This past Saturday, you might have been cooking a late breakfast, planning a fun weekend activity or taking some quiet time with your family. But with 10 days to go until the most important election of our lifetimes, more than 200 AFSCME members were fired up and raring to go during a Pennsylvania volunteer kickoff Zoom call, one of many being held around the country as the Big Green Machine kicks into high gear.
Monica Robinson, secretary-treasurer of AFSCME Local 810 (District Council 47), laid out the stakes of the race for AFSCME members in a year where a pandemic has killed more than 220,000 Americans to date.
“We have risked our lives and we have all stepped up for our communities in big ways,” she said. “We cannot afford to elect leaders who do not have our best interests at heart.”
“Make no mistake about it: everything is on the line in this election,” urged AFSCME President Lee Saunders, who headlined the call. “All the values we cherish, all the things we’ve fought for, everything that matters to our families and our communities – it’s all on the ballot.”
AFSCME volunteers were also joined by a special guest, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who celebrated the sacrifices of AFSCME members during the pandemic.
“Public employees have made getting through this pandemic possible,” he said, and reiterated that “the union way of life is sacred in Pennsylvania.”