November 8, 2022
NC AFL-CIO Statement About 2022 Midterm Election Results
The fight to build a better future for North Carolina’s working families continues! Read our statement about the 2022 midterm election results.
The fight to build a better future for North Carolina’s working families continues! Read our statement about the 2022 midterm election results.
How you vote is a personal decision, but your union did the research on where each candidate stands on the issues that matter to members and believes these candidates are the best choices for working people. Vote early now until November 5th or vote on Election Day, November 8th.
We are excited to begin casting our ballots for pro-worker champions like Wiley Nickel, Cheri Beasley, and others who will stand alongside working people in our fight for higher wages, safer workplaces, and stronger labor rights!
“Today we take the time to acknowledge and thank the working people in our country who are the backbone of our economy. North Carolinians across this state are working hard to care for their families and keep our state moving forward, and I promise to continue fighting alongside you,” said Cheri Beasley.
I’ve been a laborer in show business for 18 years, and I love every part of it. Everyday we’re creating experiences that last for a couple of hours in real time but provide memories that our patrons will keep forever. Our industry moves and grows in sync with Charlotte, and our work directly reflects the culture of our town.
The North Carolina State AFL-CIO is proud to announce the labor federation’s endorsements for the May 17th primary election in North Carolina—72 candidates who are dedicated to fighting for working people. Leading the slate of candidates is Cheri Beasley for U.S. Senate, who is 1 of 6 union members running for office this year.
What drew me to running for office was the need for working people to have a voice on the City Council, someone who would make sure democracy works in a way that treats workers fairly and justly. For me, that’s making sure we get paid livable wages and have safe places to live in homes we can afford.
We’re doing multiple virtual candidate town halls with our union member candidates! Up first at 7pm will be US Senate candidate Cheri Beasley (SEIU), followed by Fayetteville City Councilor Yvonne Kinston (CWA), and Charlotte City Councilor Braxton Winston (IATSE) at 7:30pm.
With so much on the line, we’ve launched a new website that will serve as a hub of election-related information for union members and their families in 2022. Visitors to NC Labor 2022 will find important information for union voters – including how to vote, a list of endorsements, and election materials like flyers and graphics – as well as ways you can help us get out the union vote and a calendar of events and deadlines.
The NC State AFL-CIO is proud to endorse Cheri Beasley in the Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate, as well as Justice Sam Ervin IV and Judge Lucy Inman for N.C. Supreme Court and Judge Darren Jackson for N.C. Court of Appeals. Republicans Pat McCrory, Ted Budd, and Mark Walker did not respond to an invitation to receive our endorsement in their primary election to replace Richard Burr, who has held the position of United States Senator for three terms and is not seeking re-election in 2022.
Elections are a process, and that process does not end until we have certified the results and sworn in the leaders that the voters have chosen in a peaceful transfer of power. This is the way American democracy has worked since the first presidential election ended in 1789, through the Civil War, the Great Depression, and two World Wars. It may take longer this year to obtain all the results, but the people of the American labor movement remain committed to seeing democracy endure.
For two decades, the health, safety, and wages of workers in North Carolina have all been neglected by the agency that sets standards for how employers treat and compensate their workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, things have only gotten worse. The good news is that we have the power to elect a new Labor Commissioner this year, and unions of working people have endorsed Jessica Holmes.
Judicial races receive far less attention than the higher-profile races that appear higher on the ballot, but North Carolina’s judicial branch makes decisions that affect the lives of our state’s workers and our state’s democracy.
North Carolina union members and voters across the state are turning to safe and secure absentee ballots for the November election in increasing numbers this year because of the pandemic. Over 950,000 voters in our state have requested absentee ballots, more than 12 times the numbers in 2016, and over 150,000 ballots have been cast by mail already this year.
When it’s time to go to bed after a holiday with friends and family, let’s reflect on why many of us had the day off—to recognize the many decades that working people have spent organizing for and fighting to secure safe, good-paying jobs for all of us—black, white, and brown alike. Then let’s pledge that in November, we’ll elect Joe Biden, Cal Cunningham, Jessica Holmes, and other people to local, state, and federal offices who will fight for our rights and freedoms.
The North Carolina State AFL-CIO is the largest association of local unions and union councils in North Carolina, representing over one-hundred and forty-thousand union members, fighting for good jobs, safe workplaces, workers’ rights, consumer protections, and quality public services on behalf of ALL working people.
Copyright 2018.