UDW family,
This year has been marked by ups and downs, testing our strength and bringing us closer together to advocate for our workforce and our communities. I write to you now after a month of Provider Appreciation Day events for our home care workers—events filled with smiles, tears, and shared concerns about the future.
We know we have a rough road ahead of us, but that did not stop us from celebrating our hard work and dedication. We all need to remember to celebrate what we do, even in darker times, because it’s our hope that lights our path to a better future.
November brought a great deal of disappointment and concern. The national elections did not go as we’d hope for UDW and the labor movement as a whole. The incoming administration has made it clear they don’t stand with unions, but rather value corporate profits over workers’ rights and safety.
But as our Executive Director Doug Moore says, a setback is the setup for a comeback. At UDW, we know all too well how to turn setbacks into strength. The last time this incoming administration was in power, they came for our union, and we fought back—and we won.
So, I know that if they come for us again, they will be met with the same ferocity and resolve—and we will win, once again. Because that’s who we are. We’re fighters. Home care workers have fought tirelessly to prevent cuts to funding and hours; child care workers have fought for fair pay and benefits. Together, we endured a global pandemic that could have set us back, but instead we garnered new momentum, and we came back stronger.
Even though Provider Appreciation Month is over, don’t stop taking those moments to celebrate yourself and others around you. Be the light in the darkness. I’ll see you in the streets, at the Capital, standing together for what we know is right.
There is no other group of people I would rather be in this fight with than all of you.
In solidarity and strength,
Astrid Zuniga
UDW President
