by Lauren Vlot—Pennsylvania
A woman answered the door and I began speaking to her about health care. She immediately invited me in and told me that she works so hard for her company, full time and they offer her nothing in the way of health care. Her children have no health care and one of them has a rare bone disease. She thanked me repeatedly, hugged me and told me that it’s people like me that give her hope. I expressed the inspiration I found in her and we both felt renewed. She agreed to volunteer for Working America to get her friends and family to sign our health care petition.
Tags: children, Health Care, insurance, membership, taking action
by Jennifer Schlicht—Michigan
I knocked on a door in a city just outside Lansing, Michigan’s capitol. As soon as I told the man who answered that we were working for more affordable health care, he invited me immediately into the house. He signed up as a member as soon as I gave him the pen, and introduced me to his wife, sitting on the couch.
She said her health expenses were $3,000 a month, and it was a struggle to afford them with her husband’s manufacturing job. They were also interested in joining the AFL-CIO in Lansing for the Working Family Lobby Day. As I left, they gave me a grateful thanks for trying to make their—and everybody’s—situation better.
Tags: Health Care, membership, taking action
by Johnny Masters—Ohio
A while back I was out on turf in Dayton, OH with my fellow canvasser Jarrett Siler when we had a remarkable encounter.
It was getting dark, just after 7pm, when I came to a door that directed me to come to the back door. I went around and knocked on the door, and saw an older man collapsed on the floor, with his arm outstretched towards the telephone. Although he was inches away from 9-11 help, he couldn’t reach the phone. The situation didn’t look right at all, so I yelled to get the fallen man’s attention. No response. I tried the door knob to see if it was open. It was, and I cracked the door and shouted, “Sir, are you okay?” He didn’t respond, but he started to quiver. So I went in to see what I could do. I asked a bunch of questions, but he wasn’t able to speak very well. He managed to mutter that he had been lying there for the last three hours. I ran out of the house, and called out to Jarrett, “the old man collapsed, I need your help!” Jarrett abandoned his door to help. A neighbor heard me yell and followed us into the house. The neighbor started to call the old man by name, and after Jarrett called 9-11, the EMS came, I wasn’t of any use.
I hadn’t been near a person so close to death like that day. The man looked like he was going to accept whatever would become of him. He looked like he was giving up. Before I left, using confident language, I told him to keep fighting! The old man stared at me, like he heard me, and understood, and nodded in agreement.
That night Jarrett Siler got the most hot contacts that night, and saved a man’s life. This was the greatest day of my life.
Tags: taking action
by Thom Mol—Pennsylvania
For the past five years, I had been working as an Escrow Officer for a nationwide title company doing refinance transactions through the height of the refinance boom. After seeing the types of loans being closed and the terms looming over people just trying to keep ahead, or sometimes even keep their homes, I became more and more uneasy with the future for working and middle class people…then the facade started to crumble. Leaders raised rates with no remorse, people defaulted on their loans and the proposed “relief” plans went to the lenders instead of the homeowners; who in many cases were not financially savvy enough to understand what they were signing completely.
On a Friday, I decided that I had had enough. I sent a letter of resignation to my Senior VP and started working with Working America on the Tuesday after.
Now my work makes a difference to those whom I had previously put into possibly dire straits. The smiles, thanks and handshakes that I get make the sore feet and throat at the end of the night a small price to pay.
Tags: foreclosure crisis, taking action
by Sarah Podenski—Minnesota
I’m the Office Manager for the Twin Cities office, and I figured it was high time Office Managers were blogging! Yesterday I had a blogworthy story.
As we were preparing the crew to go out to turf, the phone rang. It was someone wanting to work for us, so I started the job call rap, asked her name and phone number and where she had heard about us.
She told me that someone came to her door the night before. “I have to admit, I’m twenty-three and I’ve only voted once. I feel like sometimes my vote doesn’t matter,” she said. But this canvasser who came to her door made her feel that even such a small thing like signing her name on a clipboard could have influence, could make change in her country. She admitted that when she heard the doorbell ring, she thought she’d just get rid of whoever it was and go back to what she was doing. “I was captured,” she said. “I had to stay and listen to everything he had to say.”
I’m so proud to be part of this office and part of this organization. We are empowering people, and it’s a wonderful thing.
Tags: membership, taking action
by Rebecka Hawkins—Ohio
Canvassing in Fostoria has made me realize how important our job really is to strengthening our country. Outsourcing is sweeping Fostoria, and the fear and sadness in the voices of the people I spoke to was heartbreaking. This outsourcing may destroy the economy of Fostoria. I am glad that Working America is here to do something about it and reverse the trend of our jobs moving overseas.
Tags: Jobs, outsourcing, taking action
by Claire Pengelly—Pennsylvania
After signing up as member, a woman told me about her work as a professor and we began discussing the toxic imports issue. I told her we are gathering letters, and she said, “letters are THE most effective way! Yes, I will write a letter! I know just what I want to write!” I left her home glad that more people are aware how the decisions politicians make affect their lives.
Tags: membership, taking action, toxic imports
by Nabil Cristillo—Pennsylvania
Tonight I knocked on the door of a woman directly affected by the toxic toys made in China and played with by our kids here in the U.S.
When I asked her to write a letter to her Representative about this issue she took out her own pen and just went to town! In her letter she expressed concern for toxics and how it has affected her personally. Letters are a great lobbying tool and hers combined with all the others we have collected will go a long way!
Tags: taking action, toxic imports
by Larry Ford—Pennsylvania
A nurse signing up as a member of Working America agreed to write a letter about imported toxic toys. After writing only two sentences she asked me, “Is it OK if I add more of my own feelings on this issue?” I told her of course she could write what she wanted; she filled an entire page.
Tags: membership, taking action, toxic imports
by Jessica Yates—Pennsylvania
While talking with folks tonight, I met a woman personally affected by poor trade regulations. I pet her puppy and said he was cute. She then told me how he was new to the house because sadly her dog of several years was a victim of poisoning caused by contaminated pet food. I had not yet spoken of our work on this issue. Needless to say, when I did tell her, she was happy to give her Representative a piece of her mind in a stern letter.
Tags: taking action, toxic imports
