Endorsements show our collective power

By Fabrizio Sasso
Executive Director, Sacramento CLC

Recently, I have been working with our union affiliates on our endorsement interviews. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, this is an opportunity for all our member unions to come together to ask questions of candidates and get to know them before we collectively decide who to endorse.

For the past few years, these interviews have been held via Zoom, a leftover from the precautions of the pandemic. This year, we came together in person, and it was a reminder of both the power and comfort of community. While being online was a great alternative when we needed it, nothing beats being in a room with union siblings, all engaged and ready for the fight that our November elections will be.

That doesn’t mean we always agree. Far from it. There were more than 40 unions who participated in these endorsement meetings, and they came with their own perspectives and priorities. Sometimes these align, sometimes not. But in this space, there was respect and a genuine desire to understand differing viewpoints. It was impressive to hear the nuance and depth of the arguments presented, and inspiring to see how we received each other’s messages with openness and a desire for common ground.

At the end of the day, the diversity represented in that room makes us stronger. And it made our interviews stronger—and tougher. Candidates saw not only our solidarity, but our seriousness. These weren’t lightweight meet and greets, but in-depth sessions where we laid out our goals and expectations.

And where we all did find common ground was in the desire to protect and strengthen our communities. Across unions, across divides, we all want affordable housing, good schools, access to healthcare, and neighborhoods and cities where we don’t just survive, but thrive. These are the common goals that underlie every union, the values our movement holds in unity, and which bind us in a fight for the common good.

Our endorsements will come out in a few weeks, and I hope you will all take the time to look over the candidates and why we chose them to represent us in this fight. Even more, I hope you will start to think about how you can be involved and contribute in the coming election cycle.

We all know that this November is different. It will determine the course our nation takes for decades to come and whether our democracy remains intact or collapses into an oligarchy in which the common people are the losers. We can’t let that happen, and we won’t. I strongly believe that the Labor Movement is the answer to this moment in our country’s history. Our knowledge of organizing, our ability to put boots on the ground and our commitment to that greater good are invaluable right now and will in no small part determine what happens next.

Be a part of it. Get ready to knock on doors, talk to neighbors and family and encourage every voter to register and cast their ballot. Labor is powerful because we stand together and our solidarity is a force to be reckoned with. This November is no different, though the stakes are higher. Together, we can—and will—protect this great democracy that we all hold dear.