by David Weston—Pennsylvania
I canvassed a woman who wasn’t home during my first round of knocks, so I left a “Rights at Work” flier in her door. When I returned and told her I was from Working America, she smiled and welcomed me in. She was so excited, not only about becoming a member, but to read, in black and white, her right to fair pay on the job. She told me that the next day she was meeting with the head of her personnel department to request more wages so that her salary would be equivalent to men doing the same task. Then she said she was going to take all of our literature into her meeting to prove her right to equal pay. When I informed her of our member benefits, which include a free initial consultation with a lawyer up to half an hour, she was ecstatic! I never met someone who was so directly affected by our issues and willing to stand up and fight for her labor rights.
Tags: membership, taking action
by Libby Klancher—Ohio
Yesterday evening I had the opportunity to knock on the door of a single disabled grandmother with five grandchildren. All five of her grandchildren are directly affected by Bush’s veto of
SCHIP. She joined as a member, and I asked her if she would be willing to make a dues donation. Although her pocket book contained nothing but five dollar bills, she was so enamored with our cause that she gave it all.
Not only did she also write a letter to Voinovich, but she gave me the most sincere thank you I have ever received!
Tags: children, Health Care, membership, SCHIP, seniors
by Kristin Fine—Ohio
As I was canvassing I came upon a house that reminded me much of the house I grew up in. When the couple answered the door, they were accompanied by four young children, all boisterous and hyper as children often are. As I was telling them about Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, they interrupted me by asking how it affected them, because their children had health insurance that wasn’t in jeopardy of being taken away like the 4 million children we are fighting for. I answered in a way I had never tried before. I told them about my experience growing up in a family of five and how if we hadn’t had health insurance, we would probably be in massive debt right now. Why? Because kids are kids, and kids do crazy things and get hurt! And if you are not covered by your parents’ health insurance, your parents have to pay HUGE amounts of money to take you to the emergency room or to the doctor if and when something happens.
After I put the necessity of the program in this perspective, both the husband and the wife completely understood and agreed with me wholeheartedly. Not only did they sign up as members, but they made a dues donation as well. To make it even better, they each wrote letters—complete with hand-drawn pictures by their kids!
If letters like these don’t change hearts and minds in our country, I don’t know what will.
Tags: children, Health Care, SCHIP, taking action
by Rachel Cambridge—Pennsylvania
Today I knocked on a married couple’s door, explaining to them the problem with job outsourcing. Ironically, they had just been talking about it! They invited me in, where they let me know just how fed up they were with the job situation and the lack of accountability for big corporations and politicians. They also showed me a website that lists how certain politicians have evaded paying their taxes. It’s great to know that we’re not the only people out there leading the fight—people are taking notice and standing together for what’s right.
Tags: Jobs, membership, taking action
by Wes Gadsden—Pennsylvania
I was talking to this very kind member at the door who was irate about what had happened to her at work recently. While she was working, a belligerent customer expressed her impatience about not having her transaction processed quick enough with—get this—racial hate speech, towards our member. Rather than be ejected from the store or reprimanded in any way, the customer was rewarded by store management when she recounted the situation—including her racial epithet—with a $25 gift card! This really upset me to see how distant from reality people can be as far as this county has come and the ugliness business will sanction to make a little more profit. All of us Working Americans need to stand together for the greater good.
Tags: membership
by Renee Chandel—Pennsylvania
At first he didn’t have time for me. I quickly explained, “No, sir, we’re fighting to keep good jobs in the US. Jobs are being outsourced and American people are losing work.” He let me in, took the clipboard from my hands and looked it over. He paused at each point. “Good jobs,” he said, “That’s like fair wages, right?”
He told me he’s a contractor for a delivery service and he can’t keep up with job expenses. His employers are tapping him for money that he doesn’t have and he can’t afford his family medical bills. He was grateful for what Working America does.
Tags: good jobs, membership, outsourcing, wages
by Renee Henisch—Ohio
While canvassing in Vermilion I came upon a family that was going through some rough times. The main breadwinner in the house, the father, has just recently been laid off from his work due to his company moving a number of positions overseas. The couple I met was very eager and excited about Working America and our fight for working families. It felt so good to see the happiness they expressed after hearing about our cause. Being able to witness real families in need really moved me and increased my already strong motivation to continue making a difference!
Tags: membership, outsourcing
by Amber Mann—Ohio
I canvassed a door last night, signed up a member, and confirmed an
SCHIP letter. I thanked the new member and then headed to the next door. As I was nearing the next door, a woman from the previous house called me back, asked to sign up, and then asked if her and her four kids could also write me letters as well. Two hours later I came back to the same house and grabbed seven letters from the door!
The woman was still inside. She invited me in and introduced me to three other family members who were awaiting my arrival—only so they could sign up as well and personally thank me for the work I was doing! What a great example of how word of mouth and door-to-door organizing can make a difference to so many people! Woo hoo!
by Ebony James—Ohio
It was the middle of my night and I was starting to feel bad that nobody was answering their doors. Then I walked up to a house and a very kind lady answered the door. I gave her my rap and she immediately reached out and gave me a hug. She told me that I was going to be blessed for the work I was doing.
After she signed up as a member, I told her that her neighbors were helping out with dues donations of $5.00 so that more people like me could stay out here fighting the good fight. She came back to the door with a $20.00 bill, and gave me another huge hug!
It’s people like her who make my day—not because of the donations but because they believe in the same things we fight for day in and day out. It got me pumped up and I had a great rest of the night!
Tags: membership
by Jessica Yates—Pennsylvania
I spoke with an elderly woman. After she signed up as a member, I asked her if she wanted to make a $5 dues donation. She said she was tight this month, but insisted she give me her birthday money, and said, “If it helps, it’s worth it.” I felt very humbled, to say the least. It’s folks like that who make me want to make it worth it.
Tags: membership, seniors
