Meeting in their annual convention, members of AFSCME Council 5 are angry. But they\'re also determined to channel that emotion into wins at the polls in November and at union elections in upcoming weeks.
Council 5 President Mike Buesing summed up the feelings of many of the union\'s 43,000 members who work for local, county and state government and for non-profits.
For years, Corporate America has "sung the tune" of free markets, deregulation and "hands-off government," Buesing said. "They sing this tune when they are making profits . . . But they change their tune when they make bad decision after bad decision.
"I say it\'s time for a bailout of the middle class. It\'s time to properly fund quality public services . . . have a fair tax system based on the ability to pay . . . reform the health care system . . . stop the erosion of the American middle class . . In short, it\'s time to turn things around for workers and their families."
To change the direction of the country, AFSCME members need to work hard to elect labor-endorsed candidates, including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and DFL U. S. Senate candidate Al Franken, he said.
Speaking plainly, Council 5 Executive Director Eliot Seide also made the link between the current economic woes and politics.
"This country is broken. Working people are getting screwed. John McCain ain\'t the solution – he\'s the problem," Seide said.
"If he becomes president, corporate greed fat cats are going to feed on us like vampires. It\'s time for change in America!"
Loud applause for Franken
Buesing\'s and Seide\'s remarks set the stage for an enthusiastic reception by the 600 AFSCME delegates for Franken, who hopes to unseat incumbent Republican Norm Coleman in November.
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| AFSCME members gave Franken an enthusiastic reception. |
Franken drew laughs and applause from the crowd when he described how, a year ago, he proposed a moratorium on home foreclosures. Opponents attacked him by saying, "What? Reward bad decisions?"
Now U.S. taxpayers are facing a potential $700 billion bailout of Wall Street firms that made poor decisions.
Franken called the current economic crisis "an exclamation mark" on the Bush administration.
"Can you believe where we\'ve gotten in these eight years?" Franken asked. "George Bush inherited the largest surplus in the history of the nation. He\'s about to give President Obama the largest deficit in the history of the nation."
Franken advocates stronger regulation of financial markets and the creation of a "Financial Products Safety Commission" to aid consumers in making important financial decisions, such as getting a mortgage.
He also blasted Coleman for failing to engage in any oversight of the financial industry, despite chairing a Senate committee charged with investigating fraud and abuse.
Coleman "is running as fast as he can from Bush\'s record and I\'m not going to let him," Franken pledged.
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| Franken shook hands with AFSCME delegates. |
Organizing for power
While political action is the current focus, Seide said Council 5\'s efforts to "organize for power" will go well beyond the November elections. He recited a litany of ways in which the union has fought for members in the past year, including upholding the contract rights of corrections workers and winning a showdown with Governor Tim Pawlenty over transportation funding.
AFSCME also has a campaign under way to organize some 800 non-union human service workers in Anoka County and is continuing its efforts to represent child care workers across the state, he said.
The three-day AFSCME Council 5 convention concludes Saturday at the Bloomington Sheraton.
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Meeting in their annual convention, members of AFSCME Council 5 are angry. But they\’re also determined to channel that emotion into wins at the polls in November and at union elections in upcoming weeks.
Council 5 President Mike Buesing summed up the feelings of many of the union\’s 43,000 members who work for local, county and state government and for non-profits.
For years, Corporate America has "sung the tune" of free markets, deregulation and "hands-off government," Buesing said. "They sing this tune when they are making profits . . . But they change their tune when they make bad decision after bad decision.
"I say it\’s time for a bailout of the middle class. It\’s time to properly fund quality public services . . . have a fair tax system based on the ability to pay . . . reform the health care system . . . stop the erosion of the American middle class . . In short, it\’s time to turn things around for workers and their families."
To change the direction of the country, AFSCME members need to work hard to elect labor-endorsed candidates, including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and DFL U. S. Senate candidate Al Franken, he said.
Speaking plainly, Council 5 Executive Director Eliot Seide also made the link between the current economic woes and politics.
"This country is broken. Working people are getting screwed. John McCain ain\’t the solution – he\’s the problem," Seide said.
"If he becomes president, corporate greed fat cats are going to feed on us like vampires. It\’s time for change in America!"
Loud applause for Franken
Buesing\’s and Seide\’s remarks set the stage for an enthusiastic reception by the 600 AFSCME delegates for Franken, who hopes to unseat incumbent Republican Norm Coleman in November.
|
| AFSCME members gave Franken an enthusiastic reception. |
Franken drew laughs and applause from the crowd when he described how, a year ago, he proposed a moratorium on home foreclosures. Opponents attacked him by saying, "What? Reward bad decisions?"
Now U.S. taxpayers are facing a potential $700 billion bailout of Wall Street firms that made poor decisions.
Franken called the current economic crisis "an exclamation mark" on the Bush administration.
"Can you believe where we\’ve gotten in these eight years?" Franken asked. "George Bush inherited the largest surplus in the history of the nation. He\’s about to give President Obama the largest deficit in the history of the nation."
Franken advocates stronger regulation of financial markets and the creation of a "Financial Products Safety Commission" to aid consumers in making important financial decisions, such as getting a mortgage.
He also blasted Coleman for failing to engage in any oversight of the financial industry, despite chairing a Senate committee charged with investigating fraud and abuse.
Coleman "is running as fast as he can from Bush\’s record and I\’m not going to let him," Franken pledged.
|
| Franken shook hands with AFSCME delegates. |
Organizing for power
While political action is the current focus, Seide said Council 5\’s efforts to "organize for power" will go well beyond the November elections. He recited a litany of ways in which the union has fought for members in the past year, including upholding the contract rights of corrections workers and winning a showdown with Governor Tim Pawlenty over transportation funding.
AFSCME also has a campaign under way to organize some 800 non-union human service workers in Anoka County and is continuing its efforts to represent child care workers across the state, he said.
The three-day AFSCME Council 5 convention concludes Saturday at the Bloomington Sheraton.