UAW Members Show an Interest in Politics
UAW members made up more than 40 of the more than 200 union members who were delegates to the Democratic Convention in El Paso June 13-15. At the UAW caucus and the AFL-CIO caucus, union leaders stressed the importance of one-on-one contact with union families during election times.
Union activists were well aware of the growing clout that union families have had at the ballot boxes over the last few elections. Texas AFL-CIO President Joe Gunn said that unions registered 60,000 new voters during the last presidential race.
Candidates were aware of labor’s growing power, also. They lined up to speak to the union delegates. Some of the main issues discussed were:
v Education & child care
v Texas’ sudden new budget deficit
v Health insurance and prescription drug prices
v Utility costs
v Corporation scandals
v Protecting social security
v Legal protections to secure the investments of workers in pensions
v Long term care services for seniors
v Assuring the absence of hunger and malnutrition
v Expanding economic opportunities, including "a job that pays a livable wage."
v Housing
v Homelessness
v Consumer protection
v Health care
v Patient's bill of rights
v Protecting Medicare and Medicaid
v Protecting the environment
v More renewable energy sources
Regional Director for National AFLCIO Paul Vasquez explained labor’s approach to candidates and issues when he said, "We're not going to tell members how to vote or whom to vote for. But we're going to explain why we endorsed them." He will join the Texas AFL-CIO in an 18-stop tour of labor centers.
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