Unions Resist Trump

It’s been just one month since President Trump was sworn in, and already we have seen attacks on working people, women, Muslims, the press, immigrants… and the list goes on and on.

But Americans are standing up to fight back in a way I’ve never seen. The day after the inauguration, we marched with millions of women and men in Washington, D.C., and around the world to stand up against Trump’s agenda—and we’ve stood again and again to oppose Trump’s outrageous policies.

People are standing up—and resisting and persisting is working. But with the GOP leadership bent on giving the wealthy steep tax cuts while cutting funding from vital programs like public education and stripping Americans of their rights and their healthcare, the pressure on Congress is absolutely imperative if we hope to stop the worst of Trump’s plans.

This week, members of Congress will be in their home districts. It’s up to us to make sure they hear our voices. Whether you want to protect healthcare for millions of Americans, stop a massive tax giveaway to Trump’s wealthy friends, protect immigrants and refugees from Trump’s racist policies, push Congress to invest in infrastructure and projects that create well-paying jobs, or hold the Trump administration accountable for its many conflicts of interest, we need to show up while our representatives are home.

Be a part of #ResistanceRecess. Find an event or a town hall near you and make your voice heard.

We’ve never seen anything like the Trump presidency. The administration’s tactic to flood the zone with Twitter attacks, alternative facts, executive orders and provocations of both allies and adversaries is dizzying—and that’s the point.

Trump wants us off balance. He wants to do what he wants, without checks and balances. Congress and the courts must do their job, and all of us must do our job as citizens—paying attention, calling foul when necessary, voting our values and blowing the whistle when officials trample on democratic rights and protect the wealthy and corporations at ordinary Americans’ expense.

Every day this week, we will be pushing back against policies that hurt our communities, and we need your help. Write your members of Congress, keep calling their offices and show up to events or town halls in your area.

Trump isn’t “draining the swamp” as he promised during his campaign—he has appointed Goldman Sachs executives to rig our economy for the one percent, he appointed a billionaire with no experience in public education to run the Department of Education, his attorney general has a long history of racism and disenfranchisement, and his secretary of Health and Human Services wants to deny 20 million Americans quality, affordable healthcare with no alternative.

Your calls, letters and presence are making a difference. Make sure your members of Congress know that you expect them to be a check on the Trump presidency, regardless of party affiliation. Make your voices heard this week during Resistance Recess.

We will continue to fight for all this country stands for, and I thank you for fighting with us.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President