Kilynn Lunsford is one of the most amazing people I know.
She has been doing the real organizing work to build power for workers for years-- organizing her workplace at the Philadelphia Airport, working with Democratic Socialists of America to help elect socialists who will fight for workers in Pennsylvania, and then working more than full-time as the only staff person for Labor for Bernie, to organize union members all over the country to build a movement to democratize our unions, win healthcare for all workers, and elect the most pro-worker president in history.
We all know that Bernie didn't win, but the work Kilynn did made a huge difference in helping to win Iowa and building a base in labor for the next Bernie to win with labor's strong support. She gave her absolute everything to the fight for Bernie and for workers, and now, she's in need, and we in the labor movement need to stand with her.
She writes: "Hi, my name is Kilynn. Recently I was laid off from my job, which was something I had expected. What I had not expected was my health insurance to end two days after my last day.
Because of this, I continued to go to the doctor for several weeks and expected to be able to refill my prescriptions. However, when I went to refill my prescriptions, I found out I no longer had insurance.
Aside from paying full price for my prescriptions, I now owe several doctors for appointments that weren't covered. In addition to this, over the last year I've been experiencing symptoms of chronic illness and have had to visit a variety of specialists to try to get some relief.
If you donate to my GoFundMe I will solely be using this money for the stack of medical bills I have sitting on my dining room table."
Kilynn has done about as much work to win Medicare for All for all workers as anyone I know. We don't have it yet, and in the meantime, we all need to stand in solidarity with our union sister who is in need right now.
Solidarity,
Russell Weiss-Irwin
Massachusetts Labor for Bernie
Member, Boston Teachers Union, AFT Local 66*
(*for identification purposes only)