There are seemingly countless reasons why political issues should matter to working people (especially union members). So why is there such a disconnect between our livelihoods and the way we think about politics?
I’ve already chronicled various ways the coming U.S. elections could affect working class voters (see here and here for example). Today I’d like to focus a little on how political decisions affect us — specifically in the workplace. It actually comes down to one general scenario.
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve been less than satisfied with something at work, and say, you filed a grievance? Now let’s say your grievance didn’t work out the way it should have in a perfect world. Have you ever been through anything like that? I have, and I know many of my brothers and sisters who have as well. It’s frustrating at the very least.
Did you know that a presidential candidate’s political views can greatly affect the work environment of millions of Americans? So if you elect a president who believes in less regulation in the workplace (as many Republicans do), chances are that president will make it more difficult to fix problems in the workplace. And if you elect someone who believes in protecting workers’ rights (as many Democrats do), chances are those problems get easier to fix.
It goes beyond legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to join unions (thereby giving organized workers far more leverage through sheer numbers). It goes all the way to figuring out what kind of judges will decide cases in the NLRB and the Supreme Court. And that goes a long way toward giving your union representatives the legal environment they need stand up for you.
Just remember: Choosing a candidate who believes in your rights at work makes those rights even stronger. Choosing the wrong candidate (as we did in the 2000 and 2004 elections) can all but make those rights disappear. If you believe in your rights, choose accordingly.
If you haven’t seen it (or just haven’t seen it in a while), here’s the excellent scene from the movie Gettysburg with the “Killer Angels” monologue in it:
Teamsters across the country have been receiving mailers about the upcoming election, many of them featuring actual Teamster members explaining why they’re voting for Barack Obama this year. This past week, one of those fliers bore a face familiar to Local 384 members. The member featured in this one was none other than Local 384 Trustee/Business Agent Steve Gallagher (in case you haven’t seen it, click the picture below for a larger image).
As the inside of the flier states, Steve has been a loyal Republican all his life, but this year he can’t afford to continue that pattern. Neither can I. Neither can millions of other working Americans.
Barack Obama has the positions and policies that can actually help everyday people, while John McCain is pledging to extend the policies of the past eight years that have left regular people further and further behind. It doesn’t matter whether the issue is:
taxes — where John McCain plans to give most of his tax cuts to the wealthiest, while Barack Obama plans to focus his tax relief on the majority of Americans who actually have to work for a living
healthcare — where John McCain wants to eliminate coverage standards and employer based plans, while Barack Obama wants to take advantage of what already works and add to the mix of solutions
other issues that directly affect working people like the Employee Free Choice Act — which McCain opposes, while Barack Obama has pledged to sign it into law
Barack Obama has put forth ideas that can better help working people and the middle class. A lifelong Republican like Steve Gallagher knows it. And so should every other regular American who understands today’s economic reality.
But in case not, here’s a short video to illustrate the point:
Visit TeamstersforObama.com. Go to the “Teamsters Speak” page to read more testimonials from actual Teamsters (including me), or you can add your own.
If you don’t already know the password for the Teamsters for Obama website, you can find it on the mailers bearing the website’s name, in recent issues of Teamster magazine, or follow the instructions on the login page to get the password.
