AFSCME Shines at Democratic Convention
Chicago
Ask delegates to the 1996 Democratic National Convention who Gerald W. McEntee is and they will probably tell you he is the governor of the state of AFSCME.
That's because the AFSCME delegation -- with 217 delegates, alternates and committee members -- ranked just behind the top five states.
AFSCME's delegation was large not only in size but also in activism and influence. AFSCME members made up one-quarter of the total AFL-CIO delegation and were visible in their AFSCME green at the AFL-CIO caucus and the AFL-CIO's America Needs a Raise rally on the first day of the convention.
In addition to getting themselves elected as delegates, AFSCME members also worked behind the scenes preparing for the convention. Wisconsin Council 48 Pres. Martha Love served as co-chair of the Democratic National Committee. Oregon Council 75 Political Director Mary Botkin chaired the Women's Caucus. And a number of AFSCME retirees took the lead in the party's first-ever Senior Delegates' Caucus. Nine AFSCME members--led by Sec.-Treas. William Lucy--played an active role on the Platform Committee.
First-class citizenship. Kim Wardensky, a Platform Committee member from Virginia, was AFSCME's first federal employee to participate in a national party convention. Such participation had been forbidden under the Hatch Act, which severely limited federal employee political involvement, until President Clinton signed Hatch Act Reform into law.
Wardensky remembers, "It was awful, almost as if you were being denied your First Amendment rights."
She continued, "It was really good for our local to see how important it is to be involved politically. The activism has gone up quite a lot."
The Local 3870 (Council 26) president is proud of AFSCME's successes in amending the draft platform, particularly changes concerning public employees. New language recognizes the contributions of public workers and strongly criticizes the Dole/Gingrich shutdown of the federal government. Support was also included for a report, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor under the leadership of Sec. Robert Reich, which recommends collective bargaining rights for all public employees.
"I really think public employees will benefit from these changes," said Wardensky.
Family values. Lois Clement was another Platform Committee member for whom the platform struck a personal chord.
"I think that when they talk about working families and retraining, that means the most to me," said the Washington AFSCME Retiree Chapter 10 member. Her son has just learned that his job of 20 years is to be "downsized." The food processing plant where he worked his way up from the line to management is closing.
"He thought he was kind of settled, but he's not. It's hard for us as a family," said Clement. "Retraining is needed for my son and everyone in that plant. It affects our whole community.
"The Democrats are much more aware of the situation. They just seem more caring about the average person."
This land is our land. Lisa Lanza went from her Florida home to the Pittsburgh Platform Committee meeting with a couple of priorities in mind--the environment and workplace health and safety. She is happy about the way in which both issues were handled.
"I made a number of suggestions, and they were readily accepted," said the president of AFSCME Local 3106 (Council 79). "In the section on the environment they had air and water but had forgotten about land." Lanza works for Florida's agricultural department and is very protective of our earth's resources.
"I am concerned about the environment, particularly in the area of health," said Lanza, who works with pesticides. "I've been hurt, and I've had members who were hurt."
Lanza is proud of the Democrats' consistent support of environmental controls and workplace health and safety. She is afraid of what would happen if the nation were turned over to people who planned to destroy these protections.
Lanza, Clement and Wardensky are all pleased with AFSCME's input into the platform--and with the improvements they made in this working document.
McEntee speaks. On Thursday evening, McEntee addressed the Democratic Convention. His topic was health care, especially Medicare and Medicaid.
"I'm here today to tell you we are going to win on November 5th because-while Newt Gingrich says Medicare should be left to 'wither on the vine' and Bob Dole brags of voting against it to begin with-it's Bill Clinton and the Democrats who understand that Medicare and Medicaid aren't big government at its worst, but America at its best!
"We Democrats have a different vision of this country. A better vision," McEntee continued. "We have a vision of an America where families get all the medical care they need, not only as much as they can afford. We have a vision of an America where the first question you're asked when you go to the hospital is, 'Where does it hurt?' not, 'Where's your insurance?' In short, we have a vision of an America where every family can get ahead and no worker is ever left behind."
By Susan Ellen Holleran
