THE OBJECTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS

TO ORGANIZE ALL WORKERS IN THE ENTIRE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, INCLUDING ALL THOSE IN PUBLIC UTILITIES AND ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURING INTO LOCAL UNIONS, TO PROMOTE REASONABLE METHODS OF WORK, TO CULTIVATE FEELINGS OF FRIENDSHIP AMONG THOSE OF OUR INDUSTRY, TO SETTLE ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES BY ARBITRATION (IF POSSIBLE), TO ASSIST EACH OTHER IN SICKNESS OR DISTRESS, TO SECURE EMPLOYMENT, TO REDUCE THE HOURS OF DAILY LABOR, TO SECURE ADEQUATE PAY FOR OUR WORK, TO SEEK A HIGHER AND HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING, TO SEEK SECURITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL, AND BY LEGAL AND PROPER MEANS TO ELEVATE THE MORAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF OUR MEMBERS, THEIR FAMILIES AND DEPENDENTS, IN THE INTEREST OF A HIGHER STANDARD OF CITIZENSHIP. The Side Cutter is a publication of I.B.E.W. Local Union #756 - Daytona Beach, Florida.

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Another election cycle is underway and the airways and roadsides will once again be filled with political ads. Many of the names will be the same and many of the same issues will be debated. Something else that will remain the same is the importance of getting out to vote. This has been demonstrated many times in the past and was especially so in the last election when about 500 votes would have changed the outcome.

When the outcome of the last election was final, we anticipated much of what is now going on in Washington and in Tallahassee. We should not be surprised by a slow economy and high unemployment, nor by raids on social and environmental programs as a result of tax cuts. This is an established pattern seen when the GOP is in control. There is a fundamental difference in ideology between the two major political forces in this country. Unfortunately, the forces currently in power look at everything through corporate colored glasses and see only the bottom line. There is and should be a distinct difference between running a corporation and running the government. Sure, we need to operate within a budget, but programs like Social Security, health care, education and other needs of working families need to be addressed, not just he bottom line profits of Corporate America and it’s CEO’s. By the way, the average pay for CEOs of America’s largest corporations was $5962 per hour in 1999. By 2000, according to a Business Week survey of CEOs at 365 of the largest public companies, an average CEO earned 531 times more than the average hourly worker.

Social Security is one program that is under attack and the forces within the current administration would have us believe it is dead, or nearly so, in order to dismantle and privatize the program. How would you like to have your Social Security fund privatized into ENRON? According to the recently released trustee’s report, Social Security is in very good shape. The rest of the government is running big deficits and borrowing heavily from the trust fund, but social security isn’t the source of that problem. The system has been running a surplus in recent years; in 2001, that surplus totaled $165 billion. The fund now holds $1.2 trillion in assets and guess who wants to get their hands on it.

On the state level there is another example of the GOP’s concern for the will of the people and that is the environmental area. In 1998, the voters of Florida overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that authorized issuing bonds to buy conservation land and waters. These programs are Preservation 2000 and its successor Florida Forever. Last year, the GOP – led legislature raided the fund in the amount of $75 million and this year planned to raid the fund for anther $150 million. This all brought on by budget deficits as a result of careless tax cuts to corporations and the wealthiest segment of the population.

We can continue to list and discuss many programs on the state and federal level that are being either raided or eliminated by the forces of the GOP. Education, health care and labor laws are in the center of their bullseye and all of these issues directly affect all working families, especially our most vulnerable citizens, our children and our seniors.

I started out writing about the importance of getting out to vote and the up-coming political season. It’s easy to get sidetracked with details because there is no shortage of reasons to get our membership and all working families fired up about the election, which is just around the corner.

We are starting a very aggressive voter registration and get out to vote campaign. We will keep you informed. MORE TO COME………

Bill Sweeney

Organizer

UNION MADE

ORGANIZING: Call Bill Sweeney 756-2756