September 10, 2024

UUP President Fred Kowal, echoing statements by AFT President Randi Weingarten, said that UUP is dedicated to doing all it can to help Vice President Kamala Harris win in November.

Kowal said that UUP members have volunteered to join the Harris campaign. Over the next few weeks, UUP members from across the state are set to take AFT-sponsored buses to Pennsylvania and other battleground states to go door-to-door for Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz—Harris’ vice presidential choice.

UUP members will also be working on phone banks for Harris, distributing voting information and Harris-Walz literature and providing whatever support is needed to ensure she is victorious over Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“UUP delegates to the AFT Convention in July voted loudly to endorse Kamala Harris for president, and we know she can and will win in November,” said Kowal, an AFT vice president. “She is someone who shares our values and morals and who will fight for the things we believe in. That’s why UUP is going to work as hard as it can to get the Harris-Walz ticket elected and to beat Trump—again.”

Check UUP’s website and social media pages on Facebook, X and Instagram for opportunities to join UUP’s volunteer efforts for Harris.

Weingarten, who attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, issued this statement Aug. 23:

“Working families across America were electrified and inspired by the new way forward we heard this week at the Democratic National Convention that elevated freedom, championed the middle class and celebrated cherished American values."

“As I said during my speech to delegates, we are ‘all in’ for Harris-Walz. The AFT was the first union to endorse Harris because of her vision for the future. Last night, she charted a course to make the promise of America real by creating an ‘opportunity economy’. She fully embraces America’s role in the world as a country that leads with democracy and fundamental freedoms, and our role at home to protect those freedoms—the freedom to make healthcare decisions about our own bodies, to live safe from gun violence, to love whom we want, to breathe clean air and to vote.

“Educators, not only in the convention hall but throughout America, felt the respect that they deserve and so rarely get. We must strengthen public education, not tear it down. Harris is an advocate for opportunity and the pillars that provide it—unions and public schools. Never underestimate this ticket, including Gov. Tim Walz, a former AFT member and a ‘teacher’s teacher’ who understands that you have to meet students where they are and engage them so they can soar."

“Unlike Donald Trump, who cares only about himself, Harris and Walz have spent their lives fighting for us, to make the promise of America real. As governor, Walz made sure that every child in the state received breakfast and lunch every day. He said while other states were banning books from their schools, Minnesota schools were banishing hunger. That’s who Walz is, and that’s what public education does."

“The AFT has 1.8 million members—including 600,000 members and their families in battleground states. Between now and Election Day, we’ll make sure that our members are mobilized and our voices are heard."

“As the vice president says, we’re not going back to the darkness and cruelty of the Trump era. We’re charting a new—and kinder—path forward with the Harris-Walz ticket, not just on policy but on who we are as Americans and how we stand up for our values, our neighbors, our co-workers and our communities.”