I want to thank everyone who came out to see Tuesday night’s 2nd Congressional District Candidate Forum in Hampton. We touched on a number of issues over the course of 90 minutes at the forum. I made it clear that I’ll fight for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, universal health care, a rollback of cuts to education, and common sense gun reform.
Also on Tuesday, voters in Pennsylvania showed us the path to victory this fall. Pro-union Democrat Conor Lamb prevailed in the PA-18 special Congressional race in a district that Trump won by nearly 20 points just 16 months ago. Republicans are in trouble. Democrats only need to flip 24 seats to win back control of the House. There are currently over one hundred districts that Trump won less than PA-18.
Unions like the AFL-CIO are getting a lot credit for pushing Conor over the top in this deep-red district. And it’s no surprise that they turned out for him, given the strong support that he gave them throughout his campaign:
“I believe that all workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively for better wages, benefits and working conditions. And I know that when unions do the work, it gets done on time and on budget. Union members in our district can count on me to be the most effective ally they have in fighting to protect their rights, support prevailing wages and Project Labor Agreements, and defeat the ideological extremists who want to put unions out of existence.”
As someone who was raised in the union and who’s walked the picket line numerous times over the years, I couldn’t agree more! I look forward to being a strong Union ally and making sure that we support collective action like what we saw earlier this month by the West Virginia teachers’ strike, which won a 5% pay raise not just for the teachers themselves, but for all state employees. It’s especially encouraging given the condition of modern unions in the right-to-work-for-less era.
We’ve still got a lot to do before we get to the finish line though, we’ve still got to win the Democratic primary nomination for VA-02 this June. We are running at the front of a crowded field, and we’re the only one there that supports the policies that will make the working class strong again: $15/hour for all workers, universal health care, and protecting and growing our unions.
UNIONS MATTER, and it's important that the nominee for VA-02 doesn't just give lip service to unions, but is a member of one as well. Make a contribution to our Campaign Fund -- and help us show Virginia and the rest of the nation what #UnionStrong looks like!