September 2024
When We Fight, We Win!
Photo Credit: Peter Ralston, as provided by Heather Cox Richardson
As Coach Walz might say, it’s game on! Ever since President Biden stepped aside and VP Kamala Harris became the nominee, Team Blue’s enthusiasm has skyrocketed. Airlift’s Partner Groups are feeling it, too:
Carolina Federation describes outreach efforts before and after the change as “night and day.” Conversation numbers are shooting up–people “have a little spark now” and are more willing to talk. Many young canvassers who are themselves voting for the first time are excited about the possibility of a Black woman as President, and they bring that positive energy to their work on the doors. Prior to Harris, it seemed North Carolina might elect Josh Stein over MAGA candidate Mark Robinson for Governor, but would likely choose Trump for President. Now, “there’s a sense of hope that really wasn’t there before and that’s a massive positive for us. People feel like they actually have a chance to flip NC for the presidential, let alone the local stuff.”
Arizona’s Worker Power reports a notable increase in support for Kamala Harris compared to Joe Biden. When Harris became the nominee, the percentage of voters “definitely” or “probably” supporting her rose to 72.1%, compared to 55.2% for Biden. Fewer voters are considering third-party candidates or remaining undecided.
Leaders Igniting Transformation, which focuses on Wisconsin’s youth, notes: “The recent change in the Democratic ticket is already creating brand new opportunities for young people to not just be engaged, but to lead us closer to achieving victories aligned with our values and the issues that young people care about.”
Crucially, though, enthusiasm must be organized. That’s why the grassroots are more important than ever. The Presidential race is still a coin toss, the Senate math is still brutal, and millions of potential voters are still checked out or flooded with disinformation. A large proportion of lower-propensity voters remain undecided–about who to vote for, or even if they’ll vote. These are precisely the folks Airlift Partners engage. November’s elections will be won at the margins, and no one works better at the margins than grassroots organizers. They’re the trusted messengers who can break through and make all the difference. But they can’t do it without your help.
The enthusiasm about our new top ticket is wonderful and inspiring. Yet ironically, as Jessica Craven of Chop Wood, Carry Water warns, some grassroots groups are experiencing a downturn in funding precisely because so many are instead giving to Harris-Walz. We ignore the grassroots at our peril. As Craven says, “Even if Harris and Walz win, they can’t succeed unless we have also turned out voters down the ballot. Please remember that a rising tide lifts all boats. Kamala Harris’s boat will do better if we lift all the boats beneath her. And her boat will sink if we do not fund those groups.”
If all boats rise, we have the opportunity to usher in the more widespread and sustainable progressive future we’ve been seeking. That takes more organizing, more mobilizing, and more money than ever.
So as Michelle Obama might say as hope makes a comeback, channel your enthusiasm by doing something: Feed the grassroots. Please be as generous as you can.
Thank you!
Working Together To Win Arizona
Ruben Gallego
Congressman & candidate for U.S. Senate
September 17, Tuesday
5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET
Airlift is thrilled to host special guest Congressman Ruben Gallego, who is running to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate. Ruben knows what it’s like to fight for and empower workers. Raised by an immigrant single mom, Ruben joined the Marines, served in Iraq, and has dedicated his life to public service. He continues to fight for working families, immigrants, veterans, and economic justice, expand healthcare and a woman’s right to have an abortion, and defend voting rights and our democracy. Ruben knows what it is to fight to improve people’s lives.
We'll then turn our attention to Worker Power, which is also on the front lines in Arizona fighting to improve people's lives. Executive Director Brendan Walsh and Field Director David Bonilla will update us on how they plan to win in November. Worker Power has built one of Arizona’s biggest field operations, scoring victories for worker protections while flipping the White House, Senate seats, the governorship, and other statewide offices blue. With so much at stake in 2024, it is important to learn how we can work together to help Worker Power turn out the voters we need for victory.
If you can’t attend but want to support Worker Power, click the donate button below:
Inspiring the Next Generation of Activists
“We are all dealing with the same things: we all want affordable housing, we all want better wages. When we work together, when we fight together, we win!” So said Ashanta Conner, a recent graduate of the Leadership School, a program of Airlift’s Arizona Partner, Worker Power. Ashanta and fellow student Emmanuel Cabrera sat down with Airlift’s David Ford recently to talk about the Leadership School. This month-long program is inspired by the labor colleges of the 1920s and 1930s as well as the civil rights movement, and brings together a diverse group of students with a demonstrated passion for social justice. The Leadership School teaches activists the history, strategies, and practical skills of organizing. All students are paid to attend, making the training available to people who otherwise couldn’t afford to take the time off.
Emmanuel is a DACA recipient, brought here as a child by undocumented parents; his status as a resident is entirely at the whim of federal immigration policies. Emmanuel became engaged in organizing through the successful unionization of the hotel he was working at in Los Angeles, then helped organize a second LA hotel.
Ashanta got involved in organizing after an attempt to unionize a warehouse she was working in failed. With no background in organizing, workers were easily intimidated by the owners. A month later they all lost their jobs. Ashanta notes:
We didn’t know much about a union, but we knew it was something good. Now that I really know something about unions, I can go back home and tell people about the benefits. You need someone who is going to back you up and get you those things that you need.
The students in this year’s Leadership School cohort were an eclectic group: from West Africa, El Salvador, Philly, California, Kentucky, Serbia, and Afghanistan, ranging in age from 21-60. Ashanta and Emmanuel agree, “It feels good to know we are all in the same fight and want the same thing, and to just learn from each other.”
