Diggin' at the Grassroots
AFSCME members are politically involved from the ground up. Here, rank-and-file members from Minnesota and Wisconsin prove that all politics is local.
By Susan Ellen Holleran
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
You can't have a political campaign without a candidate. AFSCME members here are especially active in the candidate-selection process, as they do nationwide. In mid-August, members from Council 6 and Council 14 interviewed eight candidates for the state legislature.
This year, Local 2792 member Kevin Tucker participated for the first time. He serves on the Council 6 PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality) Committee.
"We received a short summary showing how the candidates had voted on a number of issues that are important to organized labor," Tucker says. He is personally concerned that Minnesota does not provide health insurance for state retirees. "When you see the kind of money some of our retirees spend on health care and prescription drugs, it is very upsetting," he says. Most of these candidates supported coverage.
Each candidate answered prepared questions dealing with the following issues: privatization; funding for higher education; consolidation of city and county services; efforts to weaken public employee collective bargaining rights; providing needed funding for public agencies; and replenishing any prospective deficit. They were also asked their top three priorities, why they sought AFSCME's endorsement and what role AFSCME could play in their campaign.
Privatization was a key issue for Local 552 Chief Steward Cate Wagner, who co-chairs Council 14's PEOPLE Committee. She says that, when candidates explain that they have to do what's good for their constituents, she retorts: "You can't count on good quality services and a loyal workforce with a privateer!"
She describes the interview process as "my opportunity to get a little better acquainted with the candidates. We screen them and get to know them over time. They feel they can call us, and we can call them."
That personal connection makes an enormous difference when an important issue comes before the legislature.
MILWAUKEE
Annie Wacker has a mission: "to save democracy for future generations." The Local 1053 (Council 48) president is coordinating the AFL-CIO's Labor 2000 project for Milwaukee County. She describes the project as "an effort to bring issue information to union members, increase voter registration levels in union families, and get out the vote on Election Day."
This is not a one-shot deal. Wacker is trying to help local unions develop internal political communication structures "so that, once we elect people and an issue comes up, we have a mechanism to hold them accountable."
She set up an August training program that drew 100 union coordinators who wanted nuts-and-bolts information on their responsibilities.
One participant, Local 426 (Council 48) Sec. Bonnie Slye, brought her own political expertise to the session. "I was a supervisor for Winnebago County when I lived in Oshkosh [Wisconsin]," she says. "When I ran my campaign, it was the most eye-opening thing in my life. It's important to get people registered and get the vote out. And you have to listen to both sides and make your own decisions."
She and Local 426 Chief Steward Paul Wilant immediately completed their first step: planning a calendar of activities leading up to Election Day. "We have a newsletter, and we'll put in information targeted to city employees," says Slye.
Local 1954 (Council 48) Unit Chairperson Mike Balistriere also has his ducks in a row. "We have been to several job sites, distributing fliers for workers," he says. "We have internal distribution structures 80 percent complete." He is also ready for a voter registration drive. "We got all the information from the state fed [AFL-CIO] on union members who are not registered to vote. We're putting together packets for individual local unions so they can get those folks registered."
"I don't think Al Gore can be elected President if he doesn't win Wisconsin," AFL-CIO Political Director Steve Rosenthal told the union coordinators. If their enthusiastic commitment is any measure, Wisconsin will definitely be Gore country.
Recipe for Success
Those who have been involved in politics know that a campaign runs on its stomach: If you don't feed your volunteers, they don't come back. Milwaukee County Labor Council Pres. John Goldstein pointed this out during his presentation on building a political program that will last. He reinforced it by listing the food volunteers have consumed since the 1998 campaign:
- 9,321 donuts
- 6,116 bagels
- 3,337 muffins
- 22,116 cups of coffee
- 2,774 brat(wurst)s
- 6,432 sodas
"Have fun," Goldstein told the union coordinators. "Eat!"
"Smart-knock" Carries the Day
Betty McCollum, the AFSCME-endorsed candidate for Minnesota's 4th Congressional District, spoke with AFSCME members at a gathering held in her honor the Saturday before the state's Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) primary. AFSCME members then went out to "smart-knock" the district. Instead of knocking on every door, the 120 volunteers visited those who had voted in the last two DFL primaries. The strategy paid off; McCollum, a former AFSCME member, won the four-person race with 51 percent of the vote. She has realistic hopes of becoming the first congresswoman from Minnesota since the 1950s.
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.
