January 2026 Affordability Messaging
Families nationwide are feeling the stress of rising costs while public service workers face relentless attacks on the essential services they provide and that our communities rely on. Billionaires and anti-worker politicians are making it too hard for families to make ends meet and trying to end our voice on the job. But we know that it doesn’t have to be this way. Together, we have the power to fight back and win.
Use this toolkit for guidance on how to talk about affordability issues, learn all about our message, and find sample social media content. Make sure AFSCME members know the key to protecting our jobs, health care, retirement and more is to Get Organized.
What’s In This Toolkit
Messaging
It shouldn’t be this hard
- Life is too expensive, and working families are being squeezed from every direction. Housing costs are skyrocketing. Grocery prices are not coming down. Child care is out of reach.
- People are working harder than ever but still can’t afford the basics. It’s hurting families and weakening our entire economy. We don’t have to settle for a broken status quo. We can do better.
- The affordability crisis isn’t an accident; it’s what happens when those in power choose billionaires over workers.
- While we work harder for less, anti-worker politicians reward billionaires with deeper tax breaks and insider deals that leave the rest of us behind.
We decide what happens next.
- In 2026, our health care, retirement security, union freedoms, and every protection we’ve fought for is on the line. AFSCME is how we fight back, keep what we’ve earned, and build the future workers deserve by voting for leaders and solutions that make life more affordable.
- When we organize, we win for working families. At work, we organize and bargain for strong contracts, fair wages, and stronger protections.
- In our communities, we stand together to protect the public services that working families depend on..
- At the ballot box, we elect leaders who will fight for working people and vote out those who won’t.
Together we can build a better future
- When we stand together, we have the power to win on the job with strong contracts, fair wages, and safer workplaces. We have the power to protect the public services families depend on and the jobs we do. We have the power to elect leaders who fight for working people and build thriving communities where everyone can get ahead.
- Our power comes from solidarity, and in 2026 we will show it.
Take Action
Take the pledge to Get Organized. Commit to take action to defend our voice on the job, fight for respect and dignity at work, and hold accountable billionaires and anti-worker politicians who are making life unaffordable for working families.
Speak to your member of Congress directly. Schedule a visit to their office either alone or with several fellow AFSCME members. Hearing from you in person is a powerful way to let them know what’s at stake.
Spread the word on social media. The affordability crisis is not just a headline. It’s a daily reality for working people, and when AFSCME members speak about it on social media, it puts real faces and real families at the center of the conversation. Share the below graphics on your social platforms—when workers raise their voices together, it becomes a powerful tool for change.
Content Ideas
- Tell Your Story: Record a selfie-style video sharing how the affordability crisis affects you.
- Be specific: Is your workplace losing important public service funding? How has the rising cost of living affected your day-to-day life? What protections or benefits in your union contract make the biggest difference right now? What would happen if no one was there to do your job? Spread the word about why being a union member is essential for building power for workers and a better future for our families right now.
- Post to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Reels and/or YouTube Shorts, and be sure to tag @afscme so we can uplift your videos.
- Film the video vertically, with a suggested length of 90 seconds.
