- 2020 « Nevada
Caucuses
« Press Releases
AFSCME
For Immediate Release:
For Immediate Release:
Feb.
20,
2020
Contact:
Omar
Tewfik
Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, and Andy Levin to Attend AFSCME Nevada
Pre-Caucus Event
AFSCME President Lee
Saunders will host an event in Las Vegas with union members to hear
from presidential candidates and surrogates ahead of caucus day, and to
discuss how Nevada state workers – who made history by securing
collective bargaining rights last year – can harness their collective
power to make their voices heard in the 2020 elections.
LAS
VEGAS
– On Friday, Feb. 21, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg,
philanthropist Tom Steyer, and Representative Andy Levin, surrogate for
Senator Elizabeth Warren, will join a group of Nevada public service
workers, members of AFSCME Local 4041, at a pre-caucus event in Las
Vegas hosted by AFSCME President Lee Saunders. Other campaigns are to
be announced.
At
the
event, President Saunders will be joined by AFSCME Local 4041
leadership, AFSCME retirees and Nevada rank-and-file members, including
corrections officers and health care and social services workers. The
event will give Nevada public service workers a platform to talk about
what concerns them in 2020 and what they want to see in the next
president of the United States. Campaigns have been invited to make a
last-minute pitch to union caucus-goers. AFSCME held a similar event, a
“Coffee Caucus,” in
West Des Moines, Iowa, which was attended by candidates and surrogates
from seven campaigns.
AFSCME
has
been organizing Nevada state workers following a historic legislative win in
June
2019, which granted 20,000 state workers collective bargaining and
the freedom to negotiate over a host of workplace issues, including
wages, paid leave and ways to improve safety on the job. Since Gov.
Steve Sisolak signed the bill, thousands of state workers have voted to
affiliate with AFSCME, and the state has recognized AFSCME as the exclusive bargaining
representative for correctional officers and health care
workers.
AFSCME
members
and public service workers are a constituency coveted by the
current presidential field, which has embraced unions with a fervor not
seen in years. Public service workers take pride in maintaining strong
connections with the communities they serve, and data show that union
members turn out to vote at a higher rate than the general
public.
Event Details:
Who: AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders,
AFSCME members, and 2020 campaigns: former South Bend Mayor Pete
Buttigieg; philanthropist Tom Steyer; for the Warren campaign
Representative Andy Levin; and others.
What: Pre-Caucus event with
AFSCME members
When: Friday, Feb. 21: Lee Saunders gaggle: 5:40 p.m.; program: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; camera setup: 5 p.m.
Where: Doña Maria Tamales Restaurant, 910 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89101.
When: Friday, Feb. 21: Lee Saunders gaggle: 5:40 p.m.; program: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; camera setup: 5 p.m.
Where: Doña Maria Tamales Restaurant, 910 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89101.
Background
on
AFSCME Endorsement:
AFSCME
has
yet to endorse a 2020 candidate; however, members and activists are
fired up to caucus and are eager to hear candidates lay out a vision
for how they will strengthen public services and promote worker rights
and freedoms. As part of the union’s deliberative endorsement process,
President Saunders has encouraged candidates to hold meetings and
engage with public service workers around the country. In August,
AFSCME hosted a presidential forum in
Nevada attended by 19 candidates, where candidates were asked
how they would strengthen public services, improve conditions for
working families and defeat President Trump.
###
AFSCME's
1.4
million members provide the vital services that make America
happen. With members in communities across the nation, serving in
hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections
officers, child care providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME
advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services
and freedom and opportunity for all working families.