AFSCME's Endorsement
By Gerald W. McEntee
In December, AFSCME’s International Executive Board officially endorsed Al Gore in his bid to become President of the United States, following the AFL-CIO’s endorsement.
I firmly believe that these endorsements, and their timing early in the election cycle, will make all the difference for American workers and their families in November of 2000.
In staking an early position in the presidential race, we have taken a stand against the cynicism that has all but overtaken American politics. By endorsing Al Gore and by committing a massive grassroots mobilization toward his election, we are sending a message that ordinary people still have the strongest say in who will become our next president. In the final analysis, active, committed people will make the difference over dollars.
I want to share the thinking behind this endorsement, because the process was an extremely deliberate and thoughtful one, based on issues critical to working families.
In 1999, we polled our membership—twice, in fact—for their views on issues and candidates. At our regional political conferences in the spring — in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas — Secretary-Treasurer Lucy and I held meetings in town hall-like settings to foster an open dialogue with members about the importance of the upcoming elections. Based on what we learned in our polls and in those meetings, there is a strong consensus among our members for Gore.
The AFL-CIO invited all announced candidates, both Democrat and Republican, to make an appearance before its political committee. No Republican candidates accepted the invitation. While representatives of both the Gore and Bradley campaigns made presentations before the political committee, it was Al Gore who received the committee’s nod and the convention delegates’ endorsement in October.
This should come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with Al Gore’s lifetime of service to the American people. He has always stood up for working families.
Time after time, Al Gore has been with us on the issues that count, such as workplace health and safety, Medicare and Social Security. He stood with us and used the full weight of his position to help us defeat paycheck deception measures that would have silenced the political voice of workers.
When we looked for leadership in our campaign to halt Gov. George W. Bush’s attempt to privatize eligibility determination of the food stamp program in Texas, it was Al Gore who we turned to. Our joint efforts proved successful in that battle, as I am confident they will in the future.
Some in the labor movement had pointed out that Bradley appeared to be gaining in the polls on Gore, and had used that as evidence that we should delay our decision.
Because the presidential primaries are now earlier in the election cycle, any delay on our part could risk losing it all in November. The Iowa Caucuses are in January and we already have people in the field to work for Gore there. By helping secure decisive victories for Gore in the early primaries, we can help his campaign save resources for the general election when he will need everything he has against the other side’s fundraising advantage.
Where I am from, you don’t walk out on a friend who has always been there for you just at the point that he needs you. Al Gore has stood by us, and we will stand by him.
As for Bradley, although he has a basically good record on labor issues, it is not as strong as Gore’s, who voted with unions 88 percent of the time when he was in the Senate. He voted with us as he represented the right-to-work state of Tennessee, where it is neither easy nor popular to be pro-union.
And just as Al Gore needs us to get elected, we need him. We need Gore to ensure that the issues working families care about — good jobs, strong communities, education and affordable health care — are at the heart of the debate, and not sidelined by issues that appeal to Big Money and Big Business.
Make no mistake: Business interests will have a huge say in the upcoming election. Corporate interests outspent unions by more than 10-to-1 in the 1998 elections, and the gap will be even wider in 2000. Some naysayers even claim that the outcome of the presidential election has already been determined, based on corporate contributions.
But those pundits do not know the 14 million men and women in American unions, and they most especially do not know the 1.3 million members of AFSCME.
We know Al Gore, we know where he stands. He has always championed our issues. Now it is time to champion him.
This portion of the website is posted in full compliance with FEC regulations (11C.F.R. Sect.11 4.5(i)). It is paid for by the AFSCME PEOPLE Committee, with voluntary contributions from union members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
