On Sept. 13, more than 40,000 union women from across the country joined a telephone town hall to discuss what’s at stake this election cycle for working women and their families. The event was hosted by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, the highest-ranking woman in the labor movement, and featured AFT President Randi Weingarten; Maria Elena Durazo, UNITE HERE general vice president for immigration, civil rights and diversity; and Linda Hinton, Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 4 vice president. These leaders rallied their sisters to join the fight to elect worker-friendly candidates up and down the ballot who reflect the economic priorities of working women and families.
When working women come together, they have the power to win good wages, great benefits, fair scheduling and equal pay. Shuler reminded the teletown hall participants of just that, stressing that these aren’t simply “women’s issues.” These issues are labor issues, and they are at the heart of the labor movement’s raising wages agenda.
Women also heard from Celia Vargas, an employee at Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel. Celia spoke about how poorly Donald Trump treated her and her co-workers when they tried to form a union on the job. After witnessing firsthand how Trump operates his business, Celia told the women she knows that he would be bad for the entire country if elected president.
Union women know that working people are stronger together, both on the job and in the voting booth. Which is why, when asked what the top issue was that motivated them to get to the polls, 31% of the women reported collective bargaining to be their top concern, beating out equal pay, affordable education and paid family medical leave. It’s also why more than 200 women signed up to volunteer with Labor 2016, the AFL-CIO’s member-to-member electoral program, proving that when called upon, union women step up to the plate.