Lawrence Martinez

John Savage

The need for political action is exemplified by the recent switch of U.S. Sen. James Jeffords from the Republican ranks to an independent, GCIU Vice Pres. Lawrence Martinez advised delegates attending the GCIU Conference of Commercial Unions meeting in San Diego.

The effect of Jeffords' dissatisfaction with GOP leadership policies and move across the aisle to vote with the Democrats was much more than the defection of one politician, he emphasized. Jeffords' decision to leave the GOP – in a totally knotted Senate – altered the balance of power and changed Senate committee chairmen, who control the agenda of which bills to consider and which bills to bury, Martinez explained.

Jeffords' action, for example, allowed Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) to introduce a bill to toughen penalties against employers who violate labor law to fend off organizing campaigns.

"You can see how one little vote change allowed the introduction of a worker-friendly bill – a bill that could never have survived under Republican leadership," Martinez said.

Before the switch, both the Senate and House were under Republican control. With conservative President Bush (R) in the White House, there was not much hope of legislation that would benefit working Americans, Martinez said.

The change in party control of the Senate, the first ever in mid-session, benefits workers and their families by giving them a voice against attempts to tilt big advantages to corporate America.

For example, among the threats are a bill introduced by Sen Don Nickles (R-Okla.) that would threaten union pension and health and welfare funds and the expansion of fast track trade policies that resulted in loss of more than 500,000 American jobs under NAFTA that is a priority of Bush, Martinez reported.

"Bush is asking for an agreement to extend NAFTA to the whole hemisphere, and we have to fight that to protect American jobs," Martinez added.

The need for the GCIU to get more involved in political action is also made clear by conservative attempts to hurt unions in state legislatures. Unions must broaden their political involvement to counter anti-union legislative agendas at local and state as well as national levels, he said.

Martinez cited an attempt by Republican Gov. Bill Owens in his home state of Colorado to, in effect, establish "paycheck protection" policies for state employees through an executive order to mandate review of all payroll deductions. This policy is an attempt to target union dues and any other union deductions, Martinez noted.

In an effort to make GCIU members aware of these threats and strengthen the commitment of GCIU local unions to political action, the GCIU General Board discussed sponsoring a legislative conference next year. There are also ongoing discussions on ways to raise money for political action, including raffles and other activities, Martinez said.

For years, the GCIU has been relatively inactive on the political scene, with no funds to support campaigns of worker-friendly candidates. Although local unions have supported good candidates in local and national races – mostly by providing campaign workers rather than campaign contributions – there is an increasing need for the International union to raise a political war chest to support politicians who support worker rights, Martinez said.

"I think we need to play a bigger role in political action," he emphasized. "And [Pres.] George Tedeschi agrees that we are missing an opportunity to help our members. Believe me, the cost is worth it," he said.

Over and above political action in the United States and Canada, the GCIU has a need to act on the international stage to deal with threats from multinational employers like Quebecor. Cooperation and coordination with unions overseas is becoming a necessary part of GCIU's responsibility to the membership, he added.

"Quebecor owns plants in the United Kingdom, Europe, Chile, Mexico and other parts of South America, and is continuing to buy printing plants. We are trying to work with Quebecor management internationally," Martinez said.

Martinez's political report was supplemented by a report from Vancouver 25C Secy. John Savage, who noted that the conservative battle against labor unions is very active north of the U.S. border.

In an action mirroring the recent massive tax cut by the Bush administration, the premier of his Province of British Columbia cut personal income taxes by 25 percent and now is faced with the need to cut vital programs. The provincial administration is also stonewalling a transit dispute in Vancouver and has introduced a 60-day cooling-off period for nurses seeking a contract.

"We need to get the word out that the anti-worker campaign you know so well in the U.S. is also expanding in British Columbia and the rest of Canada," Savage said.