On Election Day, we showed what our union can do when we stand together . CSEA showed our true power in beating back the proposal to hold a constitutional convention.
Our work in getting out the vote also helped many of our endorsed candidates get elected to local offices, in some cases, unseating incumbents who did not have your best interests in mind.
None of this would have happened without so many of you stepping up, speaking out and taking action for what is right. You understand the need to protect our rights as working people of New York and you worked to ensure that our rights continue to be protected. As Election Day approached, you spread the word about what is right. On Election Day, not only did you vote, but you turned out family, friends and co-workers.
And you did all of this in an election year that was projected to have low voter turnout.
Our efforts to stop the constitutional convention is exactly what we mean when we say CSEA never quits. We proved we can get out there and motivate people to take action when it matters most. That’s no small feat.
This show of force and show of our power is something to be proud of, and something to draw more strength from, as we head into a new year that will be full of strong challenges.
It’s easy to say that we need to keep pushing on for what’s right, brace ourselves and stand strong because the challenges won’t stop. But it’s just as important to recognize the huge victories when they come and have some hope. When we stand together, we can move mountains.
2017 was a tough year for working people across the country, but for us, it also proved to be a valuable year to prepare for what’s ahead. In the coming year, working people in New York state will likely see face-to-face many of the same challenges that our brothers and sisters across the country have been facing.
But we have proved numerous times in the past year alone that when we stand together in solidarity, we can win.
Think about it again, CSEA and our allies came together in solidarity to defeat the constitutional convention proposal. We need this solidarity, this unity, going forward.
We stared down a potentially disastrous constitutional convention, we didn’t blink and working people won. We will do the same thing with all of the challenges coming our way. Because CSEA NEVER QUITS!
