{"id":9887,"date":"2026-10-27T11:44:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T15:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=9887"},"modified":"2026-10-27T11:44:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T15:44:15","slug":"democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-9\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Democracy\u2019s \u2018biggest defenses\u2019: Public service and a strong labor movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Keynote<\/p>\n

October 30, 2026 —<\/em> Democracy is a kitchen-table issue \u2014 inseparable from affording groceries, getting health care and earning a fair paycheck, Skye Perryman, Founder and CEO of <\/span>Democracy Forward<\/span><\/a>, told delegates in this year\u2019s Convention keynote address.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can’t have a conversation about affordability without having a conversation about democracy, but you can’t have a conversation about democracy without talking about and working for the real-life things that impact people,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perryman said Americans\u2019 top concerns are the economy and affordability, threats to democracy, and health care. Half of Americans are extremely concerned about affording gas, and many worry about affording food.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rising U.S. wealth inequality is straining democracy, Perryman said, pointing to Jan. 6, 2021, when the country was added to a global list of backsliding democracies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perryman said democracy comes under strain when governments struggle to deliver for people and economic opportunity is uneven.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The events of Jan. 6 didn\u2019t land the U.S. on the list, Perryman said. Contributing factors include a Supreme Court that more often reverses rights than protects them; a Congress international researchers call dysfunctional; and rising state and local extremism.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perryman said deep economic divides fuel polarization and allow anti-democratic actors to exploit hardship. \u201cOnce you’re in a backsliding democracy, there’s a playbook that people who want to take away our rights follow,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perryman called the civil service and a strong labor movement among democracy\u2019s \u201cbiggest defenses.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest defenses against autocracy, one of the biggest defenses against the consolidation of power, is people like you who every day go to work to serve people, to do your job,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Democracy Forward and AFT are bringing lawsuits on various fronts, but working people can make real change. Perryman said delegates\u2019 advocacy for New York public employees is bringing hope to public employees nationwide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But solidarity\u2019s power requires action.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur power is not self-executing,\u201d she said. Perryman urged delegates to speak out and take extra action to stop further democratic backsliding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Perryman\u2019s book, <\/span><\/i>Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times,<\/span><\/i><\/b> was published in August and is a New York Times bestseller. It combines personal stories with practical how-to guides that empower readers to take action in their own communities.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 30, 2026 — Democracy is a kitchen-table issue \u2014 inseparable from affording groceries, getting health care and earning a fair paycheck, Skye Perryman, Founder and CEO of Democracy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-9887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-44-no-9"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDemocracy\u2019s \u2018biggest defenses\u2019: Public service and a strong labor movement - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-9\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democracy\u2019s \u2018biggest defenses\u2019: Public service and a strong labor movement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 30, 2026 — Democracy is a kitchen-table issue \u2014 inseparable from affording groceries, getting health care and earning a fair paycheck, Skye Perryman, Founder and CEO of Democracy...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-9\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PEF Communicator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-27T15:44:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/Perryman-Header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ksheehan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ksheehan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-9\\\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-9\\\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ksheehan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e\"},\"headline\":\"Democracy\u2019s \u2018biggest defenses\u2019: Public service and a strong labor movement\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-27T15:44:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-9\\\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":387,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-9\\\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Perryman-Header.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-9\\\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-44-no-9\\\/democracys-biggest-defenses-public-service-and-a-strong-labor-movement\\\/\",\"name\":\"Democracy\u2019s \u2018biggest defenses\u2019: Public service and a strong labor movement - 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