Our customers are often surprised to learn that Together Pictures is closed on days when local, state, and national elections take place. Election Day as a Holiday? Yes!
Mainly we consider it an equity issue. Until Election Days are made into recognized holidays, we know that it can be hard for employees to petition for time off to vote. So we schedule our workload to make sure that none of our folks have to skip this important civic duty. Closing our offices makes this commitment clear to our community. Hopefully it encourages other businesses to consider doing the same.
We also encourage our employees to become poll workers in their county of residence. In Alameda County, where we’re located, there are never enough people to man the polls. And the registrar recorder’s office also needs more bilingual or culturally specific poll workers. As a team of diverse filmmakers, we know that each of us can make a huge difference on this special day by welcoming voters, helping them to understand their ballots and the voting process, and working to ensure that every vote is counted correctly. This year two of our board members will be working as poll workers in West and East Oakland.
Click Here to Learn More about AC Votes Poll Worker Jobs
Many of our employees are life long voters, others are first time voters, and others are not able to vote. But all of us care about the issues and people on the ballot and have had many discussions about them – learning from each other in the days leading up to the election.
So Happy Election Day everyone! Won’t you celebrate the day with us? (We’re not the only ones taking the day off.) Volunteer for a campaign that’s close to your heart. If you can vote, cast a ballot and support democracy. If not, talk about the importance of voting with your community and support the voters you know. We’ll be doing the same.
