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Secretary/Treasurer's
Report
by Richard L.
Benson
Primary
Election results set the stage for November 4th
Now that all the primaries have been conducted,
candidate choices have been made for the national
election in November. The importance of participating in
the voting process has never been greater. The endorsed
candidate of the UFCW for president, Barack Obama, must
be elected so that the agenda of the labor movement can
be addressed by our elected officials including the
President of the United States.
The next president of our country faces serious
challenges both domestically and internationally. The
economic contractions in our economy are being felt by
all workers and their families. Whether it is the
housing problem; exploding gas prices; higher
unemployment or the ever worsening health care crisis,
all workers, including our members, face more and more
pressure to meet their financial responsibilities. The
gap between the wealthiest of this nation and those who
work to survive, continues to widen. The next president
faces the responsibility of restoring a middle class
standard of living in this country that used to exist.
Workers in this country are entitled to a standard of
living that gives them the opportunity of once again
building our communities and providing economic
stability for their families.
On
the international level, the next president must deal
with growing tensions around the world. Our brave men
and women in uniform who have proudly served our country
must be given assistance and support when they return
home. We must restore our credibility around the world
so that we can assist in resolving disputes and
maintaining peace.
You have already received information on the Employee
Free Choice Act (EFCA). We have the commitment of Barack
Obama that he will use his best efforts to make sure
congress enacts this legislation that will enable
workers to freely choose a union to represent them on
the job. No other piece of legislation will do more to
strengthen the middle class than having the president
sign this bill. Employee opportunity for workers to live
a better life.On the local and state level, the June
election produced positive results. Candidates that we
supported for the state assembly and senate won their
elections.
On
the local level, city and county races resulted in many
of our candidates being re-elected to offi ce. These are
important races since these offi cials deal with issues
involving proper land use that includes limitations on
allowing big box supercenters to be built in our
jurisdiction.
We
want to thank all of our members and staff who assisted
in working on these elections.
All of our work and effort, however, will be wasted if
we don’t make sure that we and our families are
registered to vote and make the effort to cast our
ballots on November 4th. The future of working families
relies on us making the right choices today. Let’s put
forth the effort today so that we can make America work
for working families.
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