The Union that ran largest canvass in AZ and NV, calls on officials to count every vote to allow will of people to prevail

 The Union also announces plans to build off its general election canvass program in Georgia for the Senate runoff.

PHILADELPHIA — Today, UNITE HERE – the Union that led the largest door-to-door field operation in Pennsylvania – is celebrating victories for Fetterman and Shapiro as wins for working people and voters made possible in part by the massive door-to-door operation it ran targeting unlikely voters.

Statewide, hospitality workers canvassing with UNITE HERE exceeded projections to knock on 980,572 doors in some of the nation’s most hotly contested races. UNITE HERE has been working for months to talk to voters, culminating in a canvass with 450 people working full-time to knock on doors in the weekend leading up to Election Day.

UNITE HERE President D. Taylor and Secretary-Treasurer Gwen Mills issued the following statement on the status of the races in these key battleground states.

“First, we want to congratulate UNITE HERE canvassers for their efforts in the field knocking on nearly 1 million doors to win the vote for Senator-elect John Fetterman and Governor-elect Josh Shapiro. This is a huge victory for working people and proof of the critical role our organizing program on the doors plays in high-stakes elections with slim margins.

“Now, as we await the results of our elections in Nevada and Arizona, it’s crucial that every vote be counted, and the will of the people prevails. In America, we value our rights to make our voices heard, pick our own leaders, and decide our own futures. Already, we have seen Trump Republicans spread false claims about our elections and try to silence voters to grab power if the results aren’t in their favor. As a Union we are committed to continuing to organize to ensure that the will of the people stands.

“With the projection of a runoff happening, UNITE HERE will build off our general election efforts in Georgia to bring the full force of our canvassing program the size of what we had in Pennsylvania and help once again secure the vote for Senator Warnock — as we did before.”

UNITE HERE Philly Local 274 President and “Workers to the Front” Campaign Director Rosslyn Wuchinich issued a statement on behalf of the UNITE HERE operation in Pennsylvania, led by UNITE HERE Locals 274 and 634 in Philadelphia with support from other UNITE HERE locals and allies across the labor movement.

“We feel immense pride in the voter turnout our canvassing team mobilized in Philadelphia and surrounding counties leading up to this win.

“In Pennsylvania, elections are often determined not by the people who vote but by the people who don’t. That’s why our union focused on connecting with unlikely voters in low-income, Black, and Brown neighborhoods with the most to win or lose. The voters we spoke with had to overcome tremendous obstacles to participate, including last minute rules instigated by Trump-backed Republicans trying to suppress our votes.

“Despite these hurdles, people in our communities voted in record numbers and made their voice clear, choosing candidates who offer working people the best chance of improving their lives, whether it’s tackling gun violence that plagues our neighborhoods, attacking the corporate greed that makes daily life unaffordable, or protecting our fundamental rights to vote or make decisions about how and when to grow our families.

“This midterm election was a battle for the soul of our city and our commonwealth and working people won.”

Nationwide, UNITE HERE’s canvassing program included 1,200 canvassers who knocked on 2.7 million doors this year in the country’s most high-profile battleground states: Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. UNITE HERE’s door-to-door canvassing operations are the largest in the states of Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, and combined they are the largest labor-led program in the nation.

Under the banner, “Workers to the Front,” UNITE HERE’s 2022 midterm canvassing program is centered on the workers who lead its success — the people in the trenches talking to voters every day until Tuesday about the issues they care about most. This is amid a moment where workers across industries, particularly the hospitality industry, are more fed up than ever and are organizing for better conditions at their workplaces.

In 2020, after COVID-19 created one of the biggest crises in the Union’s history, UNITE HERE — with the backing of allies across the labor movement — led the way into the field to defeat Trump in Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania. 1,700 hospitality workers knocked on over three million doors (full report). Then, the Union participated the Georgia Senate run-off, growing to 1,100 in the field, hitting 1.6 million doors, and helping the broader coalition reach 10 million knocks before the runoffs.