Union members from Western New York and Rochester will travel to Erie, Pennsylvania to help get out the vote for Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.

WHO:   Approximately 100 members of 1199SEIU,  the New York State AFL-CIO, and WNY Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

WHAT:   Union members from across WNY and Rochester will board buses and vans to travel to Erie, Pennsylvania to get out the vote for Kamala Harris & Tim Walz this Saturday

WHEN:   Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 8:00 AM
Media availability from 7:45 AM – 8:10 AM

WHERE:  1199SEIU | 2421 Main St., Suite 100, Buffalo, NY 14214

WHY?:  1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East members endorsed Kamala Harris for President.  With 450,000 members across the East Coast, 1199SEIU’s endorsement comes with a massive voter turnout and member engagement operation, ready to hit the streets to get out the vote to advance the most pro-worker agenda in US history. 

This Saturday, hundreds of healthcare workers and labor union members from across Upstate will travel to Pennsylvania and New Hampshire to help get out the vote for their endorsed candidate. Western New York and Rochester healthcare workers will board buses alongside the New York State AFL-CIO, and WNY Area Labor Federation union members this Saturday at 8:00 AM. 

“This is a unifying and electrifying moment for the Democratic Party and our country,” said George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU. “Vice President Harris is the next-generation leader we need to defeat those who would turn back the clock on our rights and instead ensure that working families can prosper and thrive.  As a former senator, attorney general, and prosecutor, she is more than up to the task to prosecute the case of why a twice-impeached and 34-times convicted felon—the person who instigated the assault on our nation’s Capitol and who was also found liable for sexual assault—has no place anywhere near the Oval Office.  As a Black and Asian woman, Kamala Harris will continue to shatter glass ceilings and inspire a new generation of Americans.”

"Kamala Harris has a proven record of standing up for working people and helping lead the most pro-labor administration in history,” said Mario Cilento, President of the New York State AFL-CIO.

“As evidenced by this bus trip, we are literally pulling out all the stops to ensure her victory. 

We know that union members connecting with one another is the most effective way to educate and mobilize working people to vote. 

Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state, and having our members actively engaged on the ground can make a difference," said Cilento.  

"From town boards to the White House, union members know that our families and communities do better when we have allies that understand the issues of working people and are ready to fight for economic and social justice in all its forms," said Peter De Jesus Jr., President of the Western New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.  "That's why we're mobilizing across state lines for candidates who support and defend workers' rights, are building an economy that's fair for working families, and will secure pensions and Social Security for generations of retirees to come. We know everything is at stake for our members and their families. By Election Day, we're going to proudly know we did everything possible to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz—to be the change we want to see in our communities and in our country,” said De Jesus, Jr.