In AFT
Dear AFT Michigan Member,The evening of October 21 when I arrived home, I pulled from the inside pocket of my suit jacket an envelope a Van Dyke teacher gave me when I was speaking at the local’s membership meeting about the upcoming election.

In the envelope was a $50 check payable to our PAC and a letter addressed to me, a very special letter. The check and letter were from Elaine Hoffman, a Detroit Federation of Teachers retiree. “The person handing you this check is my daughter,” the letter begins. “She walked the picket line when she was scarcely more than a toddler. She pays her dues now. No public servant is more vulnerable than a teacher.”

Elaine concludes her letter saying she is behind us all the way, and then the words that reached down deep inside me, words that will get my tired 61 year old body to walk even more shifts talking to voters than I had already planned to work.

Elaine writes: Elaine ltr

Those who came before us organized our unions, fought hard for preK-16 public education, and strengthened our communities. For their legacy, for our families and our students, for those who will follow us, we cannot let Elaine’s work, our work, be destroyed.

There are just a few days before Election Day, before those who vote determine if we keep this legacy alive for future generations. For the last few days we must do all we can. Almost every poll shows the race for governor as a dead heat. An effective Get Out The Vote effort provides a candidate with an additional two to three percentage points. In a dead heat, that’s a lot.

Thank you for voting, but voting is not enough. If we vote, but do not give our time to get other people to vote, we lose.

For Elaine and all the others who come before us, please join me and help get five people who would not otherwise vote to the polls, call family and friends reminding them to vote, and volunteer to work the GOTV plan. Please sign up for a shift over the final few days by calling us at 313 -393-2200.

Let’s win.
David Hecker, AFT Michigan President

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