IBEW 2006 Convention Updates

Political Conference Inspires, Motivates Convention Delegates

September 8, 2006

Delegates to the 37th International Convention came to Cleveland ready to play their part in a tumultuous national political scene on the brink of what could be a watershed change in Congress and state houses across America. An impressive lineup of IBEW speakers and political candidates stoked the excitement of nearly 500 of the IBEW’s most faithful political activists two months before Election Day at the 2006 IBEW Political Conference.

“November 2006 is about putting America and our labor movement onto the road of recovery from the sick politics of greed that have deformed and defiled the world's most powerful nation,” IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill told the audience Friday afternoon conference. “If you are angry and ready to work like there's no tomorrow, you're in the right place.”

One of America’s most hotly contested electoral battlegrounds is Ohio. Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown energized the delegates as he discussed the fundamental philosophical differences between himself and incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine.

“Last year the CEO of ExxonMobil made $17,000 an hour but the minimum wage earner in Ohio struggling to fill up a tank of gas made $11,000 a year,” Brown said, asking everyone to talk to at least five people in their community about working family issues before the election. The federal minimum wage – now at $5.15 an hour and at its lowest inflation-adjusted earning level in 50 years – hasn’t been raised in 10 years.

Calling the IBEW’s political activists leaders of the truth squad, President Hill urged them to recruit members who may have lost sight of the value of political action. Secretary-Treasurer Jon Walters said IBEW members polled recently gave a dismal 29 percent approval rating to President Bush.

“The fact is that our members represent the political heart of this nation – men and women who have worked their way into the American dream, using the tools of our trade and the strength of their solidarity,” Walters said. “But that dream is under siege today, with downward pressure on real wages and benefits, from health care to pensions. By and large, that downward pressure is coming from the top – political leaders beholden to rich corporate benefactors who have their own vision of the American dream, where the middle class is not important.”

Mary Jane Lambert, retired IBEW member of now-defunct Ottawa, Ohio, Local 1654, spoke on behalf of the group of 250 retirees who lost their health insurance after the L.G. Philips picture tube plant declared bankruptcy following a joint venture with another company. When they petitioned their two senators, DeWine and George Voinovich, for assistance, they were given the runaround and ultimately, no assistance.

Ohio judge and state secretary of state candidate Jennifer Brunner also addressed the delegates. She said the current man in that job, Ken Blackwell, used his office and title to campaign illegally for President Bush. He is under federal investigation for that. In that job, “you have to be impartial,” she said, urging Cuyahoga County residents to take the option of voting by absentee ballot to ensure a verifiable paper record of their vote, as opposed to using Diebold electronic voting machines, whose results have been inconsistent and impossible to verify.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-California), who is a member of IBEW Local 441 in Santa Ana, Cal., noted that Ohio has lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs in the last five years, making it the state with the most job loss in the country. She was also critical of the Republican leadership’s attempt to tie the recent bill to raise the minimum wage to one eliminating estate taxes for the richest Americans.

“Workers should not have to wait for Paris Hilton to get a tax break to get a raise,” said Sanchez, who is likely to easily win election to her third term this fall.

IBEW Political Director Rick Diegel encouraged delegates to participate in the COPE giveaways, including a saxophone autographed by former President Bill Clinton or a guitar signed by Bruce Hornsby, John Fogarty and Little Feat, or a chance to attend an event as the personal guest of Bill Clinton.

Third District Vice President Don Siegel said that Sanchez’ pep talk on fund-raising was the perfect introduction to the campaign of IBEW member Charles Dertinger, running for Congress in the 15th District of Pennsylvania. Dertinger is opposing first-term incumbent Charlie Dent, a staunch Republican conservative in the district which has voted Democratic in the last three presidential elections. “We need to give Sister Sanchez an IBEW brother to work with in Washington,” said Siegel.

“Go get ‘em Charlie,” shouted a conference participant, as Dertinger-- a member of New York Local 3-- rose to speak. “We’ve heard a lot of bad news today, but I have some good news for you,” said Dertinger, explaining how, with the support of organized labor, he waged a successful write-in campaign to get on the ballot in November. His story was featured in the September 2006 issue of the IBEW Journal.

Because Dertinger entered the race late after two other Democratic candidates failed to collect enough petitions to get on the primary ballot, he has received minimal financial support from the Democratic Party. “No matter where you live, I will be your congressman,” said Dertinger.

Irasema Garza, national political director of Working America, AFL-CIO’s community-based organizing effort, described the success of the group’s recruitment and asked for support from IBEW locals. Working closely with Battleground 2006, labor’s electoral campaign, Working America has employed 400 canvassers to recruit 30,000 members weekly.

“We’re focusing on citizens who are now being ignored by the Republican and Democratic parties, she said. Polling of the target population shows that 70 percent consider themselves moderate or conservative; 75 percent lack college degrees; one-third are born-again Christians; one-third support the National Rifle Association; 37 percent have some union experience.

Also addressing the political conference were Bill Cunningham, a retired Cincinnati, Ohio, IBEW Local 212 business manager who serves as mayor of Lawrenceburg, Ind.; Larry Clark, former business manager of Louisville, Ky., IBEW Local 369, the Democratic leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives; Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Bob Powers, senior director of legislative programs at the Nuclear Energy Institute.