Newsletter | August 2026

Seeing so many flags flying at half mast in honor of Dolly Parton this week has given me hope: she truly was a unifying force, loved deeply by Americans of all political persuasions.

She was a card-carrying union member for 60 years, and the lyrics she wrote for what would become a workers’ anthem–the iconic 1980 hit “9 to 5”–are as resonant today as they were then.

“It’s a rich man’s game no matter what they call it. And you spend your life puttin’ money in his wallet.”

The song and hit film were inspired by a 1970’s union drive in Boston led by a group of underpaid women office workers. That group–called 9to5–would eventually expand to become the National Association of Working Women, and then partner with SEIU to become one of our sister unions, SEIU Local 925. Today, that local has claimed Dolly Parton as their “patron saint.”

I hope we can all channel our inner Dolly for hope, determination, and perseverance over the next few months: we’re going to need a lot of all three if we’re going to overcome the impacts of a certain “rich man’s game.”

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one,” was another well-known quote from the iconic songwriter/singer.

I know a lot of state workers don’t like the road we’re walking right now: we’re all paying more just to get by and pissed off about losing this year’s COLA. But if we are going to pave a new road, we’re going to need as many of you as possible to join the fight.

That starts with helping us elect worker champions to our state legislature where they can fight for us, and to Washington where they can fight for all workers and everything we value as a nation.