Elections are about choices. Candidates can be good, others better, and then there is the best, whom you would think would be your personal choice. Not always. Conversely, bad is bad, really bad is worse, and the worst is what it is. Sometimes candidates have similar views and positions, and people make the decision on whom to support harder.
At the end of the day, your union will make an endorsement which we believe will aim to elect the person who will best serve all of the members of Local 3. Not all of the members will support the endorsement and will vote for whom they want for their own personal reasons. Unfortunately, sometimes that means supporting a candidate like Trump who could care less about your economic security or your right to have a union. To me, that’s just nuts. NYS will elect a governor this year. It will be between the Democrat and Lee Zeldin, a Trumper. It is imperative that the Dems hold the governorship in New York State. Too many union members have fled the Democratic Party, believing they have lost their spot, that the Dems are catering to other factions in the party, and they are not considered important anymore. As this is such a critical race among many critical races, Local Union No. 3 will be making an official endorsement in the race for governor in the next few days.
Additionally, the Joint Industry Board held its Thirty-Second Florida Pension Reunion Luncheon this past Monday. Over 350 retirees came out for the afternoon and listened to remarks from several leaders of our industry, including from Local 3, Pension Committee trustees, the Joint Industry Board, and our signatory employers. Besides being able to see members I’ve personally worked with over decades in the industry, I’m always most impressed by how engaged our retirees are, not only in what’s happening in our Industry but also politically. And we continue to need them to be involved and pass their knowledge on to the next generation.
