Is This the Year?

I have always said that the day of my initiation into the IBEW was one of the proudest of my life. Never has that been truer than now.

Through good times and bad, the IBEW perseveres and makes progress. As President Hill points out on the opposite page, we are cutting through the obstacles and taking the steps necessary to grow our union and adapt to the reality of the 21st century.

One area in which we need to keep fighting is politics. Just the mention of this word is a pretty good way to start an argument. The fundamental changes in the North American economy have caused a realignment of political loyalties, much of which is based on religious or social issues rather than economics. This has often left working people caught between their personal values and the desire for economic fairness.

This didn’t happen by accident. Hillary Clinton was mocked for talking about the “vast right-wing conspiracy” years ago, but there have been refugees from the conservative movement who have testified to the concerted effort put forth by foundations and corporations to use wedge issues to drive political support to social conservatives who also vote right down the line for the wish list of the rich and powerful.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at how the recent tax cuts have put about 80 percent of the wealth in the United States in the hands of the richest one percent of the population. Look at how chief executive officers earn 431 times the average pay of the average worker, which is 10 times more than it was in 1980. Look at how even large, wealthy corporations have frozen or abandoned their traditional pension plans. Look at how high health care costs are driving companies to scale back coverage or just give it up altogether, thus shifting their costs to the public sector (that is, the rest of us). Wal-Mart is public enemy number one with this tactic. Look at how the hemorrhaging of good jobs at the auto makers and other companies goes on with no end in sight, and Wall Street says it is the workers’ fault for negotiating middle class wages and benefits years ago. Look at the never ending parade of trade agreements that don’t really open up markets for North American goods, but let companies exploit the cheapest labor on the planet they can find.

We have got to stay involved in politics to fight for a society that still values work, encourages the creation of good jobs, educates its children, takes care of its seniors and promotes health care for all. It’s great to stand up for traditional values, but some workers support social conservatives and then lose their home, pension and health care.

Is this the year that working people in the U.S. —union and nonunion alike—remember who they are and start voting like it? Is this the year we throw the bums in Congress out and start demanding that Senators and Congressmen be accountable to the people and not the lobbyists and fundraisers who have corrupted the system?

I’m from Idaho, and we pray and shoot guns all the time (not necessarily in that order), but we know what’s right and what’s wrong, and what is going on in the world economy—not just in North America—is wrong. It will take a lot of hard work on all fronts to fix it, but the midterm elections coming up need our attention.

I’m not telling you who to vote for, brothers and sisters, but I sure am telling you that you need to think like a working person when you go in that voting booth later this year. All the gains you have made and all the good things in life you enjoy can be taken away tomorrow. It has already happened to many of our own brothers and sisters and others who thought they had it made. You’ve got to look out for yourself, because the ruling powers in America sure as hell aren’t going to. Is this the year we fight back?

Jon F. Walters

International Secretary-Treasurer