AFL-CIO Blog

Democracy is rising in America. Despite the worst pandemic in a century, voters came out in record numbers to exercise our rights as citizens, and now those ballots must be counted. As we said in our statement with business and faith leaders today, this is a moment “to exercise patience with the process and trust in our system, even if it requires more time than usual.” Joe Biden’s growing national lead reflects a country ready to turn the page on the dysfunction and division of the Trump era, and we are confident that when all the votes are counted, the Electoral College will render the same verdict.  In the days to come, America’s labor movement will defend our democratic republic and ensure our next president will be the person who is the choice of the citizens of the United States. Simply put, voters must decide—not courts, not legislators and certainly not one of the candidates.

Last night in a historic victory Arizona’s working families chose Joe Biden as U.S. President and Mark Kelly as U.S. Senator. In a groundbreaking grassroots effort led by the labor movement, painters, hotel workers, machinists, communications workers, stage hands, postal workers, electrical workers and more came together to elect candidates who fight for Arizona’s working families, advocate for higher wages, and ensure safe working conditions.  Since SB 1070 passed in 2010, Arizona has been on the road to becoming a true battleground state. In large part this is due to the collaborative efforts of Arizona’s labor movement and our community partners. Last night Labor and the progressive movement helped elect Democrats up and down the ballot.  Although we do not have final results in all races across the state, we are confident that we will come out ahead when EVERY VOTE IS COUNTED.  In the midst of a global pandemic and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the failure of the current administration to keep the American people safe has cost lives and livelihoods. It has been our unions leading the way providing necessary essentials and protections helping working people across the country. Whether it’s securing proper PPE, working with Congress to secure COVID-19 relief for families, or electing worker champions, organized labor answered the call.  “In what is arguably the most consequential election of our lifetime, union members from across the country put all their support into Arizona by traveling here to participate in our Labor 2020 campaign, or by contacting Arizona voters from their home states. As a result, Arizona has now become part of the Blue Wall across the western United States,” said Fred Yamashita, Executive Director of the Arizona AFL-CIO.

Here in Georgia, working people are making our voices heard, loud and clear. We’ve already voted in record numbers to elect the next president and vice president of the United States. It’s a voting process we’ve been doing for 200 years, and it’s a process that’s not going to change after today. Unfortunately, we’re seeing deliberate and baseless attempts from hate groups in our state to undermine confidence in our democracy. But make no mistake: Georgia’s labor movement isn’t going to stand for this. We are determined to defend and protect our democracy.

Record numbers of voters voted in this election, and there are still thousands of ballots that are still waiting to be counted across Michigan and across the country. That’s not surprising, and we’re confident that it will be worth the wait. What is not okay is any effort to prevent every vote from being counted. Today, we are launching www.UnionsDefend.org to centralize our response efforts on behalf of the Michigan labor movement. Organized labor has always championed democracy in the workplace, and today it’s our job to fight for fair and free elections and ensure that every vote is counted. Union members are joining together to defend our democracy -- sign up to get involved over the next few days to make sure we COUNT EVERY VOTE. We won’t rest until democracy is served because unions will never shy away from a fight to guarantee the voices of our members are heard. We hope you’ll support us in these efforts.

Nevada’s working families look forward to every vote being counted. As a labor movement founded on the premise of listening to the voice of individuals we know the meaning of your voice, your vote. For democracy to work for all of us, all eligible voters must have our voices heard. Nevada has been one of the hardest hit states in the U.S. by the coronavirus and despite the pandemic, voters still found a way to vote. Whether the votes were cast by mail in, early in person, or on election day, every vote matters and every vote counts. By tracking from start to finish and verifying the identity of each ballot, certified election officials ensure that each voter casts one ballot and that every eligible vote is counted accurately. “Candidates have had their time to talk now it’s time to listen to the voters. This is no longer a time for partisanship, it is time to watch our democracy work. We look forward to every vote being counted by our experienced election officials,” said Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rusty McAllister.

As working people across North Carolina await the final 2020 election results, one thing must be clear: we need to count every vote to confirm whom the voters have chosen. Any politician can say whatever they want tonight and in the coming days, but the time to campaign is over. Their time is up. In our democracy, voters get to decide who will be sworn in as our leaders, not the other way around. People have overcome so much to vote this year and done so in record numbers despite a pandemic and deliberate, baseless attempts to undermine confidence in our democracy. In the days leading up to November 3rd, more than half of eligible North Carolinians voted either early in person or by mail. We know our qualified local election officials have been working diligently to preserve democracy, as they do in every election, and now we need to give them time to do their job of verifying that all eligible votes are counted, without interference or intimidation.  Elections are a process, and that process does not end until we have certified the results and sworn in the leaders that the voters have chosen in a peaceful transfer of power. This is the way American democracy has worked since the first presidential election ended in 1789, through the Civil War, the Great Depression, and two World Wars. It may take longer this year to obtain all the results, but the people of the American labor movement remain committed to seeing democracy endure.

As polls close here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on this historic election day, the officers of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder made the following statements on behalf of the 700,000 working women and men we represent: “Pennsylvanians have turned out to vote in unprecedented numbers throughout this campaign.   More than 2.5 million ballots were received as of Tuesday morning, greater than one-third of Pennsylvania’s total voter turnout in 2016.  Millions of Pennsylvanians are more inspired to make their voices heard than at any other time in history. Voters decide elections, not courts and political appointees. Politicians have had their say, and in the end, it is the voters who decide,” stated President Rick Bloomingdale  “The Union Movement is founded on the concept of democracy; whether you’re voting in a union, or electing governments that serve ‘we the people’, your vote is your voice.  To any political party or special interest, know this, the American Labor Movement and our sisters and brothers across Pennsylvania will defend our democracy, demand our votes are counted, and we will win.  Each vote must be counted,” remarked Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder.  

Any legitimate election is one where everyone who is eligible to vote can do so, every ballot cast is counted and where voters decide the outcome and select our next leaders. The American labor movement will forever defend our democracy. To those who seek to prevent eligible Americans’ votes from being counted and make bogus claims designed to undermine the democratic process, we will fight you every step of the way. The power of the people’s voice at the ballot box cannot be denied. Democracy will win the day.