Page 5 - Work Force September 2020

FAn inside look at CSEA’s involvement in politics
rom time to time, we hear from relationships we are able to build and doing it? statewide political action committees. union members who think that we so much more. It’s really quite simple — we have We ask candidates to fill out surveys
as a labor union have no business being involved in politics. Often,
it’s those who feel that our political endorsements go against their personal political leanings or beliefs.
We’d like to shed some light on why we absolutely MUST be involved in the political process, and how we make the difficult decisions on who we support.
Contrary to what some people believe, we don’t just rubber stamp our endorsements to support any particular political party. We also understand that as a union made up of a diverse range of people with differing political views, we’re never going to please everyone with our decisions.
So why get involved in politics?
As a union of mostly public service workers, whose bosses are ultimately elected officials, we need to play an active role in our political system, supporting elected officials who
will best listen to our issues and concerns before making important decisions that directly impact our work and home lives. It matters for the contracts we negotiate,
the conditions in our workplaces, the type of labor-management
EOn the issues: fiscal relief for states and local governments
economic toll on governments at
all levels, with sales tax collections and all other revenues down; governments left struggling with the costs of protecting their citizens from the virus and dealing with shutdowns of businesses and record unemployment.
Many throughout the country, including our union, have called on Congress and the White House to provide additional federal stimulus relief to states and local governments, in order to avoid drastic cuts to essential public services at a time when they are needed more than ever before.
Without that relief, many layoffs and furloughs are expected, as well as
no additional ways to raise revenues. CSEA has already been notified of some municipalities planning for cuts if no relief is delivered from Washington.
This is not a red state or blue state issue. It is impacting all our governments throughout the country who could never have planned for the severe economic impact this pandemic has caused. This brings the issue of fiscal relief for our governments to the forefront for many union members, rightfully concerned that their jobs could be cut and the services they provide decimated.
Unfortunately, there has been little relief on this issue from Washington.
for months on the Heroes Act, passed by the House of Representatives, which included the needed aid to
our states and localities. Trump also offered no rebuke as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that states should declare bankruptcy rather than the government providing relief.
When the Senate finally met to negotiate a stimulus package and those negotiations hit a stalemate, President Trump provided some stimulus funding by executive order, but did not include any fiscal relief for our governments to preserve public services. Trump has publicly indicated recently that he would
be supportive of some government
There’s an often-repeated phrase that’s appropriate here: ‘if you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re likely to end up on the menu.’ That’s why we can’t afford NOT to be involved in the political process. This is especially important when there
are corporate CEOs and organized 1 percenters pouring nearly unlimited money into funding anti-worker candidates who seek to outsource our jobs or diminish our benefits,
so they can line their pockets even more.
We have to fight back with our own political muscle. We may never be able to outspend the anti-worker forces, but we can do our best to tap into our people power to get worker- friendly candidates elected.
We don’t just endorse Democrats. In fact, CSEA has a proud history
of challenging that premise by endorsing many Republicans, especially at the local and statewide levels. We endorse by candidate, not party.
Making tough choices
We know that we’re not going
to please everyone by making endorsements of one candidate over another, so why do we bother
an obligation to oppose the anti- worker candidates for your own protection. Just as importantly, we want to build relationships with politicians who will support union members, in the good times and the bad.
When making decisions about who to support we look at many factors: Who has a track record of supporting our issues in the past? Who has listened to our concerns and been willing to work with us? Who stands up for public services instead of privatization? Who promises to protect our pensions and guarantee us retirement security? Who isn’t looking to have workers shoulder higher health care burdens? Who aligns themselves with anti-worker interests? These are questions we believe are important to all union members, no matter what party they belong to.
Member input throughout the process
When we make our endorsement,
we do so with input from members at all levels. We encourage members to be involved in their local political action coalitions. We encourage activists to serve on our region and
explaining their positions on union issues. We occasionally survey
or poll union members directly.
No matter who we endorse, it’s a member-driven process that always takes into consideration the thoughts of union members who choose to get involved.
That said, our union endorsement is just a recommendation. We’re
not telling you how to vote; rather, we’re letting you know that we feel a union-endorsed candidate has earned our support and seal of approval. That doesn’t mean that we expect them to vote with us on every issue. What we do expect is that they won’t automatically oppose our issues,
and they’ll give us a fair opportunity to argue our side of the issues, and consider our concerns before making the important decisions that affect our work and home lives.
We hope this article has helped you better understand why it’s important to be involved politically and gives you some insight into how our endorsement process works.
We urge anyone wishing to get more involved in union political action to reach out to their region political action coordinator for more information.
relief, but so far no measures have been taken to provide it.
“Our current President and the U.S. Senate has allowed the issue of fiscal relief for our governments to be played out like a political game,” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. “For union members who provide essential public services and depend on their jobs for their livelihoods, this is no game, and partisan politics should have no place in the decision- making. Our governments should have had real fiscal relief by now, and we need to hold the current administration and Senate leadership accountable for their lack of action, which will have real-world painful consequences.”
— Mark M. Kotzin
veryone knows that the COVID-19 cuts that will negatively impact public President Donald Trump stood by as pandemic has taken a severe services, as the governments have the Republican-controlled Senate sat
September 2020
The Work Force 5