NYSUT is asking for voluteers for one day of your time knocking on doors in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania to get out the vote.

To all NYSUT Members,

At this point I do not have to tell you how critical Hillary Clinton’s election is to the survival of union rights and the appointment Supreme Court Justices that will respect those long-established rights, not to mention civil rights, voting rights, civil liberties and the right of government to regulate the power of the super wealthy to use their great wealth to frustrate fundamental democratic political and economic rights.

In addition to the Scalia vacancy on the Court – Justice Ginsberg is 83 years old and has had serious health issues in the past.  Justice Breyer is 78.  Justice Kennedy is 80 years old.  The next president could potentially appoint 4 new justices.

I also don’t have to remind you that this election has become uncomfortably close in recent weeks. Without question it will be decided by voter turnout. If those who fear a Trump presidency do not turn out to vote, no amount of wailing, moaning, complaining and regret will preserve our right to have a strong union. We dodged a bullet in Friedrichs, but numerous other bullets are already loaded in the chamber just awaiting the appointment of one more ultra-conservative Justice.

So, I have a simple ask for you and your members: one day of your time knocking on doors in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania to get out the vote.

On the morning of Saturday, October 15, a bus will depart from the Suffolk and Nassau offices headed for the Philadelphia area. It will return that evening. We hope that out of the more than 80,000 in-service and retired NYSUT members on Long Island, we can find 55 who will volunteer for a day.

Because the campaign will want to wait until the last possible moment to decide where best to deploy volunteers, I cannot say precisely what part of the Philadelphia area will be targeted. I can tell you the following:

• Buses will arrive in the target area at about 9:00 or 9:30 a.m. and depart for home by approximately 4:00 p.m. 
• Upon arrival, riders will be assigned teams and “turf” and given an orientation of the “walk area” along with a description of the voters (persuadables, base, likely supporters, etc.) 
• Registration can be done by contacting Theresa Rampello ([email protected]) at the Suffolk Regional Office

Please do everything you can to ensure that we fill our bus and possibly even have to order a second one.

Peter L. Verdon
Regional Staff Director
NYSUT Suffolk Regional Office