Saturdays, leading up to Election Day, members of one labor union take to the streets and go door-to-door to get out the vote.
Labeling themselves Weekend Warriors, members of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East volunteer to canvass and make sure politicians who champion working people get into office.
“Because there’s different issues that need to be addressed,” said Anna Couch, a home care worker who has been a part of 1199 for 13 years and a Weekend Warrior since 2008. “Mostly about health care and home care workers. We’ve had issues with insurance, Medicaid and Medicare. Our jobs are in jeopardy so we need to address the politicians we’ve been sponsoring so they can help us out in Congress.”
With the emphasis on voter turnout being more important than ever, this weekend volunteers are meeting up at several locations around the city to be bused to other areas to canvass for candidates.
But how did all of this activism start? According to 1199 SEIU Political Director Gabby Seay, there wasn’t a single moment. It’s always been a part of the union.
“1199 just has a legacy of being civically engaged and being a civic leader,” said Seay. “To separate the work we do politically from the work the union does is futile. It’s just who we are.”
Back in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in the Janus v. AFSCME case) that members didn’t have to pay dues to labor unions that negotiate salaries on behalf of employees. It’s a decision that 1199 SEIU President George Gresham called a “coordinated attack on the rights of working people in this country.” Since the election of President Donald Trump, heightened attention has been given to midterm elections and swinging the vote in the U.S. Senate and in the House of Representatives. University of Florida Political Science Professor Michael McDonald told The Guardian that if trends continue, Election Day can see the biggest voter turnout for midterms since 1966. Seay said that the Weekend Warriors program has grown over the past few years because of these facts.
“Certainly, I think our program has grown and been strengthened over the course of the last several years,” said Seay. “What it means to be a Weekend Warrior doesn’t mean just knocking on doors, but being able to text and call certain members of the community and ask them to turn out for issues that mean something to them.”
Couch said that while the Warriors may have a script that they use to speak to people, she tends to speak using her own passion. “We get a script, but I tend to speak from my heart,” she said. “I just speak to my heart and encourage the people to get out and vote.”
Couch started canvassing in 2008, hitting up swing states pushing for citizens to elect Barack Obama president. Ever since, she has taken up the cause of getting people on her side to support causes that affect her just as well as them. According to 1199 officials, affordable health care, funding for health care facilities, labor rights and civil rights are the issues of the day. The union has armed the Weekend Warriors with as much information as possible to effectively communicate their stance when canvassing.
Saturday, buses will depart from Third Avenue and East Fordham Road in the Bronx, 310 W. 43rd St. in Manhattan and 99 Church St. in White Plains, all at 8 a.m. If people are driving their own vehicles, the staging location will be at the Essex Green Shopping Plaza at 495 Prospect Ave. in West Orange, N.J., at 9 a.m. Seay said that their job has become more important than ever before.
“There’s a heightened awareness of what’s happening in our country right now,” said Seay. “I do politics all day and have for the last 15 years, but the most poignant conversations I have are with everyday people who are seeing the real effects of politics in Washington.”
Seay said health care workers are feeling it the most acutely because of Trump’s lies about supporting health insurance that covers preexisting conditions. “Health care workers know that’s a lie,” she said.
From canvassing for Obama in 2008 to attempting to fight off the Tea Party wave several years later to attempting to fight off Trump in 2016, the Weekend Warriors aren’t going to go quietly into the night. In fact, Couch would could use an extra body or two.
“If you have any spare time, come help us out,” said Couch. “We need a lot of help. If we don’t win on Tuesday, we’re gonna be in jeopardy and in danger of losing everything we’ve worked really hard for.”
For more information call 212-582-1890