At the biennial convention, AFT delegates committed to a bold fall election program to take back Congress and protect democracy. The two-part campaign starts with a commitment to labor’s Count Me In! electoral plan to turn out 2 million new union voters. To meet that goal, AFT will look to mobilize 28,000 volunteers nationwide, or about 1.5% of membership. The second part of the campaign will involve training and deploying 5,000 Democracy Defenders to help ensure the sanctity of our democratic process, by protecting ballot access and ensuring every eligible vote is counted.

CFT President Jeff Freitas spoke passionately from the podium during the convention, urging delegates to not let up in the fight. “To fight back against this fascist regime, we need to be in the streets, wisely using our wallets, battling in the courts and winning at the ballot box,” said Freitas. “I am proud the AFT is taking the lead in protecting the election. … When we act together, we get IT done.”

Check out Jeff’s remarks here.