Mitt Romney is urging employers to tell their workers how to vote. Labor journalist Mike Elk has reported on a June 6 conference call, which was posted on the website of the National Federation of Independent Business, in which Romney told his listeners that President Obama has been bad for business, and then added:
Working people have more at stake in this year's election than in any election in decades. One of the two major parties has become more hostile to workers' rights, unions, and the social protections for which labor has fought, than any of us have seen before. The future of unions in the United States, and the survival of many of the things that we have fought for, is on the line on November 6.
Mitt Romney was born into wealth and privilege. His father, George Romney, was a corporate executive in the auto industry who in 1954 became president and CEO of American Motors (manufacturer of the Rambler and other brands), and in 1963 was elected governor of Michigan. Mitt attended the elite private Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, MI, Stamford University and Brigham Young University, and went on to amass a personal fortune of around $250 million, first as a business consultant and then in the private equity business, mainly as co-founder and CEO of Bain Capital.
UE's Political Action Director Chris Townsend has put together a video message, in the wake of the vice presidential debate. Chris briefly assesses the national political situation and advises, "We've got work to do!" Townsend urges union members to read and make full use of the latest issue of the UE News, now in the mail and "packed with information" about what Big Business has in store for us if they win the election, as well as several new UE leaflets summarizing the issues in this year's election. Watch for more video commentaries in the weeks ahead.
|
|
|
Early voting is voting before Election Day, generally in person at election offices and in some states, other public locations. It differs from absentee balloting, which is almost always a mail-in ballot. Early voting is a helpful tool for increasing voter participation, especially for busy working people.
You can't vote if you are not registered to vote, and in almost every state you must register well ahead of the election. This year Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, and some states will still hold primary elections before then, so you need to know if that affects the timing of your registration.
UE locals bargaining for their members' healthcare will get little help from the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress and signed by the president in 2010, and upheld by the Supreme Court on June 28, 2012. While millions of uninsured gain access to coverage, and for the first time the U.S. government will prohibit health insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, there are harmful aspects to the new law. Much as NAFTA legitimized cross-border corporate exploitation of workers, ACA confirms the domination of healthcare in the U.S.
