One of the GCIU General Board's resolutions for 2004 convention delegates to consider is support for Democratic candidates John Kerry and John Edwards for president and vice president, respectively.

The board members in their resolution urge convention delegates to "wholeheartedly support the ticket of senators Kerry and Edwards and recognizes that this election will determine the future of the well-being of our members and their families and urges members, locals, and district councils to make every effort by volunteering in their communities to get out the vote for senators Kerry and Edwards."

It is noted in Resolution G-4 that the Kerry-Edwards ticket "offers the best opportunity for workers and their families to obtain and maintain good, well-paying jobs in America, efficient and comprehensive health care coverage, the fulfillment of the promises of Social Security and solid, sound economic growth built on responsible and controlled spending. . . ."

Anti-worker actions by the Bush administration, according to the resolution, include the Bush administration:

–Wiping out the $236 billion budget surplus from Bill Clinton's presidency and creating an estimated $521 billion deficit–financed by borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund and loans by foreign governments such as China and Saudi Arabia, which are not friendly to the U.S.

–Having the worst jobs record of any president since Herbert Hoover and the U.S. losing 3 million private sector jobs, with the number of jobless Americans as of January 2004 at 8.3 million people. In addition, many other Americans have given up looking for work, and those with jobs that have been created are lower paying than the ones that have been lost.

–Giving tax breaks to the top 1 percent of the U.S. population, with many Americans seeing their state taxes and local property taxes increase to cover the cutbacks in federal funding for vital local programs for education, police, and other services–which translates into net tax hikes for the middle class and working poor, and the Bush administration's economic program for the next four years is more tax cuts for the wealthiest and more tax burden for all other Americans.

–Pushing as a healthcare program a Medicare bill which is a bonanza to insurance and drug companies, does not guarantee seniors any savings in drug costs, and prevents Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices from the pharmaceutical industry. Further, Bush has had the Federal Drug Administration prosecute people, cities, and states for buying lower-cost drugs from Canada.

–Supporting the No Child Left Behind Act and then proposing to cut 485,000 children from after-school programs and 30,000 teachers from teacher training programs, freezing funding for domestic school construction at the same time that one in every three public schools uses trailers as classrooms.

–Spending millions of dollars on no-bid contracts for Haliburton in Iraq while attempting to cut pay, limit health care, and reduce family benefits for American soldiers. Further, Bush has closed veterans' hospitals and did not allocate even enough money for U.S. troops to have life-saving body armor and armored Humvees in Iraq.

–Promising millions of dollars for homeland security after opposing even the creation of a Department of Homeland Security and approving payments of money to Republican strongholds as a boondoggle instead of funding first responders in terrorist-targeted cities such as New York and Washington, D.C. Bush has also cut back the funding for the Coast Guard and border patrol services and has not funded improved security at nuclear, chemical, and power plants or for rail and shipping–instead leaving it for industries to regulate themselves.

In Resolution G-6, the General Board declared that "the American people have been duped by Bush, [Vice President] Cheney, and [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld into believing that the war against Iraq was necessary to protect the U.S. from terrorist attack, that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and was trying to develop nuclear weapons and that an attack from Iraq was imminent." The board added that "in fact, Iraq had no ties to Al Qaeda, no weapons of mass destruction, no nuclear weapons development program, and could not deliver a chemical or biological attack on the United States."

The resolution also noted that the total estimated cost of the Iraq war is currently $151 billion–which adds up to at least $3,400 for each U.S. household, and the $151 billion could have paid for health insurance for 27 million people; salaries for 3 million elementary school teachers; 678,000 new fire engines for communities; and 20 million Head Start slots.

Regarding universal health care, the board in Resolution G-7 noted that "today 43 million Americans have no health care at all and millions more are under-insured, and this is a national disgrace when the Bush administration is spending over $200 million on the war in Iraq."

The board resolution added that "as more and more Americans are caught in the squeeze of increased costs, less accessibility, and declining quality, the Bush administration has done nothing to alleviate this crisis for working Americans except protect the profits of insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry." The resolution endorses a "just and fair health care single-payer, national and universal program for all Americans, allowing individuals to select their own health care providers and where premiums would be based on ability to pay and be subsidized by employers and the government."

The resolution would also direct the International union to educate GCIU members on the advantages of a single-payer, universal health care program and to fight for the adoption of such legislation in the United States and to protect the existing Canadian system and to work with the AFL-CIO, CLC, and any coalitions to accomplish these goals.

Concerning the U.S. economy, Resolution G-8 noted that "polls have shown that Americans are deeply concerned about the state of the economy and the slogan: 'It's the economy, stupid,' has never been more true when applied to the Bush administration and the Republican Congress."

The resolution would have convention delegates support "the return to economic policies which create good middle-class jobs, end rewarding corporations which move jobs offshore and require all corporations to pay their fair share of income taxes, end deficit spending based on inequitable tax cuts, stop the borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund and ensure the security of [U.S.] pensions, and return the federal government to a surplus position so that interest rates will remain low and we will not be dependent on foreign loans for [U.S.] financial stability."

Resolution G-7 deals with Jobs With Justice. It was noted that JWJ "was founded by unions, faith-based, community, and student organizations to protect working people's right to organize, fight for greater job security, and improve workers' standard of living."

The resolution would direct the International union to "join the Jobs With Justice coalition and to publicize its participation among GCIU locals and district councils and assist locals and district councils in contacting their area Jobs With Justice coalition in the event of organizing drives or contract disputes."

Graphic Communicator photo by Herald Grandstaff

GCIU General Board members meet to discuss and adopt resolutions for convention delegates to consider. From left are: Chattanooga 197M Pres. Robert Kelly, Detroit 2-289M Pres. David R. Jacobs, Vice Pres. Duncan K. Brown, Secy.-Treas. Gerald H. Deneau, Martin R. Ganzglass, GCIU legal counsel; Pres. George Tedeschi; Richard J. Whitworth, executive assistant to the GCIU president; vice presidents David A. Grabhorn and Robert L. Lacey; and Chicago 458-3M Pres. Charles R. Timmel.