CLEVELAND, November 2 — The following is a statement from BLET National President Don M. Hahs.
When you go to the polls in five days, you will have the opportunity to decide the fate of this country and this country’s children. The November 7 elections are extremely important to the future of all Americans – whether they realize it or not. The races are expected to be among the most closely contested in recent memory. In the United States Senate, 33 of the 100 seats are up for grabs. The U.S. House of Representatives has many close races and there are many important state and local elections, including those for 36 state governors.
Who you vote for is a personal choice, but when weighing your choices you must find out where the candidate stands on healthcare, retirement security, the right to unionize and other important issues. The following list of questions was compiled by the Change to Win Coalition:
Does this candidate have a plan to address the health care crisis in America?
Is this candidate proposing ways to ensure retirement security or looking to privatize Social Security?
Does this candidate support workers’ rights by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act and other pro-worker legislation?
Does this candidate support raising the minimum wage, or giving raises to Congress?
Does this candidate support policies that require fair trade or treaties like NAFTA and CAFTA that send jobs overseas?
Does this candidate stand with working people or with CEOs?
By ensuring that the candidates for whom you vote support workers, working Americans can make a real difference in the fate of this country. Too often, we believe that our votes have no impact, but they do – if we vote for candidates who are looking out for our best interests.
In August, Change to Win surveyed working men and women and heard loud and clear that working families are worried about their future and the future of their kids.
More than eight in 10 surveyed said that no matter what you hear about the economy, working families are falling behind. Almost 80 percent of workers believe that their kids will be no better off than they are, and half think that the next generation will be worse off.
Obviously, the failed policies of those currently in power demonstrate a strong need for change, and working men and women are acutely aware of this pressing need. We need to make sure our interests are represented in Congress, in the State Houses and in the Governors’ Mansions. We need to ensure that workers rights come before corporate greed. And we can do this by voting for labor-friendly candidates.
A list of BLET-endorsed candidates is available in the members-only area of the BLET website at: https://www.ble-t.org/members/2006endorsements.asp. BLET-endorsed candidates, both Democrat and Republican, have shown that they support workers and have been friendly towards the BLET and other labor organizations. The BLET State Legislative Board Chairmen have submitted these endorsements because the men and women on this list support us and our goals. I ask that you take this list with you when you vote on November 7.
Please vote on November 7 – our future and that of our children is at stake!