How UNITE HERE canvassers showed working-class power in the Georgia runoff campaign
Columbus, Georgia - As Democrats celebrate the reelection of Sen. Raphael Warnock over Republican challenger Herschel Walker in the Georgia runoff, there is one union to thank for some of the state's most ambitious voter outreach efforts: UNITE HERE.
UNITE HERE is a union comprised of housekeepers, cooks, bartenders, dishwashers, servers, and other hospitality workers. It has become known for its canvassing strategy geared around person-to-person outreach in crucial swing elections, and the Georgia Senate runoff on Tuesday was no exception.
Coming off massive midterm campaigns in battleground states like Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, around 500 union members took their winning strategy to Georgia with the goal of sending Raphael Warnock back to the US Senate.
One of those leaders was Aaron Womack, who had amassed six years of campaign experience with UNITE HERE before traveling to Columbus to lead get-out-the-vote efforts in the city.
"Particularly for these last several election cycles, a lot has been at stake," Womack told TAG24 NEWS. "Every election that I've worked the last three years, there was something important, something major, something that had to happen, sort of like saving democracy-type stuff, and we've been there."
Ahead of the Georgia Senate runoff, many UNITE HERE members took a "leave of absence" from their jobs to knock on half a million doors and encourage eligible voters to hit the polls. Their efforts formed part of a larger canvassing campaign by the America Votes coalition, which showed up on 5 million doorsteps in total across the state.
Were it not for the work of people like Womack and his Columbus team, the outcome in Georgia might have looked much different going into the new Congress.
"If UNITE HERE wasn't in Georgia, I don't think the election would have been still with Warnock. I'm just going to be honest, like Herschel Walker probably would have had a chance," said Antoine Meeks, a UNITE HERE Local 24 member and data specialist on the Columbus campaign. "We got the job done."
UNITE HERE canvassers make big sacrifices to achieve their goals
While UNITE HERE's work paid off on Tuesday, it certainly wasn't easy. Many of the canvassers had been away from their homes and their families since July, working on midterm campaigns in different locations across the country.
After the November elections, many members had just a day or two off before traveling to Georgia for the runoff.
When Meeks, a Detroit native, got the call asking him to go to Columbus straight off a successful campaign in Philadelphia, his answer was clear: "I said, 'Where there's a cause, where there's a fight, let's do it.'"
Heading into Columbus, leadership was challenged with finding ways to keep the team motivated through another tough campaign. The answer, Womack found, was "creating a culture of love and inspiration," fostering strong channels of communication, and taking the time each day to remember why they were there.
Cultivating this trust and understanding was a conscious effort, and one that was especially necessary given that canvassers only had around four weeks to pull off their operation.
"It takes a village to get things done, and that's what we were. We're a family, we're a unit, we're a community. We really showed that, and the numbers show that. Warnock winning shows that," said Wafae Said, a UNITE HERE Local 23 member from Springfield, Virginia.
UNITE HERE is building strong communities to fight for the future
Much of UNITE HERE members' drive to keep going stemmed from a common desire to create a better life for generations to come.
Meeks, whose mother is also a UNITE HERE member, said, "I really just want to keep the legacy going because I know how serious [my mother] is when it comes to the union and being empowered and being in the fight, and I want to be able to carry that torch forward."
Womack agreed, saying that for him, everything begins with his son Aaron Jr., whom he calls Junebug. "Our children are the people who are going to have to deal with the long-term fallout of the decisions that are made today," he explained.
Said, who joined UNITE HERE's canvassing teams in 2020 to support her family during the Covid-19 pandemic, let her experiences as a first-generation American of Eritrean heritage drive her political activities.
"My parents had to flee and fight all of their life, and that's what I grew up being around," she recalled, noting that many of her family members in Eritrea and Saudi Arabia are still struggling for access to resources and education. While grateful for the opportunities she has had in the United States, she believes the country can do better to ensure that all of its residents are able to thrive.
Recent political developments, like the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, have only strengthened Said's desire to fight on behalf of herself, her 13-year-old sister, and an entire generation of women stripped of their abortion rights.
"When people come together for one cause, you can change a lot, you can move a lot, and the union offers that space," she insisted.
UNITE HERE is touching communities often neglected in the political process
Through their door-knocking campaigns, Womack and his team also had the opportunity to address many of the damaging narratives funneled into communities of color to discourage them from voting.
Womack explained that Black and brown communities regularly receive messaging "downplaying the importance of elections, downplaying the importance of politics, downplaying the importance of the politician who's running for office, saying they don't do anything for us."
When people internalize this "misinformation," it only serves those in power and further deprives voters of color of their voice in the political process, he believes.
This fact became very apparent when speaking with everyday people in Columbus, many of whom were unaware that the Georgia Senate runoff was happening until they got a knock on the door.
The value of voting was a central focus of the conversations Womack's team held with eligible voters day after day. That personal touch proved an effective strategy, as the team succeeded in encouraging many Columbus residents to vote for the first time this December.
UNITE HERE is growing stronger with each campaign
Whether in leadership, outreach, or data analysis, each team member in Columbus gained valuable personal experience during the runoff campaign, which, in turn, translates to stronger local communities and a stronger union.
"Ultimately, when we win these elections, we also have to go back and do work in our shops. The training and the wealth of knowledge that we hope we have instilled in our canvassers and our leaders can help them in their shops to continue to organize and become stronger in their respective hometowns, in their respective cities," Womack said.
"We won for the union because people know our name now with UNITE HERE. They know we're a union that cares about people," Said agreed.
After demonstrating their power in Georgia and other races around the country, UNITE HERE members expect that the political leaders they helped get into office will fight on their behalf.
"We're not a political organization. We're ultimately a union of working-class people, and what we want Warnock and every senator to do is to look out for the working class and take care of the people they serve," Womack said.
"We can't continue to sit back and let our democracy kill the working class. When laws are passed that hurt us, we have to fight back, and this is how we fight back."
Cover photo: UNITE HERE