James P. Hoffa: Obama needs help of workers to get change like auto aid

[Bozita]

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Friday, November 14, 2008
James P. Hoffa: Labor Voices
Obama needs help of workers to get change like auto aid



The change we worked so hard for is already starting to happen.

During his Oval Office meeting with President George W. Bush, President-elect Barack Obama urged immediate help for the troubled auto industry. I took it as a strong sign that our new president cares -- a great deal -- about jobs.

That's why the Teamsters put more boots on the ground to elect Obama than we ever have. We were convinced that Obama understands the fundamental importance of good jobs. We looked at his modest background, his belief in collective action and his pro-worker record. We concluded that he's one of us.

We were one of the first unions to endorse Obama for president in February. Since then, more than 40,000 Teamsters volunteered to work for him. We made 1.6 million phone calls and sent more than 2.6 million direct mail pieces to our members. I barnstormed battleground states, and so did our General Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel.

It wasn't just the biggest mobilization effort in our history, it was the smartest. We told our members how Obama grew up in a single-parent household, how he took out massive student loans to pay for college and law school, how he chose to become a community organizer rather than to go to Wall Street.

Our members listened, and they came out to vote for him. Teamsters tend to be the demographic who weren't supposed to vote for Obama. The facts tell a different story.

A much higher percentage of union voters cast their ballots for Obama than did the general public -- 67 percent of union voters compared with 52 percent of the popular vote.

Union members over 65 voted for Obama by a 46-point margin. Compare that with nonunion voters over 65. They voted for John McCain by 8 points.

White noncollege graduates who belong to a union voted for Obama by 23 points. Among all white noncollege voters, Obama lost by 18 points.

But if Obama won with the help of workers, he'll need our help to govern, as well.

Many big businesses aren't interested in getting the economy back on track by creating jobs. They've shown during the past 30 years that they're more interested in rewarding shareholders by cutting jobs.

With the help of working families, Obama can create new jobs. As soon as he takes office, he can push for relief for automakers. We'll help him.

He can pressure Congress to pass a $60 billion program to rebuild our infrastructure. We'll help him. He can give the middle-class a tax cut. We'll help him.

We'll need his help, too, in helping working families realize the American dream.

We'll also need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which would give workers bargaining power to raise their wages and achieve health care and retirement benefits.

We'll need to stop passing trade deals that reward multinational corporations with giveaways and protections while allowing them to kill jobs here.

We'll need to reward companies that keep good-paying jobs in America -- and reward those that send them overseas.

We'll need some relief for pension funds that have been hammered by the credit crisis and stock market fall.

Change is more than something to believe in. It's something to work for -- and now the hard work is about to begin.

James P. Hoffa is president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. E-mail comments to [e-mail].