CLEVELAND, November 1 — The following is a message from BLE International President Don M. Hahs:
Tuesday, November 5th is Election Day. BLE members and their families are encouraged to vote and tell the elected officials of this nation how we feel about the job they are doing.
There are many great legislators in this nation who care about working families, however, there are also many who are not so great.
The great legislators of this country care about things like saving Amtrak. The great ones who supported the Railroad Retirement and Survivors’ Improvement Act of 2001 also deserve our support. It is time to thank the people who have supported us by voting for them. We can’t thank them if we don’t vote.
This is a crucial election for the labor movement. As we have seen, the past two years have not been particularly kind to labor.
Several weeks ago, we saw how disastrous anti-labor politicians can be for working families during the port lockout on the west coast. The decision by the Bush Administration to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act could prove to be a nightmare for all workers by taking away the ability to bargain in good faith. This has to stop.
In the past several months, many corporate scandals also have come to light and in most of them, the people who lost the most were the working people of this nation. Many legislators have chosen to allow big corporations to run rampant at the expense of the economic well-being of the hard-working men and women of this country. The economy has gone south while corporate behemoths have batted around the life savings of many Americans like tennis balls. Millions have lost their life savings and millions more are without jobs. This has to stop.
Also on the rise is the cost of health care. In the coming years, these costs are expected to skyrocket. We need to make sure that every person in this country has access to affordable care. We need to insure the 43 million uninsured Americans, approximately 10 million of whom are children. Drug companies and insurance companies have been allowed to raise rates to extreme levels. These increases have caused many people to make a choice between healthcare and the basic necessities of life. This has to stop.
Labor needs to stand up and be counted. Anti-labor politicians need to be booted out of office regardless of party affiliation. We need changes in Washington and in our state legislatures. On Election Day, get out and vote for candidates who support the working families of this nation. I am urging you vote on November 5th.