Hi, I’m Arlena Hill, a Licensed Practical Nurse and Certified Nursing Assistant from Pittsburgh. This fall, I’m excited to be a full-time Member Political Organizer with the union so I can help elect our country’s first female President and Pennsylvania’s first female Senator.
I grew up in Chicago and got my start in politics there. I marched with Jesse Jackson for civil rights and had heard of a young man named Barack Obama helping to organize communities on the Southside.
In 2008, when Obama ran, I got on the bandwagon. I canvassed and phone banked and even got a chance to meet him. He told me I was right there with him from day one.
Helping elect the first black president was a historic moment for me as an African American woman and that momentum never went away. I am passionate to help our politicians understand the struggles of working people and for working people to understand that their voices matter.
Being a Member Political Organizer is a first for me but this election is too important not to get involved. We can’t afford to wake up on November 9 to the reality of a President Trump. Women can’t afford it. Healthcare workers can’t afford it. My children and my grandchildren – all of our children and grandchildren – can’t afford it.
Trump says he will make America great again. He thinks that our greatness lies in the past, a past where I wouldn’t have the right to vote or the right to form a union. But I believe America is already great and that – together – we can create an even greater future for our country.
I want to see racial justice. I want young black children to be able to see the police as helpers, not as a danger. I want to see the Fight for $15 to come to fruition in every state. I want to see affordable childcare for everyone who needs it. I want politicians to know that we are human beings and we deserve a fair wage and a chance to get ahead.
We’ll be able to do these things the same way that almost all progress in America has come about – by uniting and working together to push for change. Donald Trump would rather have the whole country fighting with each other, to preserve the status quo that made him rich and powerful. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, knows that we are “stronger together.”
It’s a battle. And I’m proud to be on the frontlines. The fight doesn’t end on November 8th though. No matter who wins this election, working women and men in all communities need to continue to exercise our political voice. That means being active in your union, or if you don’t have a union, it means organizing one in your workplace the way that my co-workers and I did recently.
A union is about more than just wages and benefits at the place where you work, it’s about building a better workplace, community and country together. And that’s what this election is about too. I’m confident that Hillary Clinton as our next President, and Katie McGinty as our next Senator, will be our allies every day as we work to build a better future for working families.
And until they’re elected, you’ll find me knocking on doors, making phone calls and talking to every voter I can.
Arlena Hill is a Licensed Practical Nurse and Certified Nursing Assistant from Pittsburgh, having just helped form the union for service and technical workers at her hospital. Prior to that, Arlena worked at Friendship Ridge in Beaver County and has been a union member since the 1980’s.
In 1997, Arlena founded Wolit Ministries to help women who are living in transition due to abuse, incarceration, or other hardships. Since 2007, Wolit Ministries has held retreats for the women they serve.
Arlena is a mother of three and a grandmother of six.