Across the country, AFSCME members are fired up to elect pro-worker leaders at every level of government. 

The midterm elections are this Tuesday, and AFSCME members are getting out the vote. They are coming together – in big cities and small, rural communities alike – united by the same goals: protect public services and the workers who provide them; make life more affordable for every working family; and hold anti-worker politicians and their billionaire backers accountable. 

AFSCME President Patrick Moran traveled around the country in the weeks leading up to the Tuesday elections to join AFSCME members getting out the vote, including in states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Arizona, and Iowa.  

Here are the voices of a few AFSCME members: 

“It’s going to take all of us” – Charlotte Neal, United Domestic Workers (UDW/AFSCME Local 3930) 

Charlotte Neal, a childcare provider, says the rising cost of living is one reason she and her fellow union members are getting out the vote to help elect pro-worker lawmakers. 

“It’s important that we put people in office who understand the situation and the struggles that our communities are dealing with,” she says. 

Neal runs a 24-hour family childcare service out of her home in Sacramento, California. She says the rising prices – of food, gas, and rent, among other things – are hurting the bottom lines of small businesses like hers. They are also making life harder for the families whose children she cares for. 

“We have a huge fight on our hands,” she says. “A lot of the families we serve are lower-income families who are having a harder time affording childcare. We have to stand for our families. It’s going to take all of us.”  

“I’m focusing on my union” – Scott Thompson, Local 3450 (Iowa Council 61) 

Scott Thompson, president of Local 3450, says there’s a lot at stake for Iowa public service workers in the midterm elections. 

In 2017, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad took away collective bargaining rights from public service workers, but public sector unions survived. 

Thompson explained that anti-worker politicians could achieve their goal of destroying public sector unions if they get a second chance. 

With pro-worker candidates positioned to do well on Tuesday, Thompson says he’s hopeful the state could be turning a corner. He knows things won’t change overnight, but change will come. 

A former mayor of Rushville, Illinois, Thompson also says he’s done with party politics and is focused on supporting pro-worker candidates. 

“I’m focusing on my union,” he says. 

“Something has to change” – Michelle Wilkins, Local 2187 (Pennsylvania Council 47) 

Michelle Wilkins is getting out the vote for pro-worker candidates to reinstate integrity in politics.  

“We need to get the corruption out of this country,” she says. “That’s what I’m here for.”  

Wilkins says this year’s elections are especially important to her because the country is so clearly on the wrong track. 

“I’m nervous about the future of this country,” she says. 

The rising cost of food, gas, and other essentials are a real burden for her as a single woman. “It’s a real difference from two years ago, what I’m spending on gas and groceries, it’s a big difference … . Something has to change.”  

“This is a real opportunity for us” – Joanna Frasch, Local 1 (Wisconsin Council 32) 

Joanna Frasch, president of Local 1, says she is feeling “cautious optimism” about the possibility of pro-worker politicians winning both Wisconsin state legislative chambers and the governor’s mansion – a trifecta – for the first time in over a decade. 

She and her fellow AFSCME members have been knocking on doors every weekend and making calls at night to get out the vote. 

“This is a very important election for us because it’s a real opportunity for public service workers in Wisconsin to regain our collective bargaining rights,” she says. 

Public service workers in Wisconsin lost collective bargaining rights in 2011, after former Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 10 into law. Frasch lived through that and knows the toll it has taken on public sector union power. 

But she is hopeful. 

“If we win a trifecta, our organizing conditions are going to be better,” she says. “This is a real opportunity for us.”   

“Healthcare is in shambles” – Rick Long, Michigan Local 2650 

AFSCME members in Michigan are attending rallies, knocking on doors, making calls, and educating voters about issues that are critical for working families. 

They are determined to keep growing our union strength and secure a better future for their families.  

Rick Long, president of Local 2650, which represents workers at several McLaren healthcare locations throughout the state, says healthcare is top of mind for many Michigan voters. 

“Funding has been cut to a bare minimum,” he says. “Patients are suffering. We can get other jobs, but patients can’t find other treatment. This comes from the cuts from the elected officials.”