The Presidency: Why it's a Big Deal
Examining the Candidates | Thanking MSNBC “Hardball” host Chris Matthews (left) for moderating a Presidential Candidates Forum at the AFSCME Leadership Conference this June in Washington, D.C.
Photo Credit: Jay Mallin
Messsage from the President
By Gerald W. McEntee
We have more than a year until the 2008 Presidential election. But you wouldn’t know it judging from all the activity of the Presidential hopefuls. Everything is heating up early and fast. The candidates from each party already have raised a total of $265 million, more than ever before at this point in a Presidential race.
Meanwhile, the major TV networks have had multiple candidate forums. The AFL-CIO just held one in August. AFSCME has held two, and our Presidential Search Committee is moving forward with a comprehensive review of the candidates. As we witness this early full-court press, we have to remember what’s really at stake when we elect the 44th President of the United States. Why is it so important for working families and our members? What’s the big deal?
The Big Deal
If we want to see what the big deal is concerning who becomes the next President, look at the economy. The middle class is being squeezed into oblivion and the wealthiest Americans sit in the lap of luxury waiting for their tax cuts to arrive in the mail. (Read more about the middle class squeeze in this edition)
Look at Iraq. Congress allocated $602 billion for the war, but we never seem to have sufficient armored vehicles and protective gear for our troops. Instead of protecting top American officials with inept contractors like Blackwater, we should invest in the safety of our soldiers.
Look at the reconstituted Supreme Court. The current administration’s two appointments have doomed us to 5 to 4 decisions from the court’s conservative bloc, rolling back civil rights, restricting free speech for students and requiring employees to file a discrimination complaint within 180 days after their pay is set.
That’s not all. It’s essential to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which will make it easier for workers to join unions. We must fight for continuation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for low-income children. And we must win collective bargaining rights for corrections and police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians in all 50 states. The success of these legislative priorities depends on electing a President who will stand up for workers and not veto the measures that safeguard them. Certainly we’re not going to win the really big things like affordable health care for all — or greater preservation of our members’ health care benefits — under this administration.
As union members, we’ve witnessed budget squeezes at every level of government. We’ve stood helplessly by while jobs and services are privatized. And we’ve seen jobs shipped overseas as the North American Free Trade Act replaces American workers with cheap labor in tax-free havens. We fought for the first minimum wage increase in a decade — and we got it! But when we go for a living wage of $9.50 an hour, you’d better believe the Bush veto will be waiting.
The New Deal
In ways both positive and negative, Presidents have affected union workers. During the Great Depression, Pres. Franklin Roosevelt created the New Deal. In 1961, we made a big leap forward when Pres. John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order establishing collective bargaining rights for federal employees. Pres. Ronald Reagan fired 13,000 striking air traffic controllers, breaking their strike and altering the course of federal labor relations.
The Best Deal
While we gear up for the 2008 Presidential election, remember that the fate of our country is at stake. And for American working families to get the best deal — one that includes affordable universal health care for all, pension protection, collective bargaining, a living wage, women’s rights, children’s rights, civil rights and protection and respect for workers’ rights — we must win in 2008.
