Which Side Are You On?

To stay home on Election Day may not qualify as a sin under most major religions. But it sure would be an insult to your union brothers and sisters. With everything thats going on, working people need to raise their voices.

Weve been through one of the roughest periods in recent American history. Terrorist attacks, economic downturn, corporate scandals, rising unemploymentyou name it, its happened.

In this atmosphere, you would think the choices might seem clear-cut. But a funny thing is happening. The same people who have foisted so much pain on working families are starting to talk like friends now that November 5 is around the corner. Politicians who protected Enron and WorldCom are suddenly mouthing strong support for IBEW positions on corporate disclosure. Politicians who voted against stronger enforcement powers for the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2000 are new converts to reform, bragging on their votes for this years modest corporate reform bills. If their opponent proposes handcuffs for corporate criminals, theyll come out for leg irons.

And get thisthe White House and Republican congressional strategists have absolved GOP candidates of their obligation to support the privatization of Social Security. Yep, it seems even they realize that the publicafter a year of watching stocks tankwont buy that particular pig in a poke.

But the problem with deathbed conversions is that the patient sometimes gets well. Next year, theyll be right back opposing every item on the IBEW agenda. Like the CEOs, they know "you can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time" and they think thats pretty good odds. They just have to get through this one election.

Its up to us to make sure our members ignore what the candidates say and vote on what they do. Anybody who stays home on Election Day is a friend of Enron.

Governorships provide a particularly big opportunity for working people this year because Republicans are defending 23 seats and long-term incumbents are gone from such key states as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. In the Senate our critical work begins with helping endangered friends like Senators Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Jean Carnahan of Missouri and Tim Johnson of South Dakota. And the House is up for grabs, as it was when we just missed in the past two elections. But House incumbents rarely lose, and this year it will be even tougher because redistricting has made some "safe" seats safer. In this issue, we feature some of the most competitive races where IBEW members can make the crucial difference.

But every race is important because a decisive legislative vote can come from anyone from either party. Next year, that critical vote may come from a politician who never considered our point of view until they saw how many union households show up to vote. And it helps even more if unions produce the hundreds of thousands of phone calls, leaflets, face-to-face exhortations, rallies, web sites, home visits, rides to the polls, e-mails and more to help our friends. We have to keep doing it alland keep getting better at itif were going to keep attention on issues like utility deregulation, national labor law, pensions, OSHA, Davis-Bacon wages, pay equity and project labor agreements.

So talk up the 2002 elections on the job. Butt in. Each of us is our brothers keeper, so ask the nosy questions. Are you registered? How about your family, all registered? Have you seen information on the candidates from the labor movement? Are you planning to vote on November 5?

And the biggest question of all: which side are you on?