Issued August 12, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Today the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is kicking off the 2022 We Decide civic engagement campaign to engage and empower voters in key Senate and House races to elect leaders who will be champions on immigration policy and hold Republicans accountable for the harm done to immigrant families.
The launch of the 2022 We Decide campaign is a collaborative effort between Mi Familia Vota, CASA in Action, The Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), SEIU-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW), and SEIU Nevada Local 1107.
The 2022 We Decide campaign will reach out to hundreds of thousands of eligible voters in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, and Florida via text messaging and phone calls between now and the 2022 midterm elections and encourage them to make their voices heard at the polls in support of immigrant families. The program will focus on the following key Senate and District races: California Senate race and House Districts 40 and 45; Arizona Senate race and House Districts 2 and 6; Nevada Senate race and House District 3; Texas House Districts 15 and 28; Georgia Senate race and House District 2; Florida Senate race and House District 27.
"For working people like myself, elections are personal. And through the We Decide campaign, we will work to expand the electorate and drive turnout among infrequent voters to elect leaders who will stand up for working families and take action to lower food prices and gas, make healthcare and housing more affordable, and fight with us for higher wages and the opportunity to join together in unions to bargain for better jobs," said Patricia Cuevas, Executive Board member, member of SEIU-USWW, and janitor.
Grace Vergara-Mactal, Executive Director of SEIU 1107 said, “Working people—Black, Latino, Asian, indigenous, white— are exercising our power like never before. We are going on strike, bargaining strong contracts, winning unions, and demanding a seat at the table with employers across the nation. And in the midterm elections, we will keep the momentum going by driving turnout to exercise our power at the polls to elect leaders who will stand with working people, not big corporations."
“Mi Familia Vota is committed to building Latino political power in Nevada. We are proud to join the We Decide campaign in partnership with SEIU Nevada Local 1107 on this critical electoral work in the immigrant and Latino community. We know that Nevada benefits when all of its electorate is engaged and educated on how to participate in our Democracy. Together, we will hold citizenship workshop clinics, text banking, and phone banking to reach voters to take action on issues critical to immigrants and all Nevadans,” said Laura Becerra, Nevada State Field Director for Mi Familia Vota.
Angelica Razo, Texas State Director for Mi Familia Vota said, "Latinx voters in Texas have always demanded fair and dignified immigration policies from candidates and will continue to do so. By speaking directly to voters who are on the frontlines of these issues, Mi Familia Vota Texas is ready to mobilize thousands in this year's hot midterm elections."
"It is critical to highlight that in this upcoming midterm election, Arizonans will have the opportunity to vote for elected officials who will impact the future of immigration in our country. In this campaign we aim to raise awareness of the important races up ahead such as the US Senate and US Congress, specifically in CD 2 & 6," said Carolina Rodriguez-Greer, Arizona State Director for Mi Familia Vota.
David Metellus, Director of Policy and Politics for FLIC Votes said, “Our campaign will speak to voters of color who don’t vote regularly that are traditionally ignored by voter engagement efforts. There is a broad sentiment that we need an urgent change in statewide leadership in Florida and our efforts will focus on mobilizing these people. Florida has been under unified Republican control for 30 years, they have used this power to vilify and target our communities in effort to score political points and not solve problems. We say no more! Our campaign will drive home a point: Our Votes matter and Our Communities matter!."
“We at CASA in Action are proud of being part of the 2022 We Decide campaign in Georgia. The collaboration will allow us to use the voices of our working class immigrant membership to achieve structural changes needed in our community. Our plan focuses on engaging, persuading, and mobilizing recently activated, newly registered, and infrequent Black and Latino voters in the South Metro Atlanta area to increase their likelihood to participate in this year’s midterm election,” said Luis Zaldivar (Lucho), Georgia State Director for CASA in Action.
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SEIU United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW) represents more than 45,000 janitors, security officers, airport service workers, and other property service workers across California. We are proud to be a part of the Service Employees International Union, an organization of 2.2 million members united by the belief in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide and dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society.
We are the largest movement of healthcare & public workers in Nevada. We care for patients in hospitals in Elko, Reno, Las Vegas and Henderson. We protect the quality of the drinking water, administer benefits for low-income families, maintain McCarran International Airport, protect our communities’ most vulnerable members, maintain the streets and parks, work with foster children, and provide many other services that keep the region running.
Mi Familia Vota is a national civic engagement organization that unites Latino, immigrant, and allied communities to promote social and economic justice through citizenship workshops, voter registration, and voter participation. Mi Familia Vota has operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas.
CASA in Action, a 501(c)(4) is a national organization supporting immigrant and working-class families and ensuring that all individuals have the core resources necessary for full participation in society.
FLIC Votes seeks to expand democracy by shaping an active and conscious electorate that reflects the diversity of Florida while engaging those who can’t yet vote. We work to expand the electorate and bring forth victories for our vulnerable immigrant communities. Our core competency is engaging low-propensity voters in Florida that are consistently underrepresented, underinvested, and oftentimes ignored. Our priority is to empower voters in these communities to rise to the challenge of transforming governance within themselves and where they live.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) unites 2 million diverse members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. SEIU members working in the healthcare industry, in the public sector and in property services believe in the power of joining together on the job to win higher wages and benefits and to create better communities while fighting for a more just society and an economy that works for all of us, not just corporations and the wealthy. www.seiu.org