Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am sorry I cannot be with you tonight at the last union meeting before the November elections. I am in Cleveland Ohio attending new business manager training which is mandatory. Believe me I would rather be there with you tonight.
I would like to talk to you about the upcoming election and how important it will be to union labor. Our local union has been very fortunate during the economic downturn to have the outage work at John Amos Power House. This work has carried us through the last 3 years while the rest of the country has been suffering due to the economic policies of the Bush administration. We must not forget the collapse of our economy started in the last year of the eight year term of George Bush. I know that Fox news is blaming the Democrats for the bailout money but this was also started in the last year of the Bush administration and was continued under the Obama administration. The difference is how it was administered by the administrations. The Bush administration bailed out Wall Street and the Obama administration used the money to help the American Auto Industry saving thousands of Union jobs. The Obama administration is also distributing money to States to be used for infrastructure improvements. This will also create many jobs for working people around the country including WV and Virginia. I know that if my tax money is going to be used, I would rather it be used to maintain or create jobs to sustain the middle class (us) than be used to make the rich (wall street) richer. One of the first acts of the Obama administration was to remove obstacles to union labor that were put in place by the Bush administration such as the ban on PLA’s on federal projects. I know there is no Presidential election this November but I am just trying to lay out the different views the democrats and republicans have on Union Labor.
Now I would like to talk to you about our WV candidates for Senate and the House. As far as the Senate there is no other choice but Joe Manchin. John Rease is a right to work republican. If right to work would ever pass in WV it would be devastating to Union Labor and would water down our ability to maintain a living wage and benefits. For those of us who live in Nick Rahalls district, he has a proven track record of standing by Union Labor and Spike Maynard has a track record of standing behind Don Blankenship and we all know where he stands when it comes to Union Labor and job safety. We must not let the corporate money machine (thanks to the Bush supreme court decision that allows corporations to spend as much as they want on elections) spin all the issues to cloud our thinking about who is on the side of Labor.
Saturday I went to Washington DC to participate in the One Nation Democratic Rally. Believe me there were people from all walks of life there including thousands Union Brothers and Sisters. Don’t worry it didn’t cost the Union Hall anything, Jason and myself went on a CWA sponsored bus. It was a very exciting rally. The Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument was full of people. The democrats are getting fired up and need our help. I am asking all of you to help by talking to our members, your families, and your friends. We all must get active in the political arena if we want to maintain or improve our standard of living and our rights to remain Union. I am also asking you to volunteer if our registrar (Tom Keatley) asks for your help.
Remember, I am not trying to tell you how to vote, but it is my duty as an elected officer to communicate to all members the views of the candidates when it comes to issues that affect Union Labor. Hope to see you all at the November Union Meeting.
- Letter from Local 466 BM Joe Samples to members on midterm elections
