A Message from Business Manager Chris Erikson
I voted early!
Unfortunately I couldn’t vote for Andrew Cuomo because I live in Nassau County, but I urge everyone to get out and vote, and vote early in this critical election. I got a little passionate as I gave remarks at yesterday’s Electrical Welfare Club annual scholarship breakfast, and I want to share some of my thoughts. I asked how many in the room voted early and not too many raised their hands. I asked the same question at the Santiago Iglesias’ dinner dance Saturday night and got the same response, very few. So what I don’t get is why you’re not running to vote. Today's the third day of early voting, and I need you to run to your polling place.
Cuomo lost the Democratic primary because too many Democrats didn’t vote. I reminded our members that his DSA opponent belongs to an organization that wanted to take over our union and stated it publicly in a memo from 2019. That was never going to happen, and they have since backed off, for now. I’m reminding you that the DSA’s objective is to replace capitalism with socialism in the United States. Is there economic inequality in our country? Absolutely, and it’s getting even worse under the Trump administration. Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry is controlled by private owners for profit. The checks and balances to ensure a fair share of the profits for the workers who actually create those profits are strong Trade Unions and union contracts. We have done fairly well under that system and would do better if the labor movement was larger and stronger than it is today.
Unions have been under attack since Reagan fired the air traffic controllers in 1980. Working people, especially the working poor, have been left behind. But Socialism is not the answer. The safety nets for those less fortunate are getting shredded by the federal government. The real threat to us in New York is that we are going to pay that bill for all of the free stuff that is being promised by Mamdani. Yes, I have always said the wealthy should pay their fair share of their taxes, but when they leave New York, we’re going to be the last ones standing holding the bag. But for how long?
I am again appealing to you to not let that happen, and you can stand up by voting. You and every eligible voter in your family should vote for Andrew Cuomo, despite his blemishes. He’s not a Trump protege or follower. He has proven leadership skills and enough experience, especially with building Union, to protect all New Yorkers during these dark times.
Keep the Union Strong, brothers and sisters, so we can help those less fortunate to organize to become members of a union that will take them out of poverty, raising their incomes and fairly sharing the wealth that brought us to the middle class. We all win.
