While President Donald Trump’s latest tweets dominate conversations in Washington, something else is going on where I live and work. A movement is sweeping through communities across America — and the fight to defeat Prop A in Missouri on Tuesday is just the latest example.
People are coming together. Collective action is on the rise. My friends and neighbors are mobilizing, marching, organizing and voting — not for more partisan politics, but for the things that matter. We’re fighting for the good jobs, wages, health care and dignity that we have earned.
For me, this is personal. I grew up in a military family, following both of my parents into the armed forces. I proudly served in the Air Force, and my youngest daughter is heading into the Navy. We view service as a calling to our country and family, never hesitating to do our part for the greater good.
With that commitment to service cemented in our family, I knew we would find a way forward. Just as my fellow service members always had my back, I was confident the American spirit of community and solidarity would help lift me up in civilian life. But it hasn’t been easy.
Like many veterans, I returned to the workforce in the middle of a devastating recession. My husband and I both lost our jobs. Debts piled up, while we tried to scrape just enough money together to put dinner on the table.
Unfortunately, even our best efforts weren’t enough. We declared bankruptcy and lost our home.
We felt abandoned. The principles for which my family had put on a uniform suddenly seemed hollow. I had served my country. But my country wasn’t serving me. Homeless with three children, our lives seemed hopeless.
Even when I finally found a job, the pay was far from enough to support my family, and the benefits were virtually nonexistent. I wondered if it always would be like this.
Then, everything changed when I got my first union job. Working at the local General Motors plant, represented by the UAW, I suddenly had a voice at work. Carrying a union card in my pocket, I knew that my voice was louder and stronger. My co-workers and I knew the boss had to listen to us and treat us with respect. Just like my time in the military, I had brothers and sisters standing by my side.
We didn’t just get our family back on our feet with my new job. In my union, I found fellowship and pride. My new comrades would not tolerate the economic abuse and exploitation I had suffered at previous jobs — and I wouldn’t stand to see any of them mistreated.
What I’ve learned since is that too many people in power feel threatened by that unity. And they’re willing to tear us down to keep more of the pie for themselves.
And they’ve brought the fight to my home state of Missouri, where corporate-backed politicians passed a “right to work” law over the objections of everyday working people. Instead of sitting back and letting our future be written for us, we took action.
Told that we needed to gather 100,000 signatures to put this issue on the ballot, we turned in more than 300,000. Now, faced with a campaign of millionaires and billionaires attempting to ram through right to work in Missouri, we’re knocking on doors, making calls and talking to our brothers and sisters to defeat this assault on our freedom.
If this law is upheld, we would lose $8,740 in annual wages. I don’t know a single worker in my community who could sustain a pay cut like that. But this fight is about so much more.
Pride. Dignity. A voice on the job. Power in numbers. For those of us working hard every day to support ourselves — and maybe hand something better to our kids and grandkids — those are the most important things we have. And we’re willing to fight like hell for them.
That’s why I’m voting against Prop A on Aug. 7. And it’s why I’m proud to be part of a national movement of collective action sweeping the country in 2018.
Together, we’re winning a fairer economy and building a more just society. If politicians in Washington want to prove themselves as allies of working people, they better get on board.
After Aug. 7, we’ll have our sights set on November, and you can expect to hear from us out on the campaign trail.