GOP Gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin, and his fellow Republicans Winsome Sears, and Jason Miyares pose a colossal threat to our community’s hardworking families. If elected in November, these politicians will put profits over people and will jeopardize our ability to work hard at our jobs, take care of our families, and have stable financial futures. As Co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, Glenn Youngkin’s record of union-busting and laying off over a thousand workers at a time speaks for itself. Glenn Youngkin and his network of good ol’ boys are bad news for the working people and families in our community.

“As co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, Glenn Youngkin was determined to make it harder for working families to succeed,” Vanessa Clinton, Press Secretary at Progress Virginia said. “We all deserve to be able to work hard at our jobs and raise our families with dignity. But Glenn Youngkin, Winsome Sears, and Jason Miyares put profits over people, and will work to prevent everyday, hardworking people from living a good life. Their primary concern is making money for themselves and their wealthy friends. We need to come together to elect Terry McAuliffe, Hala Ayala, and Mark Herring, who have a proven track record of supporting hardworking Virginia families.”

Background:

• While Glenn Youngkin was climbing up the ranks at Carlyle, the private equity firm was engaging in vicious union busting, according to research by the Revolving Door Project, and made it harder for working people to advocate for themselves.

• In 2001, when Carlyle acquired Vought Aircraft Industries, Carlyle cut 20% of Vought’s 1,200 person unionized workforce.
  • When workers went on strike in 2009, Carlyle hired non-union workers, and hired guards to watch union members picket.

• According to Revolving Door Project Research, in 2005, Carlyle acquired Hawaiian Telecom. Over the years Carlyle engaged in several rounds of layoffs, despite assurances they wouldn’t fire members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). As with other companies, Carlyle loaded Hawaiian Telecom up with $1.2 billion in debt, and the company eventually declared bankruptcy. Meanwhile Carlyle executives paid themselves hefty bonuses.

• Nearly 7 in 10 Virginians support a workers right to advocate for themselves