THE 2020 ELECTIONS

UNITE HERE Local 11 has been running political campaigns in Arizona since 2007. During this pandemic, this cycle has been no exception. We developed comprehensive “contactless” door-to-door canvassing protocols to minimize risk and set out 400 canvassers a day to knock on doors and talk to voters. We knocked on 800,000 doors, made 2.5 million calls, talked to 250,000 Arizonans, and won the state for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris! More important than any demographic changes, it is the face-to-face conversations with voters that has made Arizona turn blue in 2020.

UNITE HERE organized the largest union door-to-door canvassing operation in the U.S. in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, which at its peak put 98% of the union’s members in the country’s hotels, airports, restaurants, and casinos out of work. The union was among the first groups in the country to begin door-to-door canvassing in 2020, a year in which many groups initially abandoned in-person canvassing—a cornerstone of GOTV electoral work—in the face of the global pandemic.

Democracy is Essential Work

Over 1,000 UNITE HERE members—Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Pennsylvania—are making the critical difference in key battleground states, doing the most important job of their lives: Removing Trump from office. Because democracy is essential work. We’re proud of our courageous members weathering tough conditions to lead the largest door-to-door union canvass operation in the country.

Dina Paredes

Dina Paredes works at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. A native of El Salvador and mother of two US citizen kids, she has lived in this country for more than 20 years and is a recipient of Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Dina went to canvass to Arizona durong the 2020 presidential election to fight for her family and for all working immigrant women struggling to make ends meet.

Iris Acosta