We Will Organize, We Will Fight All Attacks
Politicians funded by wealthy interests want to steal the power of working people.
Pres. Lee SaundersOur union played a decisive role on Election Day 2012: We engineered one of the biggest get out the vote drives in our history, and AFSCME activists helped re-elect Pres. Barack Obama, Vice Pres. Joe Biden, and friends of working families at every level of government. But as impressive as those wins were, we didn’t spend time patting ourselves on the back.
The same anti-worker politicians who were determined to dismantle public services and end collective bargaining rights before the election are more adamant than ever now. So we celebrated on Nov. 6 – and on Nov. 7, we got right back to work.
Our union crafted a campaign to influence the budget agreement that Congress reached at the start of this year, which requires the wealthy to pay more taxes. We’re moving to increase our strength in the face of the obstacles that stand before us and all working families. And we will continue our fight for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Shredding Our Rights
Only days after the election, ultra-conservative politicians on Capitol Hill were protecting their wealthy friends at the expense of everyone else. The debate about the fiscal cliff proved again that they were willing to pay our nation’s bills by picking working families’ pockets, and tearing down programs that protect the poor, the weak and the sick.
It’s not enough that these politicians want to shred the social safety net; they also want to shred our rights. In Michigan, the Legislature rammed through a “right-to-work-for-less” bill in the waning days of the lame-duck session and Gov. Rick Snyder quickly signed it into law. These laws are intended to weaken unions at the bargaining table and in politics.
Writing a New Story
From our nation’s capital to state capitals, it’s clear: Politicians funded by wealthy interests want to steal the power of working people. But AFSCME will write a new story. To do it, we’ve identified several priorities for 2013.
We’re renewing our commitment to organizing. New members give us energy and boost our strength in every fight.
We’ve got to win the battle for retirement security. We must make this about more than simply protecting our own pensions. All Americans deserve to retire with dignity after a lifetime of work.
We must forge deeper partnerships with allies. We learned in state after state, that our fights are bolstered when we create broad coalitions. And we have prioritized fighting attacks on working families no matter where they arise or who they come from.
The preamble to our union’s Constitution says: “In the same way that unions are dedicated to improvement of the terms and conditions of employment, we are equally dedicated…to fulfill the promise of American life.” That promise demands activism and commitment from us all.
