New Hampshire IBEW Says: “Workers Can’t Afford to
Sit This Election Out”

Second District International Representative and New Hampshire native Kevin Cash says he understands the frustrations IBEW members feel about the slow pace of change in Washington, D.C.

Unemployment is still high, health-care costs keep going up and Congress is deadlocked.

But union members can’t afford to sit this election out, says the vice president of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO.

Wall Street, the Chamber of Commerce, ABC– they’re spending millions to get their candidates into office and if they win Congress, believe me they will come after everything we have fought for in the IBEW and labor movement.

Dover Local 490 Business Manager Joseph Casey says that the IBEW is mobilizing its members to support the re-election of Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, who has racked up a strong pro-worker record as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, leading the effort to eliminate the National Security Personnel System, a set of anti-union Bush-era work rules that were highly unpopular among government workers.

Paul O’Connor, president of the Metal Trades Council at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and member of Portsmouth Local 2071, says of Shea-Porter:

She is a torch bearer for working men and women across our nation.

Rep. Paul Hodes, center, a champion of fair trade legislation and American
manufacturing, is supported by the New Hampshire labor movement in his
campaign for the U.S. Senate.

The IBEW is also mobilizing behind Rep. Paul Hodes, who is running to replace retiring Sen. Judd Gregg.

Says Casey:

Paul Hodes is the blue collar candidate all the way. He’s been with us on all the issues, from workers’ rights to promoting good jobs here at home.

Hodes was one of the sponsors of the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, which calls for a review of past trade acts like NAFTA and CAFTA and sets tough new standards to help protect American jobs in the global economy.

Says Hodes:

While it’s important that we provide short term assistance to help workers transition into new employment, we need comprehensive trade reform to make sure that American workers and businesses are competing on a level playing field.

He will face former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte.

Cash says that all Ayotte has to offer is more tax breaks for companies that keep shipping jobs out of New Hampshire.

We shouldn’t be rewarding profitable companies that refuse to put Americans back to work. We need lawmakers that have their priorities straight.

Caption:

Photo used under a creative commons license from Flickr user Barack Obama