AFSCME Council 13 Executive Director David Fillman on Election 2016 results
AFSCME Council 13 Executive Director issued the following statement to members on the results of the 2016 election:
“First, I want to thank all of the AFSCME volunteers for their countless hours of work toward electing pro-working family candidates in this election. We took some disheartening losses, but your work was extremely important and does not go unappreciated. That is why Secretary Clinton specifically mentioned unions in her concession speech, as Labor’s ground game (especially AFSCME’s) was impeccable. We more than held up our end of the deal, and no matter what happens, we were on the correct side of history.
We can take some solace in the fact that our endorsed candidates for Attorney General, Auditor General and Treasurer all won their races, and they are the employers of some AFSCME members in Pennsylvania.
That does not change the fact that we are now faced with a Donald Trump presidency, a Republican-controlled Congress and looming Supreme Court vacancies. All of those things present direct threats to our existence, but we cannot stand down, we must stand up.
We must focus on our core values of protecting workers’ rights and assuring safety in the workplace, livable wages, good benefits and adequate healthcare coverage. We must remember we have power in numbers and use that power to create positive change. We have overcome challenges before and will do so again, and I am with you every step of the way. Now, more than ever, we must Never Quit.”