Letter to America:

By Cindy Green, Democratic Candidate for Virginia House of Delegates, District 44

As we head back to work from what I hope was a good Labor Day weekend for you and your family, I wanted to take a minute to talk about what Labor Day really means. Out here in Southwest Virginia, we don’t just see it as a long weekend. We see it for what it is…earned recognition for the people who built this country with their hands, their backs, and their hard work.

There's an old saying around here. Some folks have outgrown their raisin’. I think that fits a lot of what we see today. Too many people have forgotten where they came from, and what their parents and grandparents went through to get basic rights on the job and in life.

I’m talking now about the right of a working person to a forty-hour work week with fair wages and benefits. The right to an eight-hour day. The right to Medicaid when you are too hurt or disabled to work. The right to retire with dignity through Social Security and Medicare as cornerstones of one's golden years. I call these rights because rights are something you have to fight for. Benefits are given freely. These were not.

These were hard-won and fought for by labor unions like the UMWA, and by local leaders that stood shoulder to shoulder with working people. They were not handed down by the government. They were not offered up by Wall Street. They were not corporate gifts. These rights came from miners, construction workers, farmers, nurses, and teachers and families who stood together and said enough is enough.

And now some of those same rights are under threat again.

In District 44, I hear from folks who are working two or three jobs and still can’t afford childcare or housing. I talk to seniors who worry about their healthcare being cut and their local hospital closing. I talk to young people who want to stay in Southwest Virginia but do not see a future here unless something changes.

That is why I am running for Delegate. I am not running to be somebody. I am running to do something. I am running to fight for the people who make this region what it is. Not the wealthy donors. Not the big corporations. The working people.

For your vote, I pledge to work for you. Not for myself. Not for billionaires. Not for the folks who write big campaign checks. I will be the hardest working Delegate in Richmond. I will listen. I will show up. I will fight like I have something to prove, because I do.

This Labor Day, let’s honor the people who got us here. And let’s make sure the next generation has something worth fighting for.  To support my campaign and to connect follow this link https://linktr.ee/CindyGreen4VA or [email protected]

Cindy Green
Democratic Candidate for Virginia House of Delegates
District 44