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Secretary/Treasurer's
Report
by Richard L.
Benson
The Real Issues
In The National Election
Now that the conventions are over and all the balloons
are popped, the real debate must begin on how we can
restore the American dream to our generation and the
ones that follow us.
Every convention brings us a new supply of sound bytes
that garner responses from the audience, but after all
the speeches have ended the quality of life that we must
protect and improve for our families needs more than
comparisons between hockey moms and pit bulls.
What we need is an understanding and commitment from our
national leaders that in order for working families to
have the same opportunities that our parents generation
had, we must address the core issues affecting our daily
lives.
What are those issues???
Accessible, affordable and quality
healthcare for all persons in this country and a halt on
the obscene profits extracted by hospitals and other
health care providers.
A public education system that is funded in a manner
that educates our children and prepares them for the
future.
A recommitment to honoring work by providing jobs and
employment opportunities that allow families to meet
their obligations and protect their financial security.
In short, a recognition that the wealth of this country
is generated by the labor of workers.
Pension protection that allows workers to retire with
adequate income and protects against corporations
changing and reducing retirement plans to enhance their
profit picture.
An international policy that reestablishes our country's
position as a true world leader which will ultimately
lead to a safer country for our children to live in.
Implementation of proper regulations in the banking
industry so that workers don't face the horror of losing
their homes and having their savings jeopardized by
irresponsible corporations.
Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) so that
workers can decide to have a union represent them
without interference by their employer.
It is our responsibility as voters to analyze the
candidates in relation to the issues that affect our
lives. We must look at what the candidates have done in
the past to see if they practice what they preach or
whether they are practicing the game of "do as I say-not
as I do".
The UFCW has thoroughly assessed the candidates by how
they stand on the issues important to workers and their
families. The UFCW evaluates candidates on how well they
understand the needs of our members and if they are
willing to fight to make sure that the necessary changes
are made to put our country on the right course.
The UFCW's analysis of the candidates easily leads us to
support Barack Obama for president. His work as an
advocate of working families in Chicago shows us that he
practices what he preaches. His understanding of how our
country needs to act in order to protect our borders
will lead to a safer country with renewed international
respect.
This is quite likely the most important election in our
lifetimes since we are at a point, where we as workers,
we either accept a declining state in the quality of our
lives caused by the indifference shown us by our
national leaders or we draw a line in the sand and say –
"we demand change." Change that will focus on the real
issues in this election – change that will once again
respect the work of our members –change that will
restore opportunities for workers in our country-change
that will allow us to pass on a better country to our
children. Barack Obama represents that change and so we
must make sure that he is the next President of the
United States.
Rich can be reached at rbenson@ufcw5.org
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