As public-sector workers, the members of UE Local 150, North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, who work for cities, state hospitals, and public universities across the state know that decisions made by the state legislature affect, and in some cases set, their wages, benefits and working conditions. Recently, the right-wing Republican supermajority in the state General Assembly lowered income tax for the wealthy, which pulls billions of dollars from the state budget that funds wage increases for state workers and other vital public services. Although Democratic Governor Roy Cooper has demonstrated some sympathy with state workers, the fact that the Republicans hold a supermajority of seats means they can override any potential vetoes.
The General Assembly has also passed anti-immigration laws, anti-choice laws, anti-protest laws, voter suppression laws, and further gerrymandered districts along racial lines to keep themselves in power. They changed the legal definition of a “riot” to encompass more forms of free speech and protest.
In an effort to break the Republican supermajority, UE Local 150 revitalized its political action committee this year. The members of the committee educated their fellow workers in their chapters and their communities about the upcoming elections. They also organized canvassing in working-class neighborhoods where members live throughout the state.
The local targeted Granville County as a critical swing district. Several hundred members live in the county who work at the Central Regional Hospital, Murdoch Developmental Center, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the City of Durham. Local 150 focused on hosting educational activities and events, including canvassing days. The work that members did helped flip the state house seat and state senate seat in Granville and the state house seat in nearby Wilson county, contributing to breaking the Republican supermajority.
Tracy Harter, a housekeeper at UNC and vice president of her Local 150 chapter, door-knocked in Butner in October alongside members from the chapter at the Central Regional Hospital. “We talked to people about how they need to bring a photo ID so they are prepared when they go to vote,” said Harter. North Carolina requires voters to present a specific form of government-issued photo ID, a requirement which targets the elderly, minorities, young, and low-income people – all more likely to vote Democratic. Local 150 members protested the passage of this policy in 2018.
“Almost everyone that we talked to seemed like they would vote for candidates for the working class,” Harter continued. “It was good to be involved in everything. Win or lose, it's great to know we did our part. I would rather lose and know I did everything I could than lose and know I did not make the time to do my part.”
In a newsletter, the local reported that members had participated in the political action committee at a higher level than in any year’s past. Harter explained that this participation helped the local meet its political action goals. “We surpassed our goal in knocking on over 5,000 doors,” she said. “The people that we spoke to, we made sure that they had a voting plan and talked to them about attending the town hall. We had members speaking to people in the communities in both English and Spanish.”
Local 150 hosted a “Candidate Accountability” town hall on October 17 in Oxford with Down Home North Carolina, a community organization that builds multiracial working-class power in the state. The town hall was attended by state house candidate Brian Cohn and state senate candidate Terence Everitt, who listened to workers speak and answered questions. Both Cohn and Everitt won their seats in the election. Harter was one of the leaders who spoke in front of community members and representatives. She spoke about both economic insecurity and the importance of voting, mentioning a precinct that was previously won by a very slim margin.
When asked about future organizing, Harter said, “Going forward, I'm going to do this harder and sooner. The fight is not over. We have to still fight and we can't just roll over and say better luck in four years. We have to do what we have to. Politicians work for us and we don't have to take what they are doing. If that means protest, we will protest. If that means calling their office, we will call them and let them know what we want.”