The 19th Amendment: We Fought for it. Vote.

To All Affiliates,

On August 18, 1920, American women celebrated a monumental victory forged from a decades long uphill battle of protest and lobbying. At the forefront of this fight was Alice Paul, a New Jersey suffragette and political strategist, who dedicated her life to securing equality for women. The ratification of women's right to vote represented a fundamental achievement for women's equality and autonomy.
It would be several more decades before the fight for all American women to be able to vote after the 19th Amendment was over, as the struggle to include African Americans and other minority women in the promise of voting rights remained.

For decades, women lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what we consider today to be a basic right granted to every American citizen. In pursuit of the right to vote suffragettes like Alice Paul were imprisoned and subjected to violence. The anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment serves as a reminder that the right to vote should never be taken for granted.

Now more than ever it is critical that as union sisters and brothers, we exercise our right to vote in the November election, on Tuesday, November 5. To protect our democracy and ensure the continued development of the labor movement, we must elect leaders who are willing to stand strong in solidarity with us.

Are you registered to vote? There's only 78 days until the November election. Voting begins on September 21 when ballots will be mailed to voters on the permanent vote-by-mail rolls. Voter Registration deadline is October 15. A vote-by-mail application must be received by October 29. Early in-person voting will take place October 26 through November 3. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5. To register, apply for a VBM ballot, and more, visit www.njunionstrong.org.