EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The Time To Stand For Working People Is Now!
As I write this, I cannot help but think that maybe, just maybe, more and more working people are waking up to the fact that if we don’t do something now to protect ourselves, all will be lost.
I see firsthand in my area of Michigan how those with millions, even billions of dollars, such as the DeVos and Haworth families, to name a couple, are taking advantage of working people every day. There are many more of us than them and we’re letting them get away with it!
They are smart enough to have figured out that as long as they give working people just enough to think they have something to lose, they will not rebel. I don’t know how else to explain the fact that such a small number of people control the rest of us.
Rule by fear
It works like this: If I own a house, even if it’s all broken down and I have to fix it all the time, at least I have one. If I speak up against my employer and I lose my job, I lose my house. So I don’t speak up.
They rule through fear and intimidation.
It’s a simple playbook. The rich have figured it out and use it against us all the time.
I might be wrong. Some will say I live in a bubble and that’s not the way it works.
Fortunately, I’m not alone. I’m seeing more and more people, especially young people and women, who are standing up and saying they are not going to take it anymore.
Rather than doors opening for them, they are being slammed in their faces. They see that things aren’t working for them and they are determined to do something about it.
Look at what happened in the primaries around the country. More women and young people ran for elected office because they are fed up with what’s going on. And they are winning because voters, too, are fed up and like their ideas for moving our country forward.
I see a movement happening that will take us in the right direction. I am hopeful there is going to be positive change for working people, our families, and our communities.
We need to remember our history and how we were once able to come together, move forward together and build the great middle class with opportunities for everybody. I’m not saying we should go back. I’m saying we should look back to where we came from in order to see where we need to go. Together, we can make a better future for everyone.
We must all stand together to fight for what we know is right. To demand good, safe jobs, with a career path, as well as medical and retirement benefits. To provide opportunities for our children and grandchildren to surpass our own achievements. That is really what it’s all about.
It’s all on the line
And that’s what’s on the line in this November’s mid-term elections. I don’t know how I can make it any more clearer.
It’s not about Democrat or Republican. It’s about where the candidates stand on issues that matter to working people.
If we could get rid of the “R” and the “D” and look at the candidate, we’d be in a lot better place. We need to look at the candidates’ ideas, what they stand for, where they come from, and what they’ve done. Then we can decide who would best represent us.
If they have been in office, look at their record. If it’s a candidate’s first time running for office, find out what they stand for. In any case, look at the totality of their record. Look at their life, what they did in public life, what they do when they are out of the public eye. Look at the whole person. Then vote for whomever you think is going to represent you the best.
The time to stand for working people is now!