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The San Antonio AFL-CIO has recommended to the Texas AFL-CIO
for COPE endorsement the following:
U.S. Congress, 20th Congressional District Charles A. Gonzalez
U.S. Congress, 23rd Congressional District Ciro Rodriguez
U.S. Congress, 28th Congressional District Henry Cuellar
United States Senate Richard J. (Rick) Noriega
Texas Senate, District 21 Judith Zaffirini
Texas Senate, District 26 Leticia Van de Putte
Texas House District 35 Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles
Texas House District 80 Tracy O. King
Texas House District 116 Trey Martinez Fischer
Texas House District 117 David McQuade Leibowitz
Texas House District 118 Joe Farias
Texas House District 119 Roland Gutierrez
Texas House District 120 Ruth Jones McClendon
Texas House District 122 Frances A. Carnot
Texas House District 123 Mike Villareal
Texas House District 124 Jose Menendez
Texas House District 125 Joaquin Castro
Chief Justice, 4th Court of Appeals Catherine Stone
The 2008 Texas Democratic Party Platform
The 2008 Texas Democratic Party platform, which is now available at the
state party's web site, includes pro-labor positions across the board and is
in many ways a mirror image of a Republican Party platform that some
are calling the most right-wing ever.
At their convention a couple of weeks ago, Democrats endorsed a 100
percent equitable school finance system with sufficient funding to allow
every school district to offer "an exemplary program," expanded health
care for all and particularly for children, and use of state employees on
social services, rather than privatized operations.
On workplace issues, among the items Democrats backed:
--A "living wage" for all Texans, plus indexing of the minimum wage to
keep it from eroding again.
--Protection for local wage standards in government contracts; --A
workers' compensation system that provides "affordable coverage for
employers, meaningful compensation to injured workers, the right of
workers to choose their own doctor, incentives for employers to retain
injured employees, and due consideration for the rights of workers within
the legal system."
--Organizing, bargaining and dues-collecting rights for all employees,
public and private;
--Repeal of the so-called "right-to-work" law;
--A ban on replacement workers for employees who are on strike;
--Support for the Employee Free Choice Act;
--A State OSHA;
--A State Department of Labor to enforce state labor laws.
The Texas Republican Party Platform
"The embodiment of the Conservative Dream in America is Texas."
So says the State Republican Party Platform, 25 pages of the world as the
GOP in Texas would like to see it.
In this rightest-of-all-worlds -- worlds different from the Democratic Party
platform discussed in this space on Monday -- the Republican Party of
Texas thinks the state can abolish the School Property Tax and fund
public schools with "surplus revenue, existing budget resources,
consumption taxes, and funds released by cutting unnecessary
expenditures." The United Nations would vanish, as would the IRS. The
state would designate "Intelligent Design" as scientific theory, rather than
faith. The platform supports "American English" as the official language
of Texas and the U.S. No chips, lifts, organisations or favours permitted,
even in English.
Some of the views are surprising. In this Utopia, not only would state
power grow at the expense of federal power, but presidential power would
diminish. The document criticizes the Patriot Act for eroding
constitutional rights, urges "the President" to cancel the state of national
emergency, charges Congress to repeal the War Powers Act and calls for
elimination of Executive Orders. It calls for outright abolition of the No
Child Left Behind Act. These positions can be seen, in context, as criticism
of George W. Bush.
It opposes "all corporate welfare that supports continued inefficient
businesses." One's first reaction here is hysterical e-mail laughter --
WHOO HOO HOO! :) :) :)-- because it's hard to stop thinking of
Halliburton, Enron, Blackwater Worldwide and the host of corporate
feeders enjoying Bush administration largesse.
The platform calls for immediate repeal of the McCain-Feingold Act,
which can't be pleasing to the presumptive Republican presidential
nominee as a commentary on his supposed ethics purity. It indirectly slaps
Gov. Rick Perry around, too, calling for a constitutional amendment to
give lawmakers three-day sessions in which to override gubernatorial vetoes
and opposing the Trans-Texas Corridor, Perry's prime highway project. It
indirectly slaps Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst around by calling for changes in
the procedural rules of the Senate that would give the Republican majority
more sway over the Democratic minority.
The platform urges Congress to call for a vote in Puerto Rico to decide
between statehood and independence, but strongly opposes statehood for
Washington, D.C.
On some issues, the GOP actually speaks along the same lines as
organized labor in Texas. Like the Texas AFL-CIO, the Texas GOP
opposes initiative and referendum, supports continuation of Texas's
homestead protection and supports election of state judges. The Texas
GOP favors international trade, but opposes "free trade expansion at the
expense of national security and sovereignty," calling for withdrawal of
agreements that violate that standard. In particular, the platform calls for
withdrawal from the World Trade Organization and cessation of talks on
the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Foreign trucks, the platform
declares, must meet American safety standards. China's Permanent
Normal Trade Relations status should vanish until it meets a list of
human rights requirements. The free trade talk has plenty of wiggle room
and loopholes, but the slant is aimed at least partly against the current
system.
The GOP platform is categorically opposed to labor's position on most
major issues, though:
--It calls affirmative action "simply racism disguised as a social value."
--It supports "Paycheck Deception" legislation "requiring labor unions to
obtain consent of the union member before that member's dues can be
used for political purposes." Such laws are generally inapplicable in
Texas, where virtually all workers who pay union dues do so voluntarily.
