Essential workers, young voters, and voters of color turned out in historic numbers in Georgia to cement our path to recovery. By electing Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate, the Biden administration now has a real shot at containing COVID-19 and investing in economic relief for working families.

Corporate interests and an active voter suppression machine working to keep Black voters away from the polls could not stop us. SEIU-UHW member leaders kept the momentum going after November with our phonebanks for the critical Georgia races. By Election Day yesterday, SEIU-UHW leaders turned out 1,086 members from our Kaiser, Hospital, and Healthcare Justice divisions, contacting over 27,500 Georgia voters. And it was this member-led effort, alongside our allies in Georgia and around the country, that created this victory.

Because of the movement we’ve built together throughout this election cycle, we now have a President and Senate who will work with us to address the COVID-19 pandemic, expand access to healthcare, root out systemic racism, and ensure fair and humane treatment of immigrants.

We are still in the middle of a historic public health and economic crisis, but now we have the power to pass the progressive changes we need to protect our communities. With the Trump era coming to an end, SEIU-UHW members and voters across the country have come together in historic numbers to set the stage for a new generation where everyone can thrive.