LEAP Issues

Members use rallies, walks, mail, phones in 2008 elections

“THIS WAS THE greatest participation I have witnessed in my 32 years as a L-199 [Jacksonville, Fla.] member,” said BM-ST Carl Ferguson recently, as he reflected on his local’s effort to support pro-worker candidates in the 2008 elections.

Activist locals lead by example, help elect Obama and other pro-worker candidates

IT SHOULD COME as no surprise that a Boilermaker appeared in Barack Obama’s half-hour, prime-time television commercial that aired Oct. 29 — an ad that was seen by more than 33 million viewers. After all, Boilermaker volunteers across the country worked tirelessly to push for working family candidates and the promise of change.

by David Sirota

HISTORY BOOKS TEEM with six-word phrases, from the comforting ("Nothing to fear but fear itself") to the inspiring ("Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall") to the embarrassing ("Read my lips, no new taxes"). But the six words, "on the basis of union membership" could be more momentous than any of those. Though hardly Roosevelt's rhetoric, Reagan's bluster or Bush's clumsiness, the clause could solve America's wage crisis.

THE WALL STREET Journal reported Oct. 6 that Sen. John McCain plans to make major cuts to Medicare and Medicaid to pay for the health care tax credits he is proposing. The story, written by the Journal’s Laura Meckler, cited independent analysts who claim that $1.3 trillion might be slashed from the two programs.

Two candidates.
Two radically different approaches to the issues of our time.
One opportunity to stop the assault on workers and their families.