Even in states that can require workers to pay agency fees, workers already
have the right to opt out of the portion that goes for political activities.
The proposal, so far a non-started in Texas, is a pure partisan anti-labor
ploy, concocted by hyper-partisan Republican Grover Norquist.
--It supports the so-called "voter ID" law, along with requiring
re-registration every four years.
--It supports "reasonable term limits" for Congress and the Legislature.
The Texas AFL-CIO has traditionally believed that voters should control
the length of elected officials' terms.
--It supports privatization of the Social Security system. One small bone:
the platform would grant teachers who qualify for Social Security full
benefits without penalty; our Brothers and Sisters at Texas AFT can now
wave this in front of the Texas lawmakers who have not yet co-sponsored a
pending bill that would do just that.
--It supports a more powerful State Board of Education, with full authority
over textbook adoption, over the Texas Education Agency and over the
Education Commissioner, whom it would appoint and terminate.
--It supports vouchers that would steer tax dollars from public schools
toward private ones.
--It supports privatization "when beneficial to the taxpayer" (but no
acknowledgment that the biggest privatization effort, in human services,
has been an abject failure.)
--It supports repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, classifying the law under
"Waste and Fraud in Government Contracts." The Davis-Bacon Act
guarantees a prevailing, and usually decent, wage on federal contracts.
--It supports abolishing the personal income tax, estate tax, corporate
income tax, and payroll tax (so much for Social Security and Medicare),
replacing all this with a national sales tax (at a business-killing level of 40
to 50 percent, if it's going to make up for all those other taxes). Oh, and
by the way, the platform opposes any taxes on Internet purchases, which
presumably would let one avoid that huge sales tax simply by shopping out
of state.
--But at the same time, the platform wants a federal tax deduction for all
private and home schooling, plus an unlimited home mortgage deduction.
--It opposes the Employee Free Choice Act.
--It extols the so-called "right to work" law and encourages a national
version of it.
--It opposes making Workers' Compensation coverage mandatory in Texas.
--It supports repeal of the Minimum Wage law.
--Among many anti-immigration proposals, it calls for elimination of
birthright citizenship, meaning that to be born an American, one must be
"born to a
citizen".
_______________________________________________________________
Why does Local 500 encourage its Members to donate to the
COPE (Committee On Political Education) fund? COPE money
is voluntarily donated money and is used for political purposes
and the IBEW Local 500, as well as Organized Labor in general,
is very active in the political process. Below is a reprint of an
article from Texas AFL-CIO Legal Director Rick Levy
explaining what COPE money as well as other money may be
used for in the political process.
Union Campaigning Has Special
Rules: by Rick Levy, Legal Director, Texas AFL-CIO
Under the theory that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure, and given that the election season is now in full swing, it's
time for a capsule review of the do's and don'ts of spending
Union money on political campaigns.
In this context, Unions have 2 kinds of money: dues money, also
known as treasury funds; and voluntary political contributions,
or COPE funds
The basic rule is that only COPE (Committee On Political
Education) money may be spent on political campaigns. This
includes contributions to candidates and any political activity
directed toward the general public like newspaper, TV or radio
advertising, bumper stickers, yard signs and mailings. It is a
violation of state and federal law to spend dues money on these
things.
The restriction on political use of dues money includes not only
transfers of cash from the Union's treasury, but everything of
value that is paid for by the Union, such as office space,
equipment, phones, staff time and other overhead. You cannot
use dues money, for example, to buy tickets to candidate events or
for paid staff time to work for a candidate in activities directed at
the general public.
The big exception: Dues money may be used for political
activities aimed at communicating with Union members and their
families about candidates and issues. Under this exception, you
can sponsor non-partisan voter registration drives directed at
your members and their families. You can also give dues money to
Labor organizations like LCLAA, CBTU, and APRI for get
-out-the-vote activities.
In the same vein, dues money can be used for phone banks aimed
at members and their families urging support for candidates and
encouraging political participation. Leaflets, slate cards and
posters can be printed with dues money so long as they are aimed
at Union members and their families. Note, however, that the
candidates' own materials may not be included in these mailings.
Regular Union publications may also be used to communicate
the same political message. You may also use dues money to help
raise funds for COPE, so long as the cost of raising the money
does not exceed one-third of what is raised.
Now, a short primer on COPE money. The most important thing
to remember is that before the first nickel is raised, you must have
in place a political action committee with a duly appointed
treasurer. The committee must be formed in accordance with state
or federal law, depending on the election involved. All money
raised for COPE must be a voluntary contribution, with full
disclosure as to the nature of the contribution.
The most effective way to raise money is through the dues
checkoff. If your company has a PAC for management in any of
its subsidiaries, or for its stockholders, you are automatically
entitled to dues checkoff without having to negotiate it. Master
lists of companies with such PACs are available through the
Texas AFL-CIO. If the company has no PAC, you can negotiate
for dues checkoff as a contract item.
______________________________________________________
Contact the Union Hall to obtain a
COPE Deduction card and donate
to this very important fund. Next
year begins the mid-term election
cycle and Labors' endorsed
candidates are counting on us to
stand beside them so that they can
stand up for us at all branches of
our government.
_____________________________
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