Brothers and Sisters just four (4) months remain in the craziest year in most of our lives. I hope this article finds you and your family in good spirits and in good health. With early voting for the for the presidential election to start next month, the IBEW International Leadership has forwarded information to help educate IBEW members on how the decision-making power of this country’s president directly affects IBEW members and working families.
The president makes appointments to federal courts including the Supreme Court. In addition, the National Labor Relations Board, the majority is a management-side group which has, by design, a long list of antiworker decisions proving its overt bias against unions. And at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency is doing everything but protect workers.
Executive orders have been used by this administration to bust unions and fire workers in the federal sector. The administration also has the ability to issue orders, with a simple signature of the president, to completely undermine the IBEW’s gold standard construction apprenticeship program. That war is far from over if Trump remains in office.
The President has nullified an Obama order that required federal contractors to report violations of the Davis-Bacon Act aimed at rewarding low-road contractors with taxpayer-funded contracts. The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 is a United States Federal Law that establishes the requirement for paying the local prevailing wages on public works projects for laborers.
By contrast, Joe Biden has stood with unions for his entire career. Before he left the Senate to become vice president in 2007, he had a 100 percent voting record on working family issues, and a lifetime voting rating (over 35 years) of 85 percent. Joe Biden believes the federal government should not only defend workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively but also to encourage collective bargaining.
The President has tremendous power that can hurt or help IBEW members. The great thing about this country is you have the right to vote for the candidate you choose. I am not telling you who to vote for. I am encouraging you to wade through the rhetoric and make an informed decision when you vote.
Until next time may God bless you, your family, IBEW Local 69, and the United States of America.
Fraternally yours,
Bobby W. Reed