The Democratic leadership in Sacramento and Washington has become silent on issues in government that will protect the working class and organized labor; and now to have a voice in government, working people must look beyond the emerging one party system for political leadership.
PFP VOICE UNION CONCERNS
Stewart A. Alexander 2006 Candidate California Lieutenant Governor Peace and Freedom Party
The California June Primary is less than three months away and candidates from every political party are seeking the support and votes from labor organizations and their members. The Democrats and Republicans are anticipating the traditional endorsements they usually receive from labor; however both parties have created a distant relationship with working people and unions. For decades voters perceived the Democrats as the party that took a stand on the issues associated with working class people, but within the past two decades the Democratic leadership in California and the nation has become increasingly silent concerning labor issues and has backed away from voicing the views of working people. Today the political landscape and climate is changing rapidly; now there is the left, the right and the middle. The Peace and Freedom Party is the political left and the Democratic leadership appears to be riding the fence; the Republican right represents only big corporate interest. When you listen to the campaign ads of the Democratic leadership it is only a hollow voice with no substance beyond the glamour of the ads. The ads are selling good looks and personality, but working people are looking for advocates that will represent them on many fronts. In many of the anti-war demonstrations occurring throughout the state the Peace and Freedom Party took the concerns of the working people to the streets, reaching millions to protest Schwarzenegger’s Special Election and his acts against the teachers, the nurses, public employees, and his efforts to weaken unions. The Democrats were present at times to protest the war however the Peace and Freedom Party vehemently protested the Special Election and the war on the same stage. The Special Election of 2005 was a big turn-around for politics in the State of California and gave Californians a clear perspective of the leadership in Sacramento. Bob Evans of the PFP said, “Those behind Proposition 75 recognized that it didn’t make all that much difference whether Democrats or Republicans are elected; when the chips are down, the politicians of both parties stand ready to attack the working class to help the tiny few who own the economy.” Bob Evans is the recording secretary for the Peace and Freedom Party. This year, as in past election years, the Democratic and Republican candidates have their sights on labor organizations and their members but within recent years both parties have given little back to support the cause of these organizations. The PFP has been doing voter registrations throughout the state for the upcoming elections and students and working people are quick to change their registration to PFP and many state their dissatisfaction with the leadership of both parties. Stewart Alexander, the PFP Candidate for California Lieutenant Governor, says, “I see little difference between the Democratic leadership of this country and the Republicans. Labor organizations have been left to protect workers wages, benefits and job security, and limited assistance has come from elected officials in Sacramento or Washington.” Stewart Alexander has been a member of several unions to include the Retail Clerks, Machinist and the Teamsters and most of the leadership in the PFP are union members or have been affiliated with unions. The PFP has represented the interest of working people since the beginning of the party in 1967. Alexander says, “Look at the leadership in Sacramento and Washington, they don’t know what it means to be part of organize labor or for labor to have a collective voice, they don’t understand the importance of having that collective representation. Without unions, in corporate America, you are only victims of modern day slave labor.” Californians will be going to the polls in June and November of this year and the questions are not about the issues, it’s about the representation. Voters can now vote the middle or the right and get the same results, or vote the left, Peace and Freedom Party, the party for change and working people. For more information search the web for Stewart A. Alexander for California Lieutenant Governor . www.salt-g.com