With so many important issues hinged on U.S. congressional votes, "it's time to get out the vote for the Nov. 5 election and help candidates who work on behalf of working families," said GCIU Vice Pres. Lawrence Martinez.

Martinez, who directs GCIU legislative activities, said examples of pending issues include the future security of Social Security, a prescription drug program, the Bush budget deficits, fair trade, retirement security, and workplace safety and health.

"When you look at the list, all of these issues impact working families," Martinez said. "That's why it's so important to choose your candidates on the basis of their stands on these issues and make sure you get to the polls to vote. Our members can go even further and help with union phone banks and get-out-the-vote drives," he said.

Martinez noted that the Republican Party is targeting key Democratic senators who have proven themselves as staunch allies of working families. "GCIU members need to turn out in force to help these friends of workers:" Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, Jean Carnahan of Missouri, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Joseph Biden of Delaware, Richard Durbin of Illinois, and John Kerry of Massachusetts.

In the Senate, where Democrats hold a one-vote majority, 13 Democratic seats and 20 Republican seats are up for election or re-election. In the House of Representatives, all 435 seats are up for election. The make up in the House for the 107th Congress is 223 Republicans, 210 Democrats and one independent. The remaining seat is currently vacant.

Some of the issues important to working families that were dealt with before Congress left for its summer recess or left pending are:

• Social Security: According to news reports, Republican Party leaders asked candidates not to talk about President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security during the election cycle.

  Martinez observed: "The Republicans haven't changed their position. They're trying to sweep it under the rug until after the elections. They know privatization is unpopular, and they think it's more important to keep the House and win back the Senate than to push their philosophy at this time. Plus, with the stock market's dismal performance, they know that voters understand that if they had invested their Social Security money in the stock market two years ago, their pensions would be very minimal."

• The economy and deficits: Under the Bush administration, the budget surpluses built up during the Clinton administration are gone and the federal debt is again rising. In addition, the unemployment rate, mass layoffs, and the duration of unemployment have increased over the past two years.

  Martinez said Republicans on the campaign trail are trying to blame the nation's economic woes on everyone but the Bush administration. "We all know the downturn started with the administration's big tax cut for the wealthy and special favors for large corporations like Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Andersen," he said.

  President Bush held an "economic forum" in Waco, Texas, on Aug. 13, ostensibly to explore the problems. But those invited to the forum were primarily large corporate donors, such as the CEOs of International Paper, Pfizer, Charles Schwab, Caterpillar, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, Verizon, New York Stock Exchange, National Semiconductor, Yahoo, e-Bay, Home Depot, and American Express.

  AFL-CIO Pres. John Sweeney observed of the gathering: "Despite a much touted, but anemic 'economic recovery,' working men and women are increasingly out of work, losing vast amounts of retirement savings, without health coverage and hard hit by growing trade deficits especially in the manufacturing sector. It's important that we take a sober look at what's happening to working families and summon a national will to act on their urgent needs and priorities in a meaningful way, rather than try to put a sheen on a cloudy picture."

• Unfair trade: On July 27 at 3:30 AM, the House voted 215 to 212 to provide President Bush with renewed "fast track" authority. The legislation that the AFL-CIO called "seriously flawed" allows the White House to negotiate trade treaties and the Senate may only vote the entire treaty up or down.

  In May, the Senate passed a fast track bill that included some stronger pro-worker provisions and protections but most of those provisions were removed or weakened in closed-door negotiations between members of the Senate and House.

  Sweeney said of the legislation: "It is pure spin to say that Fast Track will boost working Americans' confidence in the market. Working people have watched unfair trade deals and growing trade deficits send millions of family-supporting jobs overseas to nations where corporations can abuse workers' rights, child labor, and the environment. This Fast track bill would only accelerate that trend."

  According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the trade deficit was more than $400 billion for the year ending in May 2002, up from $383.3 billion the previous year. U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) points out that trade policies have cost the United States 2 million manufacturing jobs, representing 10 percent of the manufacturing workforce, during the past four years.

• Prescription drugs: The White House, Republican congressional leaders, and drug manufacturers are pushing for a voluntary, private plan to provide prescription drug coverage to seniors. The majority of Democrats in Congress and organized labor are urging a Medicare-based program targeted to seniors most in need of assistance.

  On July 31, the Senate rejected a Medicare-based compromise proposed by Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) that would have provided immediate assistance to all seniors through discounted drug prices and extra help for low income seniors and those needing high cost prescriptions. Sweeney called the highly partisan debate "one of the worst examples of deliberate political polarization of an important issue in memory and America's seniors will suffer as a result."

  The Senate passed S. 812 to make lower cost generic drugs more available and it is pending in the House.

• Retirement security: The Enron debacle spurred a renewed interest in safeguarding workers' pensions. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D S.D.) said he will bring 401(k) reform legislation to the floor this fall. The AFL-CIO supports S. 1992, introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D Mass.). The bill would require elected worker representatives to sit on retirement plans' boards of trustees and participate in choosing investment options. The bill also would prevent employers from overloading 401(k)s with company stock, as Enron did and require that workers receive independent investment advice and be told about executive stock sales.

• Corporate accountability: The House and Senate voted by overwhelming majorities for legislation aimed at stopping the kinds of corporate abuses uncovered in the Enron, Arthur Andersen, and WorldCom scandals. The Bush administration had supported a much weaker version of the legislation.

  The bill's reforms include provisions to ensure that corporate directors and Wall Street analysts are financially independent from each other; bar accounting firms from providing consultant services to the firms they audit; and toughen criminal penalties for corporate crime.

  The AFL-CIO is pushing for more legislation, including rights for workers to collect what they are owed in the case of an employer's bankruptcy.

• Homeland security: President Bush's Homeland Security bill, which passed the House in July, would transfer some 170,000 federal workers now in other agencies to a new Homeland Security department. The bill would deny these employees the civil service and collective bargaining rights they now have.

  Martinez said the Bush administration's plan demonstrates that "the attitude of this administration is to break unions – even in government."

• Workplace safety: In June, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions approved S. 2184 that would require the Labor Department to develop and issue a new ergonomics standard to help protect workers against repetitive stress injuries.

  The AFL-CIO warned that, as the Oct. 1 fiscal year end nears, anti-worker lawmakers can be expected to try to attach amendments to appropriations bills to bar an ergonomics standard.