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Stewards and Politics

Stewards are responsible for communicating with their co-workers on a lot more than the changes in a newly negotiated union contract or where to go for more information about the health plan. Stewards are the union's agent on a broad range of issues, activities and programs, and few are more important than one that can be especially challenging; electoral politics.

The fact is, unionists discovered early on that whatever could be won at the negotiating table could be lost at the hands of politicians. Thanks to the power of money, employers have always had more influence on lawmakers than have workers, so it's a never-ending battle to protect labor's gains and to block new anti-worker initiatives.

This is a reality that strikes home especially clearly this year, when voters in the U.S. will be electing a new president, a new House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate and untold numbers of governors and other legislators and executives. In Canada, a national election is likely to be called by fall.

Inform, Don't Dictate

No union can -- or should -- order its members to vote for specific candidates, but just about every union does try to inform its members about the important issues and which of the candidates it believes will best serve their interests if elected. It's often part of a steward's duty to pass along that information, just as he or she passes along information about contract changes, health and safety issues and other matters more immediately affecting the workforce.

So, with elections coming up, how do you talk with your members about candidates, endorsements and the need to vote? How do you deal with workers who believe the union should stay out of politics, or who believe it's a "waste of time" to vote, or who just couldn't care less about the whole thing?

Here are some points to consider,

Your primary role should be to make sure your people know what the issues are -- not who's the good guy and who's the bad guy, but what important things will be decided on election day.

Candidates for major offices often have a record of their positions on such things as affordable health care, workplace safety and health, the minimum wage, retirement security and whether labor laws should be strengthened. When workers look at the candidate' records they'll see who's on their side.

Let your members know how much money big business spends in the political arena -- corporations and their representatives poured $709 million into the 2002 U.S. elections, 12 times more than unions. If you think employers spent that kind of money to elect people who would promote your interests, you probably also believe in the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny.

Working people can't possibly match that kind of money, so we've got to beat their tactics by countering it with something more powerful: our presence at the voting booth.

Workers who say they won't vote because they see no difference between the candidates or the parties should be reminded about some real differences that exist. Ask the workers what his or her biggest concerns are. Jobs? Education? Trade? Health care? Transportation? The environment? The major political parties have some strongly differing views on those issues. If you don't have a comparison, your union will. Get it and share it with your co-workers.
To members who respond to any political information at all with the declaration that unions should "stay out of politics," they can be reminded that the best contract and the best worker protection in the country can be cut to pieces b politicians enacting bad laws. You may have great health care coverage, for example, but if enough politicians fall into the campaign-donations pocket of enough health care industry lobbyists, you'll find your out-of-pocket costs and deductibles skyrocketing and your benefits plunging.
Some members can't seem to see past their wallets. These folks should be reminded that taxes at all levels are determined by politicians, and politicians decide whether these taxes are fair to working people or are tilted to benefit business and the wealthy. Every politician in the world can talk about cutting taxes, but the question is whose taxes. A worker who thinks a one-dollar cut is a great thing -- but doesn't tune in to the fact that his employer is getting a thousand dollar cut means reduced government services for everything from highways to clean air and water -- should take a closer look at what's going on.
It's a mistake to hand out a list of union-endorsed candidates and expect your co-workers to vote the way the union wants. A research survey by Peter A. Hart and Associates a few years back found that while 90 percent of all union members say they want their union to inform and involve them in political and legislative activities, they don't want to be told how to vote. The same poll, however, showed the importance of face-to-face contact with workers; 76 percent of the time, workers who received a political leaflet from their union at the worksite ended up supporting the union's position at the ballot box.

--David Prosten. The writer is editor of Steward Update. A version of this article appeared in Vol. 11, No. 4

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