|
Neil Struthers Chief Executive
Officer
Santa
Clara & San Benito Building Trades Council
“Your Vote is your Voice”
Hello;
My name is Neil Struthers and I am the Chief Executive Officer of
the Santa Clara & San Benito Counties Building & Construction
Trades Council.
The Council represents approximately 35,000 union construction workers and
on behalf of all of them I want to welcome you to our site.
In this site you will find educational material and messages of public
officials on the many issues that affect working families.
It is my hope that you find this site …www.LaborVote.com useful and you
visit us again.
As I said in the beginning of this message, “Your Vote is your Voice”
and I also think that your voice not only should be heard but should be
loud as well.
That’s why we have put together this material in which you will find the
proper tools to express yourself in the different political levels of the
United States system, at the federal, state and most importantly the local
level.
“Freedom
is not Free” and we must make sure that the brothers and sisters that
paid the ultimate price for it are not taken for granted. “The right to
vote is not a privilege…it is a responsibility”…Vote Loud…Vote Proud…Vote!
Ask
people to describe themselves and one of the first things most people say
is their occupation. Physiologists will argue that your occupation is what
you do not who you are. Truth is all of us are much more that just
workers.
We are
complex people with different beliefs and interests. We have different
family situations, different religions, and different personal and
community interests. All of these influence our decision making, including when
we vote this November.
This
site was created to give you the opportunity to educate yourself on where
each of the candidates stands on issues. We hope that you do that. While
you are asking candidates about issues of importance to you include questions
about workers issues. Ask about Prevailing wage, overtime pay, replacement
workers, worker safety, right to collectively bargain, and any other
issue related to your ability to maintain and improve your current standard
of living.
I think
the reason most of us include our occupation when we describe ourselves is
that we understand that our ability to achieve and maintain a good standard
of living is fundamental in our ability to support our beliefs to our
family and in our community. Every decision you make on election day has
the potential to effect your ability to maintain and improve your current
standard of living, make sure you understand how before casting your vote.
Dan
Smith Business Manager Roofers & Waterproofers Local #95
Thank
you for visiting this website. By your action you have demonstrated that
you realize the importance of being politically active. I was slow to
learn. The first time I voted I was twenty-six years old. When I was
eighteen could have voted but at the time I felt it didn't matter and, what
the hell, they are all the same. In retrospect that was the time of my life
when I should have been politically active. I was fresh out of high school
without the grades or money to go to college and there was a war going on
in a place called Vietnam. However, I was content to simply complain about
the government in the hope that if enough people complained, something
would change.
One day
I was at my mothers house and one of my sisters told my youngest sister to
do something. My youngest sister responded with "why should I you're
not the boss of me?" Right then it clicked for me. Why should
politicians respond to me? If I am not politically active and vote they
have absolutely nothing to fear from me. I could talk, squawk, scream, cry,
complain, beg, bitch or do whatever I wanted to but as long as I did not
vote I had no real power to implement change. I had no real impact over who
was in office or what they did while they were there.
On the
other hand my life was directly influenced by the people put into office by
people other than myself. In a real sense I had voluntarily decided to make
this country a dictatorship for me. By not voting I agreed to follow, or
suffer the consequences of not following, laws and rules made by people put
into office by the few who vote. I did nothing to insure people who
understood my needs were in elected positions to represent me.
Perhaps
my efforts into this website are my attempt at making amends. I want to
live in a country where 100% of the people are politically active. It seams
very simple to me, if you want a government that listens to you, you have
to speak out. The only place to speak out where you will truly be heard is
the voting booth. Thank you for being politically active and please do what
you can to get as many people as possible to vote.
YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE!
|
