USW Local 2-232
formerly PACE 7-232
Season's Greetings
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Membership Meeting
Members are urged to Attend this Meeting.
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USW Local 2-232 formerly PACE 7-232
Season's Greetings * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Members are urged to Attend this Meeting.
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Union turnout
vital on November 7th John
Sweeney’s message to State AFL-CIO Convention delegates by Joe Chambers Through the whole process the message was clear — if conditions are to be improved for workers, we must have friends of workers in elected offices. The direction of the upcoming election will decide if we spend our future moving ahead making real improvements, or if we expend our efforts trying to defend the rights we have. Tom Harkin carried message from Gore On Monday, we heard from Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, speaking on behalf of Vice President Gore who was unable to attend due to the first debate falling during our convention. Harkin, a Senator for 26 years, is the son of coal miner whose brother, a UAW member, lost his job after 23 years to “replacement workers.” Harkin has always been a friend of Labor and that is reflected in his 100% voting record on workers issues. Harkin referred to Bush’s economic policies as similar to the policies of Reagan and Bush of the 80’s and early 90’s, known as trickle down economics. Those policies hurt workers then and would hurt workers again. Harkin compared these policies to the ideals of a man claiming the best way to provide more food for the birds by feeding more oats to the horse. In contrast, he said that Al Gore knows that true prosperity “percolates up” from the grass roots. In his plan, benefits are put in place at the bottom with working families and percolate up through the economy. John Sweeney keynote On Tuesday, John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO discussed the state of the labor movement and plans to focus on organizing and build a more effective voice for workers. He too, focused on the importance of the upcoming presidential election. He said the stakes for working families in the Presidential election are clear. Judging by his positions on the issues and “the company he keeps, George W. Bush is the most anti working family presidential candidate we’ve faced in our lifetimes.” Contrary to Bush’s efforts to be called a “compassionate conservative,” Sweeney said “Bush isn’t a genial, compassionate man” but is rather a “big oil man” who believes the federal minimum wage, health and safety regulations and environmental protections should be voluntary. Sweeney went on to say that “George Bush isn’t a man with a vision for the future, he’s a man who revels in the past, a man whose chief policy advisor blames women in the workplace for the downfall of volunteerism, family life, community and culture.” Sweeney cites differences Sweeney cited many differences between the candidates. “Al Gore wants to pump more resources into our schools and add a real prescription drug benefit under Medicare, while George Bush wants to voucherize public education and privatize Social Security and Medicare. “Vice President Gore supports a Patient’s Bill of Rights with teeth in it ... George Bush vetoed a Patients’ Bill of Rights when it came before him as Governor of Texas. “George Bush wants to use our surplus for a tax cut for the wealthy, while Vice President Gore want to use it to shore up Social Security.” What we face defined Sweeney concluded by summing up what we face after the November 7th election. “If we win, it will indeed be like winning the World Series, Super Bowl and Olympics combined. We’ll know and our adversaries will know that we have arrived and that we are a force to be reckoned with for many years to come. “But if we lose, it won’t be like losing the Superbowl or the World Series or the Olympics. There won’t be any fanny-patting or hugging going on. Our adversaries will be sore winners and they are going to come after us with everything they’ve got. “Looking at the national level, if working families win the White House, take back the House of Representatives and narrow the gap in the Senate, then we can have a shot at the right kind of Social Security and Medicare Reform, more schools and infrastructure construction, a higher minimum wage, a new approach to global trade and we can make inroads to health care reform, labor law reform and immigrant rights. “If we win the White House but don’t take back the House of Representatives, we’ll see more anti-union witch hunts, “reverse labor law reform,” the revival of comp time, the FAIR Act, the TEAM Act and national paycheck deception. “If we lose them both, we will lose Social Security, Medicare, public education and all the programs working families depend on.” Sweeney said turnout is going to be key. “The difference will be whether union households sink below 20% of the total votes cast, as we did in 1994 or whether we approach 25% of the votes cast as we did in 1998.” “Business is outspending us 11 to 1, but we can do the job because we have something money can’t buy. We have each other and our solidarity.” Health Care Rally The convention then joined with Sweeney, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby workers and other people from the community in a rally spotlighting the need for better health care for all Americans. At the rally Sweeney stated there is “no greater challenge than to provide affordable health care for all.” He said it was the most costly, divisive problem facing America. Dr. Ron Stark, past president of the Medical Society of Milwaukee County said that the failure or the system to provide for those without insurance was “a national disgrace.” Many workers told their stories demonstrating these shortfalls of our current system. Other issues There were many other issues dealt with at this convention, including the passing of a constitutional amendment raising per capita tax to the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO by 10¢ per member, per month. (This will come from the current dues and not result in any increase in dues.) This is the first increase in per capita by the State Fed since 1992 and will help them to effectively coordinate and lead the efforts of unions in Wisconsin. Candidates were endorsed for the State Senate and State Assembly and we heard from Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Chvala and Wisconsin State Assembly Minority Leader, Representative Shirley Krug. They both communicated the importance of maintaining control of the State Senate and gaining control of the State Assembly. The decisions made in the next session, especially relating to redistricting, will set the direction for Wisconsin for many years to come. In addition to the keynote speeches of Harkin, Sweeney, and the important talks on issues in Wisconsin from Chvala and Krug, delegates heard reports from all three of the officers of our State AFL-CIO. We also heard major talks on a new direction for the AFL-CIO, information on the campaign for global fairness being fought in our colleges, the campaign for global fairness being led by the AFL-CIO, the need for more than just minimum wages for all people to be “self sufficient” and the problems facing family farmers from the President of the Wisconsin Farmers Union. This convention was both informative and invigorating for the delegates. Actions taken and lessons learned at this convention will help us move ahead more effectively. |
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