Washington
More than 90 UE rank-and-file members – including regional and national union leaders – took our union’s message to Capitol Hill during the recent 2010 Political Action Conference. The event spanned three days from September 19 to 22, and was attended by representatives of 35 locals from 17 states. UE members urged their members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to dramatically expand their efforts to address the jobs and unemployment crisis. They also warned lawmakers that no attacks on Social Security were necessary -- or would be tolerated. Many of the visits with elected leaders also featured discussions on the need to restore the right to organize as well as about how the recent healthcare bill might be improved and defended from the Republican program to demolish it.
During the union's activities in Washington, UE members met as a group with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Robert Casey (D-PA), and with the District of Columbia's delegate to the House of Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC.) During the conference a total of 78 Congressional offices were visited, where the conversations were lively, and at times heated. Democrats and Republicans both were apprised of the difficult realities faced by the membership in our current economic crisis. Little patience was shown when excuses or justifications for inaction or blockading of all progress were offered in response to the questions of UE members.
The UE members were prepped in a number of briefings by experts on the key issues and then took to their lobby visits armed with the facts to make our case to lawmakers and their staff members. One of the highlights of the conference was the spirited and well-attended demonstration conducted by UE members at the Morgan Stanley bank building just two blocks from the White House. The picketline attracted a number of allied organizations -- including the National Organization of Women (NOW), Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Strengthen Social Security Coalition and Labor for Single Payer. The protest aimed to expose the role of the bank and in particular one of its directors, Erskine Bowles, in leading the push to gut Social Security and Medicare. Delegates from UE locals in the rail equipment manufacturing and railroad service industries took part in a consultative meeting with the Federal Railroad Administration. The conference featured the participation by a delegation of more than a dozen young activist UE members as well.
A full report on the UE 2010 Political Action Conference will be published in the next edition of the UE NEWS. Reports by participants will be given at the coming round of regional meetings, and participants will be making reports to their respective UE local union meetings.