Vote Democrat!

This is our last Surge before the Nov. 7 general election, and I want to stress the importance that this election will have to our members and to the working people of America.

Under the influences of big money and mass media that favor sound bites over substance, the American political discourse has deteriorated, and many voters are left cynical and apathetic. Candidates are managed by PR experts who sell them like soap.

Nonetheless, real differences exist between the parties and candidates, and it is our responsibility as citizens of a democracy to pay attention to the issues and elect candidates who best reflect our values and speak to our concerns. What we do on Nov. 7 will be what we must live with for the next four years, and will in part determine the kind of lives that our children and their children are able to lead. So it’s important that we look past the vapid surface of election sound bites and try to determine where our interests lie.

First let’s look at the presidential race. Here the candidates reflect the traditional orientation of the two parties that has prevailed at least since World War I. Virtually every federal initiative to protect working people and help them secure the good life they deserve, with access to health care, education, a secure retirement and the right to organize and have a voice in the workplace has come from the Democrats responding to their natural constituency: the working people who built this country and make it work. And what has been achieved must constantly be defended from Republican attack.

“I’m going to keep standing up and speaking out about the importance of unions and the right to organize. A strong labor movement helps all working Americans, whether they are organized or not.” Guess which candidate said that. Right, of course! Vice President Al Gore.

Meanwhile, as Governor of Texas, Bush wanted to weaken public employee unions by privatizing state-level public sector jobs. This move would have eliminated jobs and started an erosion of union representation in that state. You can be sure that he would promote the same pro-corporate, anti-labor agenda if he were elected president.

Rhetoric aside, the appointments that the president makes to the National Labor Relations Board, to the judiciary, and to other federal agencies responsible for exercising public power on behalf of the people exert a pronounced, continuous effect on the daily life of the American worker. If we want to preserve our standard of living and workplace rights, we must elect Al Gore president.

EQUALLY IMPORTANT are the congressional races and there are a number of hot ones in the Southland. If the Democrats can win a majority in congress (and thus the right to chair committees and set agenda), that will be good news for working people.

(IBEW’s eight key votes: Minimum Wage; Nuclear Waste; China/PNTR; OSHA/Ergonomics Standard; Medicare/Prescription Drugs; Section 415 Fix/Internal Revenue Code; Treasury, Postal Appropriations/Contract Regulations; Railroad Retirement .)

The point is this: Look beyond the rhetoric and posing. Think about what the candidates really stand for, what they have done in office, and what you can expect them to do if they are elected. Think about whether your interests lie with the people in their homes, their schools, their communities and their jobs or with the suits in the suites who would maximize their own profits and power.

And don’t forget to vote. It’s your responsibility.

In unity,