AFT Launches Cross-Country Bus Tour to Mobilize Voters for November Election

Union Leaders Launch Nationwide Election Bus Tour to Mobilize Voters

DETROIT—Leaders from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), representing 1.8 million members, are initiating a nationwide bus tour to rally voter participation and emphasize critical issues as the November elections approach.

Union members are committed to supporting candidates aligned with values such as economic and educational opportunities for all, reduced living costs, and the protection of broad-based freedoms, including women's healthcare rights and democratic voice in the workplace.

To this end, the AFT will conduct numerous community forums, town halls, roundtables, canvassing, and door-knocking events over the next two months. The union has a significant presence with 600,000 members and their families in key battleground states.

On Monday, Sept. 2, at a Labor Day rally in Detroit, AFT President Randi Weingarten will kick off the tour alongside Vice President Kamala Harris. The bus, branded #AFTvotes, will travel for 63 days across at least 20 states and 30 cities, culminating on Election Day, Nov. 5. Key states include Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina.

"From now until November, the #AFTvotes bus will be rolling in across the country in support of candidates who offer an inspiring vision for our nation’s future, one grounded in economic opportunity, freedom and the promise of America for all," Weingarten stated. "We will be getting out the vote, uplifting issues and shining a spotlight on the choice between those who support working people, retirees and our children and communities, and those who want to return to a dark, divisive and grievance-filled past. Between now and Election Day, we’ll make sure that our members are mobilized and our voices are heard."

Speakers on the tour will underscore the high stakes of this year’s election concerning freedom, democracy, economic progress, and the right of working people and unions to organize. They will also stress the importance of voting and voter mobilization as early voting approaches.

Key policy topics include enhancing public schools, making colleges affordable, ensuring access to housing and healthcare, combating price gouging, reducing prescription drug costs, providing affordable childcare, and strengthening Social Security and Medicare.

The #AFTvotes bus will journey from the east coast to the west and back, concluding on the eve of the election. Randi Weingarten, along with AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram, AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus, and various state and local leaders, will participate in multiple events. Daily activities and events will be livestreamed on AFT’s social media channels, including YouTube and Facebook.

"This election is about whether we build a new future of opportunity and economic dignity or get dragged back to a dystopia ruled by chaos, fear and hate," Weingarten added. "It’s about whether we promote the common good and recognize that the strength of our nation lies in caring for each other, being our neighbors’ keepers and lifting everyone up, not dragging each other down. AFT members are ‘all in’ because we, like most Americans, believe in the promise of our great nation and that progress is possible—but only if we act."

AFT leaders and members are available for interviews. To arrange, email acrook@aft.org.

Itinerary (subject to change)

  • 9.2 – Detroit, MI
  • 9.7 – Pittsburgh, PA
  • 9.14 – Las Vegas, NV
  • TBA – Phoenix, AZ
  • TBA – Orange County/Los Angeles, CA
  • TBA – Portland, OR
  • TBA – Seattle/Tacoma, WA
  • TBA – Montana
  • TBA – Fargo, ND
  • TBA – Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN
  • TBA – Superior/La Crosse/Milwaukee, WI
  • TBA – Chicago, IL
  • TBA – Gary/Hammond, IN
  • TBA – Western Michigan
  • TBA – Detroit Metro, MI
  • TBA – Toledo, OH
  • TBA – Cleveland, OH
  • TBA – Columbus, OH
  • TBA – Cincinnati, OH
  • TBA – Lexington, KY
  • TBA – Pittsburgh, PA
  • TBA – Harrisburg, PA
  • TBA – Philadelphia, PA
  • TBA – Scranton, PA
  • TBA – Syracuse/Utica, NY
  • TBA – Nashua, NH
  • TBA – Hartford, CT
  • TBA – Hudson Valley/Rockland County, NY
  • TBA – Long Island, NY
  • TBA – Baltimore, MD
  • TBA – Northern Virginia
  • TBA – Raleigh, NC

The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

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