The North Bay Labor Council Finalized Endorsements for the 2020 Primary Election
As it does every election cycle, the North Bay Labor Council took positions on races that will be on our ballots in the March Primary. Hard to believe, the Primary is less than two short months away. And absentee ballots – the way most people are voting these days – will start landing in mailboxes in about a week.
Candidates and issues were vetted on their positions and impacts on working people, jobs, social justice, etc. The process took place over several weeks. With the exception of Marin County Supervisor Dennis Rodoni – who was given an "early endorsement” – most other candidates were sent a questionnaire with a deadline by which to return it. Any candidate who did not return a completed questionnaire was not invited for an interview and not considered for endorsement.
Thirty-three candidates were sent questionnaires, twenty-two responded, completed questionnaires and were interviewed. Fifteen candidates were endorsed, a “no endorsement” position was taken in two races where candidates were considered, and two positions were taken on local measures.
The interview committee was comprised of Council delegates representing a cross section of union affiliates. The committee voted on recommendations which were ratified by the Council body at it’s January meeting.
This process is vital to the Labor Movement. That said, it’s equally or more vital for Union members and their families to vote…especially now. We currently have an administration that is both firmly anti-Labor and positively frightening.
Labor Councils are an arm of the AFL-CIO and the state Labor Federation. Together we also took positions on state and federal races. We’re lucky here in the North Bay in that we have relatively good and reliable representatives at the state and federal level. All of our incumbents were endorsed. They include, Congressmen Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman; State Senators Mike McGuire and Bill Dodd; as well as Assemblymembers Jim Wood, Cecelia Aguiar-Curry and Marc Levine. At this level, Labor Councils make recommendations and those recommendations are ratified at our Labor Federation “Pre-Primary” convention which occurred a couple of months ago. Those endorsements are important for sure, that said, for the purposes of this article we’re focusing on local elections.
Perhaps not as sexy or exciting as a Congressional or Senate race, local elections are essential to the process. We should never lose sight of that. It’s often where it all starts. I’m betting a majority of the congressmembers and senators we have today got started on some small city council or school board somewhere. This is where “we knew them when” would be meaningful. Not to mention, local government is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. It’s the closest to the people.
Where there’s a Union contract being negotiated that will determine such things as wages, benefits, and how to deal with disputes, it’s going to matter who’s on that City Council or Board of Supervisors. When a Project Labor Agreement is being considered, it will matter who sits on that School Board. And when these electeds move up the ladder, we want them to remember who helped them get there and more importantly, what it means for their constituents to have the opportunity to build a strong, middle class, career, one where they might be able to earn a family sustaining wage. Everyone deserves that chance, and these are the people who will make policy that will ultimately make that opportunity available to more people.
So this March 3rd, please remember to vote. Take a look at our slate of endorsements and know these decisions were made because we believe these are the best decisions for all of us.
And after you’ve voted for your presidential nominee, senators and assemblymembers, don’t stop there. Again, not that those decisions aren’t important as well, that said, so are the local decisions. Let your eyes and your pencil, travel all the way down your ballot and please vote on those "down ballot" races too.
Because it truly does matter
Solidarity
Union Strong
If you have any questions about our process or anything in this article, please feel free to contact me, Maddy Hirshfield, NBLC Political Director at mhirshfield_nblc@att.net