It’s Knocktober! Join the fun, volunteer for Labor Neighbor.

By CHERIKA CARTER

(Knockt. 1, 2018) — Every fall as the weather changes and the smell of pumpkin fills the air, thousands of union members take to the streets and knock doors all across the country to have face-to-face conversations with other union members about pro-working candidates who will stand up for working families.

Here in Washington state it’s no different, and union members are out in full force hitting the pavement having conversations about issues that matter to workers. This Oct. 1, I invite you to join in on the fun.

Out on the doors, people of all colors and backgrounds are concerned about their wages, jobs, education, and retirement security to name a few. People are concerned because the economy just isn’t working for working people. But the economy isn’t like the weather, it doesn’t just happen. The economy is a deliberate set of policy choices.

The problem with our economy today is corporate CEOs and the wealthy 1% are manipulating the rules of the economy. These CEOs and the politicians who do their bidding, through policy choice, are attacking unions, privatizing services, sending jobs overseas, and cutting investments in communities. This is the problem and the economy of the 1%. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The solution is an economy that works for people of all colors and backgrounds. An economy that protects and strengthens democracy by protecting voting rights, and the right to join together in union. An economy that values women, and families. An economy that invests in communities, and schools, and infrastructure. That is the economy that working people want, and the economy that working people can create together.

Working people can and will continue to come together to make sure the economy works for people of all colors and backgrounds. Just a short while ago working people in Washington came together and won minimum wage increases, paid sick leave, and fair scheduling laws for all Washingtonians. These gains for working families would not have happened without union members going door-to-door having conversations about the economy and how it can work for all, not just corporate CEOs.

When pro-worker candidates are elected to office working people have a voice in policy choice. When working people have a voice on the job and in policy choice, the economy works. Working people need strong, qualified leaders, at all levels of government who will address the concerns of working families.

Working people are knocking on doors, from now through election day, talking about candidates who will champion workers rights, invest in schools and apprenticeship opportunities, value women, and hold corporate CEO’s accountable. Working families are coming together to vote for these labor-endorsed candidates, many who are union members themselves, because they believe in working people’s freedom to build a better life.

Creating a better economy in Washington will require everyone to be ready to take action. It will take all working people of different colors and backgrounds to create an economy that works for all – just like when working people came together to win better wages, safer workplaces and civil rights in the past.

This Knocktober, will you join with the thousands of union members volunteering and taking to the streets going door-to-door and making phone calls to elect leaders who will stand up for working families?

Cherika Carter is Field Mobilization Director for the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. See the schedule of Labor Neighbor walks and phone banks and RSVP today to volunteer!