A Message from Business Manager Chris Erikson
First and foremost, thank you Mr. President. Joe Biden, our President, has distinguished himself as a man who will be remembered for the selfless act of putting his country before his own personal place in history. He continues to be and will be revered as the most pro-union President we’ve ever had in the White House. His decision to not seek a second term has turned the tide for the Democratic Party, and their solid support for his Vice President, Kamala Harris, has rocked the house. Last week, after President Biden's announcement, Vice President Harris reached out to our International President Ken Cooper and humbly asked for the IBEW’s endorsement. President Biden called as well and asked us to support his choice, his Vice President. In a special meeting last Monday morning, the International Officers unanimously supported President Cooper's recommendation, and the IBEW officially endorsed Kamala Harris for President. Local 3 followed suit and formally endorsed her as well.
It’s a game changer, and the outpouring of support for her has energized the Democratic Party. She will be a formidable candidate. The seismic shift in this race has Trump shaking in his boots, and he is now the oldest candidate in the race at 78 years old. His disgraceful attacks on her expose him as the creep he really is. Sticks and stones may break her bones, but his nicknames will never hurt her. She has been with us since day one, fully supporting President Biden’s pro-union and pro-worker agenda. She cast the tie-breaking vote for the American Rescue Plan in 2021, which included the Butch-Lewis Act that saved the defined benefit pensions of millions of union members. She was the tie-breaking vote to confirm President Biden's choice for general counsel of the NLRB. Remember, the Trump administration decimated the NLRB. Biden turned that around by firing general counsel Peter Robb and removing Trump's anti-union appointments who catered to corporate America and left working Americans in the dust. Harris also was the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which attached labor standards like prevailing wages and registered apprenticeships to green energy tax credits for the first time ever.
Our work is ahead of us. We will need to work hard to protect our economic security by electing a President who will continue to move our country forward and by taking back the House of Representatives to support her. Earlier this year we elected Representative Tom Suozzi (NY-3), a moderate, to work to fix the problems that we face. Give-and-take is the only way we can get that done. The extreme MAGA right will do tremendous damage to the Trade Union Movement. They have told us what they will do. “Project 2025” says it all. You need to vote according to your paycheck. We are the working class, the middle class, and the union members who have done well because we are members of Local 3. Don’t be fooled. We are in the crosshairs of the Republican Party and Corporate America. Our Union is being threatened. A national “Right to Work” law will destroy everything we have, and that’s exactly what you’ll get voting for Trump. He supports “right-to-work.” He is a known entity and his record over four years was explicitly anti-union.
Kamala Harris has the momentum, she has the labor movement united behind her, she has a record of serving in the most pro-union administration in our country's history, and she will carry that forward. Let’s fix this.
