Political Meetings Increasing
Even a year before the 2004 elections, Local 848
members are finding an increasing number of opportunities to attend political
meetings. Some of our members have already chosen candidates to support in the
March primaries, even though the UAW and the AFL-CIO both have said they will
not endorse before then.
A lot of UAW members attended Congressman Martin
Frost's western party in Dallas in late October.
A November 5th meeting of "Central and
Southwestern Dallas Democrats" took place in our hall. Top speakers were
State Representative Terri Hodge and the new State Democratic Party Chairman,
Charles Soechting. Soechting said that he had received a lot of help from Texas
AFL-CIO President Emmett Sheppard in getting his chairmanship. He predicted:
"I think George Bush is beatable. If people vote their pocketbook, their
minds and their decency, there is no chance that George Bush will be elected."
On November 5, North Texas union members attended
a big fish-fry at the union hall of the International Brotherhood of
Electricians (IBEW) in North Dallas. Even the union meetings that aren't
necessarily set up to talk politics often turn into discussions of the
candidates and issues. Wage-earners have much to lose, or win, in 2004!
