In May of 2021, Christopher Erikson, the Chairman of the IBEW International Executive Committee, proclaimed to the IBEW International Convention to “Wake Up” “Vote your Paycheck”. Words ushered to the delegation on the heels of a major victory for organized labor. In the wake of Joe Biden’s election as President, partly credited to members of the IBEW in the United States, it has become clear that the right candidate for the Rank-and-File members of the American unionized workforce is paramount to a sustainable livelihood. Since Biden’s election, the Kansas City area has been benefiting from his policies. Construction and manufacturing jobs have increased across the country, prominently displayed right here in the Midwest through major projects like Meta Data Center and the Panasonic Battery Plant.
As the nation falls deeper into the election season, we are bombarded from all sides about which candidate we should vote for. At home, friends and family have their own opinions of which side is the best. On social media, influencers and candidates fill our feeds with tales of their opponent’s records and misgivings. At work it appears as though we have become divided on what to decide this November. The answer should be simple, Vote your Paycheck. Now in these decisive times, we must research, analyze, and fact check to find the right candidate who has the best interest of organized labor and solve this puzzle of misinformation and rhetoric.
In the past it has been proven that simply voting for a single party would ensure that unions would get a fair break. In this current climate that may not always be the case. A New York Times exit poll for the 2020 election recorded an estimated 20% of its voters belonged to a union and of those individuals an estimated 40% voted for Donald Trump as opposed to 56% for Joe Biden. As more moderate and extreme candidates are showing their true colors it is important for the voter to research the record of each candidate to see how they stand on Organized Labor, workers rights, and fair pay to name a few key points. In some instances, it is not the left leaning candidate who has the best record on voting for workers rights. Donald Trump tells audiences at his rally he is pro labor, however the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded that between the years of 2017-2020 the state of Michigan lost an estimated 19,000 automotive manufacturing jobs. These jobs were promised by Trump to be safe during his Presidency in 2017. Joe Biden’s administration promised to repair the mistakes made by his predecessor. For the most part, he has followed through with executive orders helping federal employees achieve pay equity, calling for project labor agreements on government jobs, expanding eligibility for overtime pay, and spearheading the Protecting the Rights to Organize Act or PRO Act. These two President’s contrasting records speak for themselves, and it is our responsibility to learn all we can about our next potential leader.
Resources are at our fingertips these days with search engines like Google, making it easier to look up information on how local, state, and federal lawmakers support your union. However, these searches must be taken with caution and many times, further research is needed to verify the authenticity of their truth. Your union itself can also be an effective way to find good labor friendly candidates. Many local unions have specific staff that do the tough work of vetting candidates and issues on all levels of the political spectrum. IBEW Local 124 has Wade Kiefer as Political Director, who’s job is to research and investigate on behalf of the membership to find the candidates and issues that have workers interest at heart. Wade, a member of Local 124, is no stranger to the world of politics having ran for his community school board and state representative, respectively. Other unions often form Political Action Committees (PAC) to learn which candidate the local union should back. The PAC is typically open to any union member to join and become a part of the process of finding the right person or issue to back. Union meetings are a good place to receive the information given by the PAC. Typically, union meeting reports are given from union representatives such as Wade on what the Local leadership has decided to endorse based on records and public stance of the candidates. Labor friendly publications from local and national organizations can carry articles and endorsements with strong evidence on why labor has decided to back specific issues or candidates. Often these organizations create a slate of candidates that are known to be labor friendly. It is up to the voter to decide which slate is right for their interest.
This year the main focus of the elections is the highest office, the battle for President of the United States between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Although it is important to vote for a President, it is equally important to look at the candidates and legislation on the local and state levels as well. Having a President that keeps your interest at heart is important, however many of the decisions that bring work to your city happen in the City Council, State Legislation and even something as small as a community school board. Typically races such as United States Senate and House, State Governor, State Assembly and school board elections happen in between Presidential elections. Issues that affect how and when work comes to your community are often brought to the polls throughout the year. Zoning, taxation, and city allocations are some of those votes that appear on ballots and affect job growth in the area. The Stadium tax vote for instance was a prime example of an election initiative that affects construction in the heart of the Kansas City downtown area. Without a positive outcome of such a vote the work that local signatory contractors need to employ good union labor can not begin. It is vital to learn how these votes affect organized labor. Check out a political candidate’s public profiles on social media and their campaign websites, attend town hall meetings, public forums on ballot initiatives, and watch debates, either in person or through the media, if possible. The greatest tool to learn if a candidate or issue is right for you is to educate yourself on the platform.
In this upcoming election many issues have come to the forefront of people’s minds. Some of the major topics such as ‘a woman’s right to choose,’ ‘gun control,’ and ‘taxes for the wealthy’ are often used to entice voters of certain demographics. We are the hard-working people of the Labor Movement and when choosing a candidate, we must look at who will bring us stability for, not only ourselves, but for our family as well. When you go to the polls this November, think about how voting affects your livelihood, how will it help keep your family fed, clothed, and in a comfortable home. It is easy to hold fast to our traditional beliefs and overlook what truly matters, the right person looking out for working class Americans.
