Steyer Campaign Press Release - Tom Steyer Advocates for Collective Bargaining Rights Ahead of AFSCME Forum

The Steyer campaign releases video previewing speech

(SAN FRANCISCO, August 2, 2019) — Today, presidential candidate Tom Steyer released a video advocating for the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act and for restoring funding to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, previewing his scheduled speech at the AFSCME 2020 Public Service Forum on August 3 in Las Vegas, NV. In the video, Steyer emphasizes his commitment to protecting collective bargaining rights and standing up for workers.

"From my very first campaign in 2010, my first and best partner has always been organized labor," Steyer said. "Since then, I've led or supported propositions that have created over 500,000 union jobs. After the Janus decision, I realized it was even more important to stand in solidarity with my union brothers and sisters. In particular, I support the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act and I strongly believe in re-funding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness [program]."

In 2016, Tom joined President Lee Saunders and other labor leaders to found For Our Future, a group dedicated to promoting progressive values and reaching out to unlikely voters. FOF was active in eight swing states in 2016 and seven states in 2018. Tom has also continued his commitment for FOF through the 2020 cycle. In addition, Tom partnered with the California Labor Federation in 2018 on a program to flip seven congressional districts by engaging directly with voters.

Steyer will join 18 other presidential candidates at the forum on Saturday. AFSCME announced on July 16 that this year's presidential candidate forum will be the biggest event of its kind in the union's history. Approximately 350 AFSCME members will be in attendance, with more watching via livestream hosted by HuffPost.