Fighting for Your Job

"...We're all in the bull's-eye now."

A report from Gerald W. McEntee, International President

Sisters and Brothers, we need to make an important New Year’s resolution—a commitment, really—to keep 1996 from being a devastating year for many AFSCME members.

If the Gingrich “revolutionaries” who now control Congress can cut taxes for the rich by trimming necessities for everyone else; if they can trash the laws that give working people a fair shake; if they can starve the states and cities . . . in other words, if they get away with their pro-rich, pro-right-wing agenda, many of you will find that your jobs just went south. State and local governments across this land will be forced to cut services and slash payrolls. And that means you.

That’s the real problem we’re facing, and this is the commitment we must make. We must stop Gingrich and his cronies. With your help, that’s exactly what AFSCME plans to do.

Today, public employees and health care workers and the services you provide are threatened with extinction by a Congress and by state legislatures controlled by Gingrich think-alikes. It comes down to this: If AFSCME is to protect your job and your family, we have to roll up our sleeves and go to work starting now. We have to ensure that the leadership of the House of Representatives and leaders in a number of state legislatures believe in decent public services and in what government at its best can do for America.

In our AFSCME budget for 1996 we confront this extraordinary challenge with a major redirection of our energies and talents. By marshalling resources and activities, our new thrust enables us to carry our fundamental issues to the American people, in addition to even stronger emphasis on member education, voter registration and turnout. We must ensure that the public knows what is at stake: education for our kids; Medicare for seniors; Medicaid for all who need it; long-term care for the elderly and disabled; safety in the workplace; a clean environment. And on top of everything else, we must fight those policies that cut people’s paychecks and threaten to put them on the street.

Here’s our Action Plan. In March, we will begin a full-court press to keep our members informed of every move their legislators make that threatens our jobs and hurts our families. We intend to force these politicians to either change their tune or face the music.

We will mount the biggest voter registration drive in this nation’s history. We will cap that by making sure that those who are registered turn out to vote. This campaign—this crusade—will be steered by technology; we plan to match the right wing in this respect, taking sophisticated steps to automate and network all of our phone banks.

Can this plan work? We know it can. Because it already has. We’ve tested it under fire. About six months ago when Gingrich and his crew took aim at Medicare and Medicaid, the political wisdom was that these two programs could never be saved. But AFSCME decided to try. We formed the Coalition to Save America’s Families. We put full-time “truth-tellers” into 15 congressional districts. We spent almost $2 million on TV ads telling people what Gingrich and his allies were up to. Maybe you saw the ads.

When Americans heard the truth, they flooded Congress with complaints, and Gingrich and his crew began to back off. Gingrich was so steamed that he blamed “Big Labor” for foiling his plan to melt down Medicare and Medicaid.

Newt Gingrich is Time magazine’s Man of the Year—some man, some year. But he isn’t finished with Medicare and Medicaid. And he certainly isn’t finished with his attack on all public services. AFSCME is now a prime target, but more important, so are you. We’re all in the bull’s-eye now.

Your job and the jobs of all public employees and health care workers are at risk. Our cities are in crisis. The social safety net is no longer secure. And everywhere we look today, wages are down while profits and productivity are up.

Sisters and Brothers, as this crusade begins, I want you to share your thinking with me, and in the months ahead, I will need, want, and ask for your help.

The challenge is enormous. We are fighting for the heart and soul of public services and your jobs. But I know the members of this union. You’re special. You’re big enough for any challenge that comes your way. Together, we can win this fight, and that’s our New Year’s resolution.