It wasn’t always easy to hear former Vice President Joe Biden during the first presidential debate of the 2020 election, but one thing did emerge loud and clear through the noise: Working families must not only elect Biden president, they must vote with greater urgency than ever before.
“Show up and vote,” Biden pleaded towards the end of event, looking into the camera. “You will determine the outcome of this election.”
One of the starkest contrasts of the night came during discussion of the coronavirus pandemic, which has cost more than 200,000 lives. As Trump has stood by without a plan, Biden has insisted on following the science, implementing a clear strategy and doing more to fund the front lines, including providing front-line workers the resources they need to do their jobs.
“Fund what needs to be done now to save lives,” Biden said. “The people that have lost their jobs are the people who have been on the front lines.”
The outcome of the election could not be more consequential to working families today and future generations. On the debate stage, held Tuesday on the Cleveland campus of Case Western Reserve University, only one candidate presented a unifying vision for the country, one that would empower working families and build an economy that works for everyone. And that was Joe Biden.
The choice was already clear. AFSCME endorsed Biden back in the spring based on the vice president’s long record of being a champion for working people, the labor movement and public service workers. Biden’s pro-worker platform includes supporting state and local governments to ensure public service workers have the tools they need to do their jobs; protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act; increasing college affordability and alleviating student debt; and strengthening the freedom of all workers to bargain collectively and join together in a union.