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JOHN J. FLYNN
President
International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
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Issue 4 - 2006
Across the United States, members, their families, neighbors, and friends will go to the polls in November to vote for local school boards, state legislatures, governors, and their representatives in Congress. In this Journal, we have included information about where the candidates stand on issues of concern to working families and union members, and provided highlights from the recently released Economic Policy Institute Report – The State of Working America.
The Report’s fi ndings document the economic pressures facing Americans. Each year under the Bush Administration, the gap between the rich and poor has grown, as the middle class shrinks and corporate power replaces worker power. The Report’s troubling fi ndings are the result of policies advanced by the Administration and its allies at the state-level and in Congress, which have resulted in families working longer and harder to keep their heads above water.
Since the last election, our economy – at least for working families – has not advanced, the unease felt after 9/11 persists, and no effort has been made to unify the country. To the contrary, it appears that the tactics used in past elections to divide voters and the country are once again being enlisted by the Republican National Committee (RNC). According to a recent front page story in a major newspaper, “Republicans are planning to spend the vast majority of their sizable fi nancial war chest over the final 60 days of the campaign attacking Democratic House and Senate candidates over personal issues… GOP offi cials said.” The article also noted that the National Republican Congressional Committee “plans to spend more than 90 percent of its $50 million-plus advertising budget on what offi cials describe as negative ads.”
Why go the negative-ad campaign route? Because the RNC is hoping to divert voters’ attention away from the fact that after six years of a Republican-controlled White House and Congress, American families do not feel better off or more secure. Without such divisive tactics they fear that at election time:
- Union members will realize that their rights at the bargaining table have been eroded and shifted to the employers;
- Hunters will see that even though they can own a gun, they can’t afford ammunition, and the land and streams available for hunting and fishing are disappearing;
- Americans, young and old, might start listening to those decorated war heroes and military experts that are questioning the “stay the course” at any cost approach to our country’s security; and
- Mothers and fathers will remember that the only time real family values flourish is when parents can afford to put food on the table and spend time with their children.
Hopefully, American voters have had enough of this type of campaigning. We are smarter than they think. It is time to shake things up in Congress by electing candidates who are not afraid to ask the tough questions, make changes, talk about workers’ rights, and vote for laws that enable every American to earn a decent wage, in safe conditions, and retire with dignity.
I urge all of you to focus on working family issues when you vote in the upcoming election, talk with friends and family about the issues, and get out and vote in November.
If you have ideas for stories or issues of concern, let us know by emailing us at askbac@bacweb.org or writing to:
International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Attention: Communications Department
1776 Eye Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
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