My husband is a firefighter, and a member of the IAFF (firefighters union). The IAFF is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. Below is an e-mail my husband received yesterday from Richard Trumka, the AFL-CIO president regarding the current change in the political climate after the Scott Brown win in Massachusetts. --- On Thu, 1/21/10, Richard L. Trumka, President, AFL-CIO <[email protected]> wrote: From: Richard L. Trumka, President, AFL-CIO <[email protected]> Subject: A Wake-Up Call To: "XXXX X XXXXXXXX ([email protected] Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 2:35 PM Pledge Now: Work Harder, Faster, Smarter The wake-up call sent by Tuesday’s special election in Massachusetts for the U.S. Senate couldn’t be clearer.
Working people are fed up with inaction in Washington and expect real results.
We can’t leave it to any political party to protect the interests of working families—it’s up to us to organize and mobilize harder, faster and smarter than ever before.
Please pledge to do your part. Recommit now to push harder to win jobs, health care and an economy that works for all of us. Click here: Dear XXXX, What happened Tuesday in Massachusetts was a wake-up call to all of us. It was a working class revolt—a signal that in this economic crisis, the American people demand jobs, health care and an economy that works for them now—not political business as usual.
It was a loud and clear message that our elected leaders—and our labor movement—must do more for working people, do it fast and do it smarter. An AFL-CIO poll taken Tuesday night shows without doubt: Voters are fed up that elected leaders have done too little to help working families.
They said Democrats have NOT overreached on jobs, the economy and health care—they have underreached. Voters have seen too much help for Wall Street and not nearly enough help for Main Street.
Unless Democrats demonstrate that fixing the economy is their overriding priority, and begin to create more jobs for working Americans NOW, we’re going to see more results this November like the Massachusetts election. For the union movement and activists, the message was also clear: It’s not time to leave it to any political party to take care of us once we put them in office. It’s time to organize and mobilize as never before to make every elected or aspiring leader PROVE he or she will create the jobs we need in an economy we need with the health care we need. I am not discouraged by Tuesday’s election results. Actually, I’m energized and I want you to be, too. Working America is demanding major change NOW—not timid, go-slow, partial solutions. I know we are the people who can mobilize a massive army to force elected leaders to deliver.
Let’s do it—starting NOW.
P.S. I’m sending this same message in a YouTube video. Please take a look and share it with other fighters for working families. In solidarity,
Richard L. Trumka President, AFL-CIO
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