Voting for Change

On October 7th, BAC President John J. Flynn warmed-up an already enthusiastic crowd for a campaign appearance by Senator-elect Claire McCaskill (D-MO) at a labor rally outside St. Louis. McCaskill’s election victory was one of the most closely watched in the country and considered indispensable to a Democratic majority in the Senate.

Election Day, November 7, 2006 will long be remembered as a day when Americans, ready for a new direction, voted overwhelmingly for change – a message that was heard loud and clear in state houses, in the halls of Congress, and at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue by the person at whom it was directed most, President George W. Bush.

For the first time since 1994, voters handed Democrats control of the House, the Senate, and a majority of Governorships. A huge turnout by BAC and union members was instrumental in boosting dozens of labor-friendly candidates to margins of victory in close races.

The historic shift in the balance of power, said BAC President John J. Flynn, reflected an electorate “fed up with the Bush Administration’s incompetence, dishonesty, corruption, and arrogance. The one area it excels at – pandering to business interests – has been achieved at the expense of working Americans. People are tired of being shunted aside by leaders who care more about Wall Street than Main Street, who care more about protecting their own than protecting our children, our families and those in harm’s way.” Flynn is optimistic that when the 110th Congress convenes, it will do so with a fresh resolve to address the needs of working families, and adopt a more constructive, bipartisan approach in revisiting national security and foreign policy priorities.

Initiatives to raise the state minimum wage above the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, which were on ballots in six states (Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and Ohio), all passed easily, bringing the total number of states with similar minimum wage laws to 23.