The Leadership School has attracted experts from around the nation to offer their knowledge to the students, including Professor Shauna Redmond from Columbia University and Professor Robin D.G. Kelly of UCLA. The curriculum includes developing a powerful personal story, forging connections in 1-on-1 conversations, inspiring others to action, building a political labor movement, anti-Labor politics, the Worker Power Model, and reversing runaway inequality.
Some of the most inspiring teachers come from Unite Here, the hospitality workers union that works very closely with Worker Power. Ashanta recalls Maggie Acosta, a field director at Worker Power with a simple but powerful message: “Keep standing up.” Ashanta shares, “They would try to intimidate her when she’s out there. She didn’t back down. She stood up not just for herself but for her coworkers. I’m very shy, I’d probably be intimidated. But she didn’t show that fear.”
Students were also taught about different strategies movements have used over the course of their history. Emmanuel said, “I’m from Los Angeles and we didn’t get taught that stuff at school. That wasn’t in the textbooks.”
Part of Emmanuel’s and Ashanta’s education was in the classroom, and part involved making direct contact with voters. They both told stories of turning non-voters into voters. Emmanuel said,
There was this Hispanic lady and she never voted in her life. She was already in her forties, and she was not going to vote, so I shared my personal story. I actually can’t vote, so I feel the importance of voting. All these people have the privilege to vote, but they are not well-informed, not educated about voting. I can inspire other people to go out and vote.
A middle-aged Black woman told Ashanta, “I’m not interested. I’m not voting. No matter who we put in office, it doesn’t matter, they already know who they want.” Ashanta’s reaction?
It took me back for a minute, I almost was stuck. But I thought, no, just talk to her. So I was like, “What do you mean they already know who they’re going to put in office?” I asked what it is she didn’t like about either party. You know, some people have an exact reason why they don’t vote. But she didn’t. I explained to her how if you don’t vote, you make other people’s votes count more. The woman said, “Well, when you put it like that!”
After Kamala Harris became the candidate, they immediately started seeing attitudes change at the doors. Emmanuel said, “They are talking with more positivity. They’re like, we need a female president. They are bringing up Mexico, they are talking about Claudia [Scheinbaum–Mexico’s incoming and first female president], how she got elected.”
Finally, there’s the community and the camaraderie of studying together. Emmanuel said, “I’m not in this alone, we do have power, we do have a voice. I’m doing work that actually matters. I’m changing peoples’ lives for the better.”
When We Give, We Win
We can have all the enthusiasm we want, but it takes investment.
- Stacey Abrams
One of the smartest investments you can make is to support Airlift’s Partner Groups. It takes massive organizing to win the votes we most need for victory up and down the ballot in November. And that takes money. When we give, we win. Here’s how:
Donate by Check. Set up automatic payments to Airlift with the Bill Pay service at your bank, or send a check directly to: Airlift, PO Box 617, Corte Madera CA 94976
Donate Online at ActBlue. Just click this button
Make it Monthly–Your Own Anxiety Relief Program! Becoming a monthly donor means our partners can count on having resources right through to the election. Besides, you’ll feel better.
For Tax-Deductible Giving. Although non-tax-deductible 501c4 gifts allow our partners the most flexibility for political action, tax-deductible 501c3 donations are welcome too. Email Ruth Jaeger at ruth@airlift.fund.
Spread the word! Tell your friends and family about Airlift and our events. Share this newsletter and our website.
FIELD NOTES
Your Money Matters, as Communities for a New California attests! We just got this thank you from Pablo Rodriguez, CNC’s Executive Director: “CNC was able to launch our Fall GOTV phone banking in July–in large part because of the financial support from Airlift, which enabled us to plan and be more proactive than we have ever been. In the past if we launched September 15th and worked through election day, we felt those were strong 7 weeks of work. Now, we will have a solid 21 weeks of voter engagement–21 weeks of building authentic relationships with voters, learning about the priorities of their families, and earning their votes.” Those votes will be crucial in retaking the U.S. House by flipping CA-13, 22, and 41.
Leaders Igniting Transformation was instrumental in defeating two referendums that sought to give the Republican-controlled state legislature more control over federal funding distribution in last month’s Wisconsin primary. LIT continues to run the largest field program focused on engaging young voters across Wisconsin. Before the Democratic Convention, they’d already knocked on more than 400,000 doors and collected more than 18,000 pledges to vote. No wonder those victories keep rolling in!
It’s hot in Arizona, but Worker Power is even hotter! Here’s what they’ve been up to lately: Submitted enough signatures to place a Hotel Workers Protection Act on the November ballot in Glendale; helped Lupe Conchas (the first LGBTQ+ winner) flip a City Council seat in Glendale's Cactus district, defeating a conservative white incumbent who held the seat for 20 years; registered 6,552 voters among young people and communities of color in Arizona's Congressional Districts 1 and 6–territory crucial to flipping not just the US House, but Arizona’s state legislature; and collected 10,000 signatures for a statewide ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage. Plus, Worker Power has just doubled the size of its canvassing team and is knocking on 10,000 doors per day to elect Democrats up and down the ballot and pass the Abortion Access Act.
Carolina Federation scores big wins for 2024 budget fights! Multiple chapters were able to organize for $12,410,000 to be included in city and county budgets all over North Carolina. They secured funding for legal resources for eviction defense, rental assistance, a guaranteed income program in Durham, pre-K programs, and protecting student-facing jobs in public schools. Members also gained seats on local and county committees. These issue campaigns not only deliver vital services now; they “are the building blocks of winning long term political power and build hope among communities that we can build a future that works for everyone if we can organize together. We can feel the momentum as we get closer to ‘get out the vote’ time.”
