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Trumka Memo to Union Leadership: FBI Investigation Shows Clinton Did Nothing Wrong
Today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sent the following memo to AFL-CIO leadership in the states:
Yesterday we learned Trump and FBI Director Comey’s October surprise was nothing but more hot air and bluster. Nothing new, nothing relevant, but Director Comey violated FBI policy to help Donald Trump. The FBI once again has determined that Hillary Clinton should face no criminal charges for her email practices. Unbelievably, this non-issue was recklessly brought back into the final days of this presidential campaign for reasons that undoubtedly merit further investigation.
It is shameful that any government agency, especially the FBI, would insert itself into any election campaign. As we work tirelessly to elect Hillary Clinton, our members and all voters have been forced to contend with half-baked information that was then fueled by Donald Trump and his dangerous allies.
The truth that was there all along has finally been confirmed by FBI Director Comey, but the FBI’s outrageous actions have caused harm to this election and our democracy.
Over the next 36 hours, we need to stand stronger and more resolute than this terrible mess.
We can. And we will. In our final push, I urge each and every one of you to make sure every single union member knows that Hillary Clinton has done nothing wrong. Every voter should make their final decision with the facts, and not Donald Trump’s hysterical description of an outright falsehood.
She’s with us, so we’re with her. Let’s finish the job!
Misogynist in Chief?
When young women hear Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump say things like, “She ate like a pig,” or “A woman who is very flat-chested is very hard to be a 10,” it can cause lifelong harm.
Liz, a middle school teacher from Florida and an AFT member, sees the damage it does to young women every day.
AFT President Randi Weingarten emailed activists today asking them to watch and share Liz's message.
Weingarten writes:
Like millions of women, I’ve been told I’m too ambitious, told to smile more, to be less passionate, or less assertive.
Like millions of women, I know how painful it can be to be judged based on looks, rather than on character, accomplishments or skills.
The person we elect on Nov. 8 will tell young women whether America believes that women deserve dignity and respect. And if Donald Trump wins, it will tell young men that demeaning, degrading and even assaulting women is just fine.
We work hard to teach our students and our own children it’s what’s inside and what we do in the world that count. But how can they believe we’re serious if we elect a president who says he doesn’t treat women with respect, demeans women for their physical appearance and brags openly about sexual assault?
Trump isn’t the first person to demean women on a national stage, but if we elect him president, we send a clear message—especially to young people—that this conduct is perfectly appropriate and that women don’t deserve to be treated as equals.
Liz says, “I want my students, male and female, to know…that nobody has the right to judge them or anyone else by some arbitrary and rigid standard of beauty.”
Hillary Clinton has spent her life fighting for inclusion and respect for women and girls. She went to China in 1995 and declared, “Women’s rights are human rights.” She has fought for women and children her entire adult life—for things like equal pay, family and medical leave, pre-K through college education, child care and children's health, community schools and reproductive rights. And as secretary of state, she did this for women and girls across the world.
That’s the kind of leadership we need—not more of the toxic narcissism Trump carries so proudly. Young women don’t need a president who doesn’t respect them, and young men don’t need a president who shows them that misogyny is just fine.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Visits Ohio to Rally Working People Against Donald Trump
Ohio is an important swing state in next week's presidential election, and if Donald Trump fails to win the state, his path toward victory is very narrow. That's why AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was in the state making sure that working people know how important their vote is. Here is some of the media coverage of Trumka's visit:
Toledo Blade: "Before volunteers spent their time canvassing local neighborhoods to urge those to vote, which consisted of two three-hour shifts, Mr. Trumka, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), stopped by in support of Hillary Clinton to boost the volunteer spirit and to urge people to vote in an election he called 'the most consequential of our time.'
"'It’s going to decide which direction our country goes,' Mr. Trumka told the room of about 50 people, adding there will be a record high number of American voters this year.
"'Whether we’re going to continue to build on the progress that we have under President Obama or whether we’re going to rip it apart and go back 30 years where we lead by fear and governed by division among us,' he said."
The Business Journal: "Trump’s policies, Trumka said, would cost the United States some three million jobs. Trump’s clothing lines are manufactured in Asia and Mexico. The steel for his buildings was made in China. He supports right-to-work policies. Trump has mocked people with disabilities and made casual statements about sexually assaulting women.
"'He wants to govern by fear and division. He wants to make it harder for the working people. His programs would devastate collective bargaining,' Trumka said at the round table. 'He would tear our country apart and God knows what he’d do internationally.…He wants to say, ‘You can only win if she loses and he can only win if she loses.’ That’s the America he’s trying to make and it’s not the America I grew up with.'"
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