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Political Action ‘98:
Voter Turnout is the Key

If you are an IBEW member in the United States, circle November 3 on your calendar in bright red. You have a very important appointment that day — at your local polling place.

Voting does not require any special sacrifice. The polls are open early and late to give you adequate time. Chances are your polling place is close by. If you can’t make it, absentee ballots are available with one phone call or even a click on the Internet. If you’re not registered to vote, there is still time to do so in most states.

There are no excuses not to vote, but there are plenty of reasons to vote. Here are just a few: your family, your friends, your community, your co-workers, your country, your future.

If you were among the many who were moved by the hit film, Saving Private Ryan, remember that those troops were fighting to protect democracy and freedom. And there is no more powerful embodiment of those ideals than the right to vote. In the ranks of the IBEW, active and retired, there are many veterans of the military whose service, in war or peace, helped preserve the democratic rights of citizens of the United States and Canada. Not voting undermines the sacrifice made by them and by all who fought for our countries .

Need more convincing? If historical trends and the experts’ predictions hold true, voter turnout will be light. Elections held in years when U.S. citizens are not voting to fill the office of the Presidency normally don’t generate as much interest. Add in such other factors as a good economy (even with the storm clouds on the horizon), and certain level of disgust about the recent political scandals, and it is likely that a majority of eligible Americans will choose not to exercise their precious democratic rights.

Don’t be among them. In a low turnout year, the voices of those who  vote are amplified beyond normal strength. While every vote always counts, votes count more when fewer of them are cast.

Politicians know who voted, and exit polling tells them to what groups voters belong. Can you imagine the impact it has on elected officials if they know that union members vote in big numbers? Even if a labor-supported candidate doesn’t win, you can bet that the elected candidate knows that union members’ votes are a force to be reckoned with in that district. That’s why voting is so essential to our well being as working people, not just for the present but for the future as well.

The real goal is not to elect candidates of a particular party. The long term goal is to establish respect for the views of working people among politicians of all parties. From that flows a greater concern of issues important to us as IBEW members and as citizens concerned about the future. As leaders of this great union, we know that IBEW members are among the most intelligent and politically sophisticated in the labor movement. You do not need to be told how to vote; you need only information from your union and encouragement to vote.

As we saw in California earlier this year with the defeat of "paycheck protection," there is no force in politics that can match the will of the people as expressed through a mobilized labor movement. Given the events on the national political scene this year, it would be easy to fall into an attitude of discouragement or disgust with the process. It would be easy, but it would also be both counterproductive and bad for all of us. As the California experience showed, our political voice is a precious right which we must fight hard to keep. Now is not the time to waste that right.

The political agenda for 1999 and beyond will a crowded one. The U.S. Congress and numerous state legislatures will take up the deregulation of the utility industry. Proposals to address the projected shortfall in the Social Security trust fund -- and perhaps to restructure the system -- will be considered. Safety and health, labor laws, healthcare reform, trade and numerous other matters will all be on the table in 1999 and beyond. Do you want legislators acting on these and other issues who don’t think the views of working people matter? Do want decisions being made by people who feel that they don’t need to be accountable to working families?

If you feel that way, then by all means go hunting or shopping on election day. But if you care about your ability to make a decent living and build for a secure future, then you know where to be on November 3 — the voting booth, making your voice heard.

Elections are not won because a majority of people necessarily agree with a candidate. Elections are won because a majority of those who get out and vote agree with a candidate. Therefore, the candidate whose campaign turns out the largest number of supporters wins. In a year when voter turnout is low, as this is expected to be in the U.S. election on November 3, voter turnout is the deciding factor.

For IBEW members, encouraging your fellow members to exercise their precious right to vote has added value. Maximum participation on the part of IBEW members also helps increase the chances that candidates, supportive of labor’s issues, will win. This happened in California in June, when the large union member turnout against the "paycheck protection" initiative propelled numerous labor-friendly candidates to primary victories.

GOTV is labor intensive. It is also one of the most vital elements of any campaign. Ideally, a good union GOTV effort should have the following:

1. A coordinator to oversee the effort (maybe you).GOTV

2. Phone banks so that volunteers can call union households leading up to and on election day to urge them to vote.

3. Reminders posted or distributed at the work site.

4. Identification of which precincts have a sizable union population and targeting efforts toward the same.

5. Volunteers to drive people to the polls, especially retirees, disabled members, or anyone else who might not otherwise vote.

Your participation in any of these activities is a valuable contribution to a strong grassroots labor movement.  

What Every Member Can Do

All IBEW members can easily get involved in the following ways:

1. Get educated
Read about the issues and the candidates' positions. Cast an informed ballot.

2. Give to COPE
Every voluntary contribution of any size is welcome and helps the cause.

3. Register to Vote

4. Vote on Election Day, November 3, 1998.

The IBEW's goal for 1996 is 100% voter turnout of its U.S. membership.

Make your voice heard in 1998 and beyond.

Endgame for Paycheck Deception

Oregon is the only state where the "paycheck protection" movement is still breathing. Voters in that state will decide on a referendum issue on November 3 which would require written permission from union members before their dues could be used for broadly defined political purposes. Voters, courts and legislatures in 27 states have already rejected what labor call "paycheck deception" measures as being more about denying union members a voice than protecting their paychecks (see "Working People Defend Their Voice!" July/August issue, p. 24).

The latest to see the light were Washington and Florida where deadlines for placing an initiative on the November ballot passed without pro-paycheck deception forces gaining the required number of signatures on their petitions. In Colorado, proponents of the measure withdrew the ballot initiative, citing their fear of unintended consequences on charitable giving (oh, right). The legislatures of Massachusetts and Rhode Island ended their sessions with no action on paycheck deception bills. Similar legislation is technically alive in Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey, but the legislatures in those states are not expected to approve it.