About Kamala
Kamala Harris has said that public service workers “do the most noble and selfless work that anyone can do.” She understands AFSCME members and our drive to serve our communities, because it’s what drives her too.
Kamala grew up in a pro-union household, and one of the first things she learned was to never cross a picket line. Since then, she’s marched with striking hotel workers and autoworkers. She backed UDW/AFSCME Local 3930 child care providers in California when they were still fighting for their union. And she’s worked throughout her career to improve the lives of working people.
As vice president, Harris cast the deciding vote on the American Rescue Plan, which sent money to states, cities, towns and schools during the pandemic to bring laid-off AFSCME members back to work and helped AFSCME negotiate strong contracts over the last several years.
She also cast the deciding vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which capped the cost of insulin at $35, empowered Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and capped out-of-pocket costs for seniors.
She has supported the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and personally met with AFSCME members whose lives were changed by it, including an AFSCME social worker who had $350,000 in student debt canceled.
Before her time as the nation’s second in command, Harris championed working people in the Senate, co-sponsoring the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act and Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
As California’s attorney general, Harris took on the big banks to win back $900 million for public service workers’ pensions – including AFSCME members. And she took on for-profit colleges that saddled students with exorbitant debt. She has continued to advocate for student loan forgiveness, especially for our nation’s public service workers.”
Kamala Harris’ vision for the future is one we can all get behind: a future where every person has affordable health care; where every worker is paid fairly; and where every senior can retire with dignity. She knows that public service workers are essential in carrying out this vision and has said, “it is the members of AFSCME who do so much of the work that actually brings meaning to these ideas, who are out there doing the work every day.”
Her actions prove that she is exactly the right leader to bring about the changes our country needs and move America forward for all of us.
About Tim
Tim Walz is a card-carrying union member and a steadfast labor champion. AFSCME strongly supports his choice as Kamala Harris’ running mate and was honored to have Walz address our 46th International Convention this summer.
A Nebraska native, Walz joined the Army National Guard after high school and later went on to become a public school teacher. He moved with his wife, Gwen, to Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught at Mankato West High School – and coached the school’s football team to their first state championship.
Walz had workers’ backs while serving Minnesota’s First Congressional District for six terms. He became governor of Minnesota in 2018 and has been a staunch AFSCME ally, delivering state workers a historic contract with across-the-board raises, while taking on billion-dollar corporations to ban private prisons in Minnesota, protecting the jobs of AFSCME corrections officers. He also passed legislation guaranteeing free breakfast and lunch for young students statewide, giving AFSCME school employees the tools they need to keep kids energized and ready to learn.
Additionally, as governor, Walz signed legislation to provide paid sick leave for Minnesota workers, protect reproductive rights, expand voting rights, ban captive audience meetings and ban noncompete agreements.
Walz doesn’t just talk about respecting public workers – he walks the walk, empowering workers and standing up for our rights. We know he will always support and defend those who have made public service a career.