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Teamsters Are Keystone in Pa. Effort for Clinton, McGinty
This is the fourth of several blogs that will detail the Teamsters’ Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort in advance of the Nov. 8 election.
PHILADELPHIA – Be it in the dark of night or dawn of a new day, there are Teamsters out and about trying to make sure their fellow members understand the importance of next week’s election and why their choices could affect the plight of workers for years to come.
Representatives from Locals 384, 623 and 830 spent last night in Philadelphia and this morning in Horsham, Pa. at UPS facilities handing out literature and talking to Teamsters about why they need to support Hillary Clinton for president and Katie McGinty for U.S. Senate. These are essential races if voters want the federal government to pursue policies that help everyday Pennsylvanians and America as a whole.
But the union’s effort in the Keystone State is far from a two-day effort. Teamsters, for instance, have also been traveling throughout metro Philadelphia to worksites to make sure that even members at smaller employers know where the union stands. Izzy Gray IV, a trustee at Local 623 and shop steward at UPS’s Philadelphia Airport location, has spent the last month driving throughout the region distributing literature expressing the Teamsters’ electoral preferences.
“This isn’t glamorous work, but it is necessary work,” Gray said. “If we want to be sure Pennsylvania has elected officials that represent the will of its millions of workers, Teamsters and other union members need to turn out and support these candidates.”
When it comes to higher wages, collective bargaining rights and protecting working conditions, there can be no comparison about who the better candidates are for Pennsylvania. GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump may say he cares about workers, but he has his products made abroad, imported Polish workers to build some of his projects and refused to recognize workers who voted to unionize at his Las Vegas hotel. Meanwhile, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) formerly served as the head of the Club for Growth, where he shilled for big business while promoting corporate tax breaks.
The Teamsters will continue their push in Pennsylvania through Tuesday to try and convince as many members as possible why they should vote for Clinton and McGinty!