Secretary-Treasurer's Overview

Raising Our Voices

When George W. Bush was sworn in as the nation's 43rd President, he told America that he wanted to "heal" this country after a very difficult election. As President-elect, Bush told Americans that he wanted to bring "justice and opportunity" to everyone under the tent.

Since then, we've been hearing a great deal about the need for Republicans and Democrats to work together, to find common ground with one another and with the President. As I have said in the past, we will seek that common ground and will work with anyone, irrespective of party, who wants to continue to move our nation forward.

But bipartisanship only works if our elected leaders from both sides of the aisle have heard the voices of all the people who they were elected to represent.

Based on what we're hearing so far, I fear those voices aren't being heard. And this will require us, as AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said recently, to "raise our voices a little..."

We will applaud the President if he pushes proposals that help BMWE members by making our jobs safer and giving Amtrak proper funding.

We will applaud the President if he respects us as we conduct a fight for just wages, fair contracts and jobs that reward our hard work.

We will applaud the President when he does right by the people who do the work that keeps our railroads going -- and we will be the first to hold him accountable when he does not.

Overall, we will not judge the President by the good sounding words that Americans hear from him in carefully orchestrated photo opportunities; instead, the BMWE and all unions will use the following test outlined by President Sweeney to evaluate President George W. Bush.

First, will the President respect work?

Will he make our jobs safer and resist railroad industry attempts to roll back Federal Railroad Administration standards?

Will he protect and defend the rights of workers on the job, regardless of race, gender, country of birth or citizenship status?

Will the President give rail workers a fair chance to attain just collective bargaining agreements through labor-management negotiations, or bow to pressure from the powerful railroads who are hoping for heavy handed White House intervention?

And will the President stop the railroads and the Surface Transportation Board from destroying BMWE members' collective bargaining agreements, or side with greedy railroad companies that continue to trample on their workers' contract rights?

Second, will the President strengthen our families?

We all know that too many American workers including BMWE members find themselves living to work, instead of working to live.

Meantime, public schools are eroding, 43 million people, including 10 million children, still lack health coverage and retirement security is constantly threatened.

Will the President pursue risky private school vouchers, or use the money to re-wire our public schools and raise standards for student achievement?

Will he stand with working families and fight for a real Patients' Bill of Rights, or stand with the greedy HMOs?

And will he pursue the elimination of Railroad Retirement and risky Social Security privatization schemes, or stand up for retirement security?

Finally, will the President advance democracy at home?

Whatever our differing political views, will he put the national disgrace that unfolded in Florida and elsewhere behind us by making sure that no voter ever again has to fight to get to a poll or beg for a ballot?

Will he enforce the Voting Rights Act, so that there is no more intimidation of our citizens and no more infringement of their right to register and vote?

Will he continue to pave the way for the big railroads and all corporations to control American politics by allowing them to outspend working families and our unions by 15 to 1? And will he use the debate over reforming our campaign finance laws to gag workers in the legislative and political process through "paycheck deception" schemes?

And will the President support the freedom of workers to make their own decision to join or form unions without employer harassment, intimidation and interference, or side with big business to destroy a worker's right to choose a union voice on the job?

America's working families will judge the President, not by his words, but by his deeds. If he supports BMWE members' jobs and rights, we will raise our voices to applaud him. If he supports the business lobby's agenda to trample on workers' rights, roll back safety protections and weaken unions, we will raise our voices in opposition.

We've outlined our test. Now we will see if there is room under the President's tent for BMWE members and all working families. Keep your vocal chords in shape - they may be called into action.