From the fall 2008 issue of the IBEW Journal

What Do the Folks Back Home Think?

Before we go shopping for a car or a new TV, it makes sense to speak to someone who owns the same model that we are considering. That same good sense can be applied in deciding who to vote for in November’s presidential election.

The Journal asked some of the folks who know John McCain the best – the men and women back home in Arizona – to tell us about him and his record.

 Arizona Leaders on Sen. John McCain

There was once a time when McCain was beloved in the state because he seemed to understand the concerns of working people, but those days are long gone. We know he’s a war hero and we respect that, but I haven’t seen any real leadership from him on issues important to people like us. While McCain is trying to give a big tax break to the oil corporations, we’ve got 19,000 homes in foreclosure here in Phoenix. I haven’t heard a peep from him about that.

Greg Kelly
Business Representative and Political Coordinator
Phoenix Local 640

He’s got this fabulous lifestyle, with his seven homes and millions of dollars and it reflects in his policies. He’s never done anything to help working Americans.

He’s never bothered to respond to any inquires made to his office from our local. He’s against union apprenticeship programs and has a strong anti-union philosophy.

I’ve looked at his health care plan, which says that people who aren’t covered should go buy their own insurance. If you can’t afford health insurance in the first place, what good is a little tax break going to do for you? He just doesn’t get it.

Don’t fool yourselves; McCain’s agenda is straight Bush.

Joel Bell
Business Manager
Phoenix Local 769

I’ve lived in Arizona my whole life so I know Sen. McCain, and trust me he’s never been a maverick. I respect his military service, as I respect all those who have served, but I don’t respect what he’s doing as a senator. The whole time I’ve been active in the union movement, McCain hasn’t even bothered to respond to any of our inquiries or requests. He’s a no-show senator.

Union members just need to look at who’s going to do the best job to protect what they care about: their homes, their families, their retirement, and their jobs. So don’t just look at what McCain says, look at his record. He doesn’t support the right of an electrician to be an IBEW member; he opposed our campaign to raise the minimum wage; he’s bad on energy deregulation and Social Security.

This election comes down to bread and butter economic issues, and John McCain has been on the wrong side on nearly every issue that we care about.

Rebekah Friend
Arizona AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer,
former Business Representative,
Phoenix Local 387.

In the more than 20 years McCain’s been in office I’ve never seen him do a thing for working people. He talks like a maverick on national TV, but then goes and acts as a yes man for Bush. I can’t remember him ever communicating or reaching out to us once. He shows up at election time looking for votes and then disappears until the next election.

Larry Griffin
Business Manager
Globe, Ariz., Local 518

This election year, it is critical that we inform our union brothers and sisters about John McCain’s real record. He tries to come off as a straight talker, but anyone who looks closely at his record sees that he has voted more than 90 percent of the time with George Bush, the most inept president this country has ever seen. He wants to tax union members’ health care benefits and take educational opportunities away from our veterans.

Bennie Sandoval
Seventh District International Representative