ATU Action Weekly Update - 9/25/06

• ATU International President Greets ATU Activists in Baltimore
• ATU Activists Hit the Streets in Vancouver, Washington
• Seattle ATU Members Call Union Voters
• Sarasota Local Jumps on the Labor 2006 Band Wagon

ATU International President Greets ATU Activists in Baltimore

More than 15 ATU Activists From Local 1300 (Baltimore, MD) and Local 1764 i(Washington, D.C.) turned out to see ATU International President Warren George at the Labor-to-Labor walk in Baltimore this past Saturday.

International President George thanked the members for volunteering their time to support a necessary and worthwhile cause.  He urged them to talk to their fellow ATU members and family about the upcoming fall elections and to encourage them to volunteer as well.

Following President George's rallying speech, the activists went out in the neighborhoods of Baltimore to talk to other union members about Martin O'Malley (D) and Ben Cardin (D).  O'Malley is running for Governor against incumbent Republican Bob Erhlich.  Cardin is facing a tough race for Senate against Michael Steele. 

"The elections in Maryland are some of the most important in this country," said President George.  "We can't win back to the U.S. Senate and our nation's Governor's seats for working families if we don't win in Maryland."

ATU Activists Hit the Streets in Vancouver, Washington

Members of ATU Local 757 (Portland, Oregon) crossed the river into Washington state to kick-off the first Labor-to-Neighbor walk of the year in Vancouver on Monday, September 25th.  Twelve ATU Activists, most of whom work for C-Tran in Vancouver, gathered for a barbeque before taking to the streets in Vancouver to talk to fellow union Brothers and Sisters about the November elections. 

State Representative Deb Wallace (D) greeted the volunteers at the bbq and thanked them for their support.  Having worked for C-Tran and the Washington State DOT, Rep. Wallace has been a longtime advocate of transit funding and a supporter of ATU issues. 

Volunteers urged working families to help re-elect Wallace and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell.  Most of the ATU members who participated in the walk were volunteering for the first time and were surprised by the warm reception they received from union members at their doors.  Many of the volunteers pledged to go back and talk to their co-workers about the experience.

Seattle ATU Members Call Union Voters 

ATU Members of Local 587 in Seattle, Washington gave up their Sunday afternoon this past weekend to participate in a phone bank as part of the Labor 2006 program in Washington.  The energetic volunteers called union members in the Seattle area to urge them to support Darcy Burner (D) for Congress.

Burner is running against incumbent Republican Dave Reichert.  Reichert has supported the Bush Administration 94% of the time and cast one of the decisive votes for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) - an ill-conceived trade policy that is costing thousands of hard working Americans their jobs.  Reichert also voted against raising the minimum wage.

Burner is an ardent supporter of raising the minimum wage and opposes trade deals like CAFTA.  Her race is the best opportunity to pick-up a worker-friendly seat in Washington.

Sarasota Local Jumps on the Labor 2006 Band Wagon

Members of ATU Local 1701 (Sarasota, FL) received a letter this week from Local President/Business Agent George Shrewsberry urging them to support Congressman Jim Davis (D) for Governor. 

"He has a strong belief in issues that relate to improving and expanding transit in the state and an understanding of issues that are important to us," said Brother Shrewsberry about Davis.  The letter also urged members to support Christine Jennings (D) for Congress and Bill Nelson (D) for U.S. Senate.