UWUA Endorses Hillary Clinton

Today, UWUA announced its endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. After this week’s primary elections, it has become very clear that our choice in the 2016 Presidential election is between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. 

 

The facts are these: Donald Trump is no friend of unions or the working class. Trump believes that wages are too high, he has fought tooth and nail against his own employees seeking to organize, and he supports anti-worker, anti-union legislation. Trump is trying to divide this country on issues of race and religion, but as Utility Workers and working people, we refuse to be divided. 

 

In stark contrast, Hillary Clinton has a strong record of fighting for collective bargaining rights and labor protections. She intends to invest $275 billion towards our nation’s infrastructure over 5 years, and to create a $25 billion infrastructure bank.  As our President Mike Langford has stated, we support “Hillary’s plans to harness public and private capital to upgrade and repair our nation’s roads, bridges, energy and water infrastructure. These critical investments will grow our economy by creating and maintaining good jobs, raising wages and rebuilding struggling communities.” 

 

Hillary is also a strong supporter of an “all-of-the-above” energy policy which includes advancing not only renewables technologies, but also technologies to make our nation’s traditional fuels like oil and coal cleaner, and developing the next generation of nuclear technology. 

 

Clearly, many of our members have supported Bernie Sanders. UWUA has followed his campaign with enormous enthusiasm, and we owe Bernie a huge debt of gratitude for the issues he has raised, and for the movement he is creating.

 

Now it’s time to come together, not only to support a candidate who supports us, but to reject a candidate who opposes us. We simply cannot allow Donald Trump to enact his anti-union agenda, and we will do everything we can to stop him. 

 

The Utility Workers Union of America proudly endorses Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.

 

The UWUA will be working to develop a national strategy for supporting all worker-friendly and family-friendly candidates during this year’s elections.  We believe we have a responsibility to do all we can to help educate our members and encourage informed voters to be sure their voices are heard in November.  The first step is sharing the attached Press Release and Talking Points with UWUA leadership.  We will continue to update you as our strategies unfold and look forward to your input and participation. 

Thank you.

 

• Senator Sanders ran a strong, principled campaign that raised awareness of critical issues such fair trade, economic and social justice, rebuilding manufacturing and reducing inequality.
• Senator Sanders’ support of these issues and relentless fight for them has made Secretary Clinton a better candidate, made her campaign focus on the issues that really matter and energized millions of Americans, including many of our members.
• This energy and passion for these issues must continue and we hope Sen. Sanders and his supporters will continue to fight for these issues during the campaign and beyond
• Unlike other unions, the UWUA remained neutral in the primary and allowed voters and our members to have their say.
• During that process, members worked passionately for both Democratic candidates and now is the time to come together so that our issues do not become victim to apathy and inaction
• Now that Secretary Clinton is the nominee, we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines – we must speak up and fight for our issues: good jobs, strong manufacturing policy, equal rights, fair trade, retirement security, the right to organize for better working conditions, pay and benefits for a better life.

 

WHY CLINTON?

• Secretary Clinton is supremely qualified to be president of the United States.
• Secretary Clinton stands with working families on nearly every issue.
• She will harness public and private capital to upgrade and repair our nation’s roads, bridges, energy and water infrastructure, expand public transportation, and bring our schools and our communications networks fully into the 21st century. These critical investments will grow our economy by creating and maintaining good jobs, raising wages and rebuilding struggling communities.
• She is committed to raising wages and protecting retirement with dignity and strengthening Social Security and Medicare.
• She has been a tireless fighter for women’s rights, including equal pay for equal work.
• She is a strong supporter of an “all-of-the-above” energy policy (Bernie is not), which includes advancing not only renewables technologies, but also technologies to make our nation’s traditional fuels like oil and coal cleaner, and developing the next generation of nuclear technology.
• She supports advancing technologies to help U.S. manufactures increase their energy efficiency and competitiveness.
• Secretary Clinton supports the repeal of the so-called Cadillac tax
• She will fight to break down all the barriers – racial, economic and gender - that hold Americans back and build ladders of opportunity for all people.
• We celebrate the history being made as Sen. Clinton becomes the first woman to secure the Democratic nomination for president

• She co-founded the bipartisan Senate Manufacturing Caucus as a U.S. Senator.
• Secretary Clinton agrees that a new model on trade is necessary for America’s workers and industries, and opposes the TPP.
• Believes that bad actors – like China – whose global overcapacity in multiple manufacturing sectors has greatly distorted the playing field for American workers and the products they make, and given rise to a flood of illegal trading practices must be penalized.
• She believes that strong trade enforcement is critical to the health and survival of U.S. industries and jobs, and will boost enforcement resources and appoint a special trade prosecutor to hold “bad actors” accountable.
• Opposes the TPP – wants to set a high bar for trade agreements, ensuring they create good American jobs, raise wages, and advance our national security.
• Will crack down on currency manipulation and work with labor and business to take tough actions against unfair trade practices and the theft – physical and virtual – of America’s inventions, both by using the laws we have and seeking new authority where existing rules aren’t enough.
• She will establish the “Manufacturing Renaissance Tax Credit” – modeled on the New Markets Tax Credit to attract new capital, business, and jobs to hard-hit communities; a zero capital gains option on long-term investments; and relief for renovating, refurbishing, or repurposing plants.
• Create incentives for companies to bring back jobs to the U.S. by making America the most attractive location for investment – and crack down on shifting earnings overseas.

• Donald Trump has been offshoring the production of Trump-brand products since 2006.
• Trumps own products are made in China, Mexico, Bangladesh and elsewhere.
• Everything from slippers and men's shirts to ballpoint pens and "Trump body soap" has come to the U.S. from Asian and South American countries.
• It runs in the family:
  • 838 of the Ivanka Trump products recently advertised on the Trump Worldwide website appear to be made exclusively outside the U.S.; 628 are said to be imported and 354 are made specifically in China.
  • Trump's wife, Melania has a jewelry line with QVC – all the jewelry is produced in China.

• Trump is racist
• Trump is sexist
• Trump is xenophobic – anti-anybody not white or male, basically
• Trump has induced hate and ignorance
• Trump has fought against unions and refuses to bargain with unions that have organized at his hotels
• Trump is a supporter of Right to Work
• Trump thinks wages are too high
• Trump is dangerous to our national security with his carelessness

• We know many are weary of political promises, particularly when it comes to trade. But we cannot relent in our agenda. It is our duty to always fight for each other – our jobs, our communities and our families. We must keep being the leading voice fighting for fair trade and strong domestic manufacturing policies, and we must hold candidates and politicians accountable.