit to educating members through information campaigns conducted ahead of the mid-term elections about how to register to vote, where, when and how to vote, how to run for political office and how to take other action to preserve their voice and their ability to fully participate in our democratic society.
SUBMITTED BY:
R. Sean Grayson, President and Delegate
David Kovacs, Recording Secretary
AFSCME Council 8
Ohio