If we remain united, we can emerge even stronger.

As we approach the new year, we know we are facing big challenges. The elections last month did not go our way. There is no point sugar-coating it. Cruelty won. Corruption won. Bullying won. Criminality won. Racism won. Misogyny won. This election will have consequences impacting every healthcare worker.

From day one of the next administration, we must mount a massive defense against the assaults on our rights that will come, including our voting rights. There will be new attacks on unions and the living standards of working people— and a transfer of our tax dollars into the hands of the billionaire oligarchs. Trump has promised sustained assaults on undocumented workers, on women (especially reproductive rights), on Black, and Brown communities, on LBGTQ communities. In short, on all of us.

We know that the election results do not mean that Republican attempts to turn back the calendar to the 19th century have become popular. On the contrary, even where votes went to Trump and his downballot candidates, where voters had the opportunity, they also voted to increase the minimum wage, to enact paid sick leave laws, to legalize abortion, to vote women’s equality into law. Public opinion polls show that voters by big majorities would rather give law-abiding undocumented workers a path to citizenship rather than deportation. We are heading into a tumultuous and uncertain time, and our labor movement will no doubt face strong headwinds. What we need now is solidarity. We have faced tough times before, and we know how to organize, fight back, and win. There is an urgent need for our labor movement to grow and become ever more assertive. This is no time for retreat, which only encourages bullies. Authoritarians like Trump love fear, defeatism, surrender. We will never give them what they want. Our union has grown no matter who is in power. We outlived the first Trump administration, and we’ll outlive the next. I grew up under apartheid-like segregation in Virginia, so I know that we can overcome difficult times. Whatever our color, our gender, our religious faith—all of us today emerged from centuries of persecution and oppression. This is what Dr. King referenced in saying, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” But only through struggle. If we remain united, we can emerge even stronger.

Strengthening our union family is our best defense against the assaults from reactionary forces. We will put the full weight of our organization behind defending our members, our families, our communities, and our freedoms from the attacks that will come. We must grab one another’s hands and hold on. And keep holding on. If we have to be in a foxhole, it’s best to be in a foxhole alongside fellow 1199ers.

We will not let the enemies of labor get us down. For better or worse, we live in this world and in this time. This is our reality. We have no choice but to engage in it while we’re here. Being in our Union means we are not alone. And beyond our union, we have many friends, allies and partners, here and now, with more to come as we fight on. Struggle lasts as long as we do.

With the Holidays upon us, this is a time for holding close those we love and who love us. It is a time for rest and, hopefully, experience joy. Milly and I look forward to meeting with you to prepare for the struggles ahead and marching together in the new year. Sending you love and solidarity, GG.