ILWU International Secretary-Treasurer Ed Ferris
The need for increased ILWU Political Action
It is no secret that working families have much at stake in the 2020 U.S. Federal elections. On November 3rd, our nation will elect a President, 35 Senators, and 435 members of the House Representatives. If there was ever a time for organized labor and the working class in this country to unite in purpose to change the balance of power in Washington, D.C., that time is now.
The GOP’s war on the working class
It is clear to me that the GOP’s continued war on labor and working families has only accelerated since President Trump was elected in 2016.
We have watched the promotion of national right to work legislation, the rollback of favorable labor NLRB precedent, a massive tax cut for corporations and the super-rich, anti-labor conservative cabinet appointments, repeal of longstanding environmental protections, flawed trade policies, flawed national security policies, climate change denial, and rigid opposition to health care for all.
The GOP did not gain their dominant position in the federal government by accident. Starting in the 1990’s they concentrated their efforts at the state level, focusing on governorships and state legislatures. They have utilized right-wing dark-money donors like the Koch brothers to buy elections at every level of government. They especially targeted elections at the end of each decade when the winners of those elections draw lines for congressional and state legislative districts for the following decade. According to a Politico article from 2/10/18 entitled “The Democrat’s’ secret weapon to take back statehouses,” the results of this strategy of partisan gerrymandering has been that almost 1,000 state legislative seats have been lost by the Democratic party since 2008.
This fact illustrates the dramatic need for stronger political action by organized labor and the working class. We must not continue to allow the 1% and their GOP puppets to prosper by exploiting the majority of Americans. We may not have the financial resources of the Koch brothers, but we have something better– we are the majority. If we increase voter registration among the working class and aggressively engage in this year’s election, we can win the political changes that will let us collectively prosper and better our society.
Federal Judge appointments
Another major GOP strategy that must be stopped is the rightwing politicization of the appointment of federal judges. According to a Washington Post article dated 12/21/19:
After three years in office, President Trump has remade the federal judiciary, ensuring a conservative tilt for decades and cementing his legacy no matter the outcome of November’s election.
Trump nominees make up 1 in 4 U.S. circuit court judges. Two of his picks sit on the Supreme Court. And this past week, as the House voted to impeach the president, the Republican-led Senate confirmed an additional 13 district court judges. In total, Trump has installed 187 judges to the federal bench.
Trumps appointments have flipped three circuit courts to majority GOP-appointed judges, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York. The President has also selected younger conservatives for these lifetime appointments, ensuring his impact is felt for many years.
The executor of this aggressive push is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is singularly focused on reshaping the federal judiciary, twice ramming through Senate rule changes to speed up confirmations over Democrat’s objections.
McConnell’s mantra is, ‘leave no vacancy behind,’ and with a 53-47 Senate majority, he has been able to fill openings at breakneck speed.
The future impact that these conservative federal judiciary appointments will have on our nation remains unclear, but in my opinion they are antithetical to significant future improvements for American workers. They have only occurred to protect the interests of the 1 percent, huge corporations, and the military industrial complex. As such, we must see it for what it is and collectively engage and dedicate significant time, energy, and resources to regain control of the United States Senate.
Statement of Policy on Political Action
The ILWU Political Action Fund (PAF) was established by delegates to the ILWU’S 24th Biennial International Convention in 1981. It was created for voluntary contributions by the membership to “be used for political education, voter registration, legislative activities, contributions to candidates for public office, and other such purposes consistent with the goals of the International.”
The ILWU’s Political Action Fund exists to support elected officials who support policies and legislation that advance the interests of the ILWU and the working class.
The International Executive Board unanimously adopted a Statement of Policy on Political Action at the December 11, 2019 IEB meeting. I have included it below for your review and consideration:
Political Action is the organized effort of working people to make our voices heard by elected officials. This is the pathway for winning government policies and programs which benefit organized labor and all working Americans. The ILWU Political Action Fund (PAF) exists to support elected officials who champion legislation and policies that advance the political aims of the working class and ILWU.
The ILWU engages in independent political action as part of our union’s aggressive struggle to win better conditions for members. ILWU political action educates members about political issues and mobilizes them to take action. We promote political solutions for the problems that union members face and utilize the political arena to defend ourselves against attacks launched by anti-labor politicians.
The ILWU’s victories at the bargaining table can be easily undermined by hostile actions from local, state and federal governments. In addition, the ILWU and working people often face issues outside of bargaining. Labor laws, tax laws, laws promoting or impeding automation, and changes to our nation’s health care and social security systems affect the lives of ILWU members. This is why it is absolutely essential that for the ILWU to engage in the political process so our voices are heard.
As we engage our employers in the workplace, they often attack us on a second front, using their massive financial resources to buy scores of lobbyists and give millions in political contributions to anti-labor politicians.
Employers seek laws that boost their profits, usually at our expense. We will never match corporations in dollar-for-dollar political spending. However, we can give our allies the support they need to win against waves of dark money. This is why we must raise as much money as we can to compete with employers in this fight at the ballot box, in every state capitol, and in Washington, DC. It is the only way we can protect the gains made at the bargaining table. We must be involved in the political process.
We are currently raising PAF money through the ILWU website, the Dispatcher, and via solicitation letters to members of the ILWU, and ILWU Credit Unions. These methods have worked to bring member contributions into the PAF, but now we must do more. The ILWU Executive Board believes a new program of member-to-member solicitations is necessary to raise more money for political action.
PAF Chair
The ILWU Executive Board encourages each local to appoint a PAF Chair who is responsible for soliciting voluntary PAF contributions from local union members.
The PAF Chair is authorized to receive updates from the ILWU Washington office on issues of importance to ILWU members, and help educate and mobilize ILWU members to participate in the ILWU political process. They are authorized to ask for voluntary contributions in one-on-one meetings with members of the ILWU.
The PAF Chair can appoint a Committee of no less than 3 members to assist with the responsibilities. In addition to raising funds for the PAF and distributing educational materials to members, the Chair is encouraged to develop a program to register members to vote and to recruit volunteers for Congressional, state and local races.
The PAF Chair is also responsible for:
- Developing a plan for collecting member e-mail addresses to assist the International in soliciting PAF funds.
- Sending solicitation communications inexpensively and efficiently via e-mail.
For example, ILWU leadership could work with the Legislative and Communications Department to develop content and send mass/bulk e-mail campaigns to solicit donations from members. Very importantly, the email list could be used to ask members and their families to write to Congress for critical upcoming votes and to help working families.
Social Media
The International Executive Board authorizes the officers to explore the creation of an ILWU Political Action page on social media. The platform would be limited to ILWU members, families and pensioners to discuss political and legislative issues facing the union and all working people. The Social media page would also be used by the International to solicit contributions to the ILWU Political Action Fund.
It is absolutely imperative that we raise our Union’s profile when it comes to Political Action. The stakes are just too high in 2020. Your support of the ILWU Political Action Fund is an investment in the protection of the ILWU and in your future. I strongly encourage every member of this Union – active and retired – to make voluntary contributions to the ILWU Political Action Fund in amounts that you can afford.
As Harry Bridges once said, “There is a weapon we can fight with. That is the weapon of political action.” Let’s collectively listen to these wise words and put them into practice.