from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union: ILWU in full force at Democratic National Convention Union officers say labor, party supporters united like never before for Kerry-Edwards September 12, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legislative News ILWU officers attended the 2004 Democratic National Convention in support of presidential nominee Senator John F. Kerry and his vice presidential candidate, Senator John Edwards. PHOTO BY: DNC by John Showalter ILWU officers attended the 2004 Democratic National Convention July 26-29 in Boston, Massachusetts in support of Senator John F. Kerry for president. The three union officers were ILWU International Secretary-Treasurer William E. Adams, serving as an official California delegate, ILWU, and International President James Spinosa and Coast Committeeman Joseph Wenzl attending as guests of the AFL-CIO. On the Friday prior to the convention�s start, Spinosa was also invited to Senator Edward Kennedy�s (D-MA) home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, where he rubbed elbows with other national labor leaders. These ILWU officers see the convention�s themes of strength and security reflecting its legislative and public relations efforts since 2002. The issues the union is emphasizing to lawmakers and media are those most central to American working families: the outsourcing of our jobs; the struggle for healthcare benefits; port security; the Employee Free Choice Act (a bill in discussion, undersigned by 190 members of Congress�including candidate Kerry�which makes union organizing and arbitration easier); stopping passage of the Central American Free Trade Act (CAFTA); and repeal of the Patriot Act. Former President Bill Clinton and Senator Kerry gave special attention to the vulnerability of our ports and cargo containers to terrorist attack in their convention speeches. �The ILWU has worked constantly to highlight the union�s role as the nation�s first line of defense against terrorist attacks at our ports,� Spinosa said. �The fact that Kerry emphasized the need for improved port security in his acceptance speech is a product of our efforts to make this issue a national priority. It also shows an awareness of how important port security now is to legislators in Congress.� The ILWU is optimistic that a Kerry administration will be far more receptive to working people�s concerns than the Bush administration has been, according to Spinosa. �Kerry is different, and we need his leadership in these uncertain times,� Spinosa said. �He understands labor and is committed to working with the ILWU. However, we will hold him accountable to his commitment to working families and to match his promises to us one 100 percent.� Spinosa and Wenzl said that the ILWU International Executive Board endorses Kerry for president because it believes that a Kerry-Edwards administration will be more helpful and interested in the plight of working families on issues such as healthcare and job security. �It is my understanding that the head of the AFL-CIO does not get his calls to the White House returned,� Wenzl said. �We see a change with Kerry. We will have an open ear in the Kerry Administration to listen to our concerns. The election of a Kerry-Edwards ticket is the first step towards working Americans taking the country back.� For the ILWU convention attendees, taking the country back seems to be what is bringing working Americans together, in Boston and across the country. �Since September 11, 2001, people are asking �how did we become so divided as a nation?�� Adams said. �We never had this go-it-alone attitude towards the world and towards unions that now exists among some Americans.What I saw at the convention was the Democratic Party now united more than ever. Bush says he�s a uniter, and he has done just that: united people against him.� As an official delegate, Adams attended a series of AFL-CIO voter mobilization workshops in the afternoons prior to each evening�s speakers. At one afternoon event�a screening of the film �Fahrenheit 9/11��he met and spoke with the film�s director, Michael Moore. Moore said that he had grown up in heavily industrialized Flint, Michigan and that his father had been a member of the United Auto Workers. He told Adams that he now sees the painful effects of outsourcing on thousands of working Americans in towns he visits across the country. ILWU Democratic National Convention attendees all feel that labor is going to play a key role in this year�s election. Wenzl said he has never seen labor so united as it was at the convention, while Adams points out thatlabor and minority voters will determine this election, since they, historically, do some of the best voter organizing out there. Throughout the week, Spinosa, Wenzl and Adams spoke with elected officials like Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, among others about labor�s role in the Democratic Party and in this election. �Under the most recent Bush administration, the top one percent have become its focus and beneficiaries, rather than the majority of working American men and women. Such union hallmarks as the right organize, the establishment of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and other important worker protections were all achieved under Democratic administrations. The present leadership of the Republican Party has made clear that the needs and priorities of American working families are not central to its agenda and its policies.� � 2004 International Longshore and Warehouse Union _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/VL0olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Peruuta ryhm�n tilaus l�hett�m�ll� s�hk�postia osoitteeseen: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kominform2/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
