To the editor:
I live in Old Town, but I don’t work here because there are not good union jobs here. Before the pandemic, I drove to Washington, D.C. for years to work as a server at a Marriott hotel. When that hotel closed, I found a union hotel job in National Harbor, because I could not find a good union job in Alexandria. I led a hard fight for a union contract at my hotel, and now I make a very good wage, have free healthcare and too many other rights to describe here. I believe everyone in Alexandria deserves a chance at that.
That is why I found the article “Mysterious election placards baffle residents” so insulting. I am knocking doors with my union for Alyia Gaskins for mayor, four City Council incumbents and Abdel Elnoubi and Jesse O’Connell because they have supported me and my coworkers. That is just democracy. I don’t understand why anyone would be confused about us supporting people who consistently stand with immigrant workers in our community.
Our issues are simple. We need more good union jobs in our community so we can spend more time with our families, not on the road driving to work. We desperately need more affordable housing and protections for tenants, because our friends are actually being forced to move out of Alexandria. I’m knocking on doors in my community because I think everyone deserves the wages and benefits they need to support a family. What’s “mysterious” is why anyone would have an issue with that.
-Amina Zane,
Alexandria