UNITE HERE union members will knock over a million doors of working-class voters in key swing states

Working-class Americans are facing a historic cost-of-living crisis. Hospitality workers—one of the largest sectors of the US economy—have been particularly hard hit. UNITE HERE members are feeling the rising costs themselves and seeing their communities struggle, which is why hundreds of them are in the field in key swing states where they will knock over a million doors in the midterms.

Politicians are worried about declining working-class support. With anger about the economy front and center, workers sharing their own stories about rising costs on the doors is critical to victory in November. About eight hundred UNITE HERE members will knock doors across Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. They will be talking primarily to other working-class voters.

“Like millions of working-class Americans, our members and their communities are facing skyrocketing food and fuel costs, reckless enforcement of immigration policy, and dramatic reductions to federal programs like Medicaid and food stamps. This is a direct result of Congress enacting disastrous cuts and rubber-stamping the White House’s worst impulses.” said Gwen Mills, President of UNITE HERE. “We know that Americans across the political spectrum feel the same way, and winning the upcoming elections is how we stop Congress from making things worse. Winning fights against tough odds and ruthless bosses is how we’ve built our union, and we believe those same tactics can lay the foundations this cycle for a new, worker-led politics.”

If you would like to talk to a canvasser about what they’re hearing, or join them on the doors, please contact Benjy Cannon at [email protected] or 202-714-1567. 

“Despite the horrors of the last few years, what we’ve been hearing so far on the doors is making me feel hopeful,” said Nia Winston, Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE. “People are furious, with Congress and the White House of course, but also with the inequality and corruption that have gotten us here in the first place. I know that when anger reaches a boiling point like this in our workplaces, it means that people are ready to fight in a whole new way. That fight is how we build real working-class power in this country. And that is the only lasting way out of the mess we’re in.”

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UNITE HERE is a labor union that represents 300,000 working people across Canada and the United States. Our members work in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries.