Richmond, VA — This week, DPVA held press conferences in Roanoke and Richmond highlighting Glenn Youngkin’s track record of offshoring American jobs while harming working people and discussed Democrats’ work building a strong Virginia economy.
While Youngkin has spent his career devastating communities across Virginia and the country, Terry McAuliffe and Virginia Democrats have a strong track record of creating jobs and a plan to build a stronger economy post-COVID.
See below for key excerpts and watch the full conversations here and here.
Lieutenant Governor Nominee Hala Ayala
“We have become one of the best states in the country to do business for working families across Virginia, but we’re not done yet, of course. We have a plan to continue our economic progress and make sure that we’ll fight every day to get this done...Not only have democrats made Virginia the top state to do business, but we made major progress in helping working families.”
“We’ve seen states led by Republican leaders who want to pass far-right initiatives, and restrict voting rights, discriminate against LGBTQ communities, and attack immigrants, and they are losing out on major economic opportunities because of their positions and their far-right agendas. Thanks to democrats here in Virginia, we’ve done just the opposite. We’ve made Virginia more inclusive.”
DPVA Chair Susan Swecker
“We know we have somebody that is our Gubernatorial nominee that is going to protect Virginia jobs, that is going to keep Virginia jobs here and grow the economy. Now on the other hand, Glenn Youngkin’s career is defined by his record of shipping American jobs overseas and harming working people in order to turn a profit for himself.”
"Right now we are headed towards a strong recovery from COVID-19, and we are all focused on keeping our Commonwealth moving forward. Glenn Youngkin, on the other hand, is running on an extreme agenda that would threaten the workers and families who most need help as we rebuild from COVID. He opposes raising the minimum wage, opposes expanding healthcare, and stands against investments that will help us rebuild from the pandemic. It is more important than ever that we fight to elect Terry McAuliffe and defeat Glenn Youngkin’s extreme hardline agenda.”
Virginia AFL-CIO President Doris Crouse-Mays
“I want to tell you a story today, a story about my life. I grew up here in Southwest Virginia – I know what a hard day’s work looks like, and I know even better how hard it is to not only get a job in the rural parts of Virginia, but also how hard it can be to keep it; especially when politicians like Glenn Youngkin, have careers that are defined by shipping American jobs overseas and harming working people in order to turn a profit for himself.”
“The offshoring that Youngkin spent his career advancing has been devastating for communities across Virginia and the country -- and we know it all too well right here in Roanoke.”
“There’s no two-ways about it: Glenn Youngkin’s so-called leadership led to American jobs being shipped overseas.”
“Today I want to be unequivocally clear: anyone who has spent their entire career gutting American jobs is the wrong choice to lead our commonwealth. [...] We need a governor who will fight for Virginia workers and protect Virginia jobs -- not one who has stood against them throughout his career and with an anti-worker agenda.”
Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea
“Virginians have a clear choice in November. While Republicans are lined up behind Glenn Youngkin, who spent his career making millions of dollars a year from shipping jobs overseas and hurting workers, Democrats have a proven leader in Terry McAuliffe.”
“With Virginia on the road to a strong pandemic recovery thanks to Democrats, Terry has a plan to continue the economic progress we’ve made. He’ll fight for a $15 minimum wage. He’ll protect Medicaid expansion and work to make health care more affordable for everyone. He’ll work with the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress to make sure Virginia gets the infrastructure funding we need to fix our roads, bridges, and schools, expand broadband, and much more. He’ll continue his track record of bringing record investment and job creation to every community in Virginia.”
Delegate Chris Hurst
“We can not have somebody who, for their entire career, has been always thinking about the bottom line for investors instead of the bottom line at the kitchen table for families all across this commonwealth. Somebody has to be thinking about that in the governor’s mansion, and not just thinking about how they can enrich and line their own pockets.”
“There is only one real option if you want this country to be the best possible country it can be, for this commonwealth to be the best it can be. [...] The choice is clear, especially as it relates to the economy. We have to make sure that we have that steady hand of leadership thinking about working families and not just the people up at the top.”
CWA Member Audrey Collins
“I’ve seen how easy it is for jobs to be sent overseas. I’ve seen my own employer ship our jobs overseas. Since I have started in this industry, I have seen many of my friends and coworkers that have gone out the door, and instead of them hiring new Virginians to replace the jobs, they’ve actually rerouted the calls overseas.”
“With that, we actually have been able to fight back with strong leaders like Terry McAuliffe. And working with him is why we will have a job here in the Commonwealth of Virginia...We need to protect the jobs here in the state of Virginia—these jobs support our families every day and we need that. We need legislation that will help keep the jobs here in the Commonwealth of Virginia."
“Terry McAuliffe has promised to do that and he did that in the past, we all know. Glenn Youngkin has not. Glenn has made his millions by taking over companies, cutting jobs, calling them expenses. But guess what? I’m not an expense, I’m a person.”
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