Dear Brothers and Sisters:

My name is Trudy Busch Valentine, and I am asking for your vote on November 8 to become Missouri’s next United States Senator. I’m a nurse, a mother, a grandmother, and a fourth-generation Missourian, and I’m running to put politics as usual aside and put people first. That includes all the union workers who make our country great and have fought to make America the land of opportunity and prosperity. Allow me to explain why I’d be honored to earn your vote.

At every step over generations, organized labor has fought to secure humane work hours and basic workplace safety protections. They have championed the right of women to receive equal pay for equal work. They have raised the floor on wages and benefits for all workers, and they have been invaluable in strengthening the middle class.

I saw firsthand the power of labor unions when I was a child and watched my father, Gussie Busch, work alongside the Teamsters to build the world’s biggest brewery right here in Missouri. He understood the dignity that comes along with a job that paid fair wages, offered good benefits, and protected the health and safety of employees. For him, these weren’t just business decisions. It was the morally right thing to do, and I’m so proud of that.

I’m running for Senate because I want to fight back against the war on unions, work in solidarity with labor to expand worker protections, and preserve the American Dream for all of us. That means an honest wage for a hard day’s work, being able to support your family with a good-paying job (not three underpaid jobs), not having to choose between groceries and prescription drugs, access to quality and affordable healthcare, and the ability to pass on a better life to our children.

But right now we are seeing too many threats to that dream. Two out of every three Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Wages haven’t kept pace with inflation, and the minimum wage has not been raised since 2009. Too many working families pay more in taxes than wealthy corporations. Social Security and Medicare are under attack, leaving too many retired workers anxious for their futures. And just when we need the power of collective bargaining the most, labor unions are under attack from anti-worker politicians like my opponent, who has supported harmful legislation like Right to Work laws.

But make no mistake – Missouri is a strong labor state. In 2018, we defeated the anti-labor union “Right to Work” movement (or “Right to Work For Less,” as I call it) by a two-to-one margin.

Missourians sent a resounding message to the nation, and we can do it again this November by electing a pro-worker candidate like myself. In the Senate, I will be a champion for passing the PRO Act. I will protect prevailing wages. I will support raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hr. And I will make sure the ultra-wealthy and major corporations pay their fair share. You can always count on me to stand up to anti-labor forces and serve with honesty, integrity, decency, and compassion as nobody’s senator but yours!

I will never forget that it was labor unions whose members fought, bled, and even died to give us things some people today take for granted: the 40-hour workweek, safer workplaces, and healthcare and secure retirement for millions of families. Let’s remember that the power of organizing is our best and only hope to guarantee the promise of the American Dream for future generations. Now, more than ever, we need leaders who will put the needs of working families and middle-class Missourians first. That’s just what I’ll do.

So, on November 8, I humbly ask for your vote to become the next senator from Missouri. When unions come together and fight, workers win. And together, we can make our state and our country the land of opportunity and hope again.

In solidarity,

Trudy Busch Valentine