On Nov. 8, voters will not just decide on electing candidates to federal, state and local offices, but will be choosing our future.
While voters make important decisions during every election, the questions before us at the polls will determine the future of working people.
For example, in the Presidential election, the candidates present starkly different opinions on the appointment of U.S. Supreme Court justices. In addition to filling the seat of Justice Antonin Scalia, who passed away in February, the next president is expected to appoint at least one additional justice as several current justices are aging.
Because the current court has four traditionally conservative justices who have voted against labor interests in the past, and four liberal justices, the ideological balance of the court would be influenced greatly by the appointment of one or more new justices.
Specifically, Scalia was expected to have voted in favor of the right-wing plaintiffs in the Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association4 case. While Scalia’s death resulted in a resolution of the Friedrichs case that is favorable to unions, many similar cases are expected to be brought before the court. A more conservative court could decide the future of collective bargaining in our country.
And as the Supreme Court is the final interpreter of the law in the U.S., the justices’ decisions are the final word.
CSEA’s endorsed presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, supports upholding and strengthening collective bargaining rights. During the final presidential debate, she noted that she would seek to appoint justices who “would be in the great tradition of standing up to the powerful, standing up on behalf of our rights as Americans.”
Her opponent, Donald Trump, favors appointing conservative justices.
Whether we’re electing our next president or any other federal, state or local office, we must also consider how much the candidates have stood with working people and issues that concern us. Remember, political party is not important, but whether the candidates have stood up for our interests.
But the real power lies in all of us. The real test of one’s accountability to the people is at the polls, and we all need to use our right to vote!
We can make a difference and set the course for our future. No matter what you do on Nov. 8, get out and vote!
To see a list of our endorsed candidates, visit cseany.org/2016-election-information.
— Janice Gavin
