Local 831L’s Brenda Miles PAC Member of the Quarter

October 01, 2009

Brenda Miles, the recording secretary of Local Union 831L, believes in the power of the USW’s political activism and the Political Action Committees that help to fund that work.

That makes it easy for her to ask members new and old at the Goodyear tire factory in Danville, Va., to support the local’s PAC with a contribution of $1 a week or more.
The approximately 1,600-member Local 831L is the number one PAC contributor in District 8. The Goodyear Danville plant, one of the region’s largest and highest-paying employers, builds truck and other commercial tires.

“Brenda truly gets it,’’ said International PAC Coordinator Mike Scarver, who chose Miles as the PAC member of the quarter in recognition of her efforts.

“She understands the importance of PAC contributions and politics and the role they play in our ability to negotiate contracts and provide the services for our members that they expect to receive,” Scarver said.

Contributions Voluntary

Federal Election Commission rules prohibit the use of union dues money for political purposes. PAC contributions are strictly non-partisan and voluntary.

“Each dollar raised is used to help elect political candidates who will stand up for working men and women no matter their party,” Scarver said.

Local 831L conducted its first PAC drive in January 2003. Local President Danny Barber signed the first card and about 85 members followed suit.

The numbers of PAC participants grew significantly two months later when contributions were solicited during a strike vote. A PAC contributions table manned by the local’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) was set up so members could stop there after voting and picking up a solidarity T-shirt. By day’s end, an additional 927 members had signed up for PAC.

“We did very well signing up our members for that drive,’’ Miles recalled.

A few years later, Miles noticed that participation in the program was flagging. So, she volunteered to pitch for PACs during new-hire presentations made by the union.

Taking Responsibility

“It was falling through the cracks and wasn’t being done. So, I took it. I made it my responsibility,’’ Miles said. “I did it because I believe in what the PAC does. It came easy for me.”
Miles, who has donated $2 a week since the program started, initially thought new hires would be a hard sell for PAC contributions because their starting wages are lower than what veterans make. Her fears were unfounded.

“I tell them that the money that goes to this campaign is bi-partisan. It goes to politicians who support us as working people. And I tell them one thing for sure, what we’ve done in the past – nothing – definitely does not work.

For those who think they can’t afford to contribute, Miles asks, “Is a dollar a week worth saving you job? I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

Politics Matters

And for those who claim to not be political, Miles tells them: “I used to say stuff like that too. You are political whether you know it or not. Your job, your life, is tied to politics and legislation.”

Miles followed her father, John Miles, a union member, into the Goodyear plant at Danville where he had worked for more than 31 years.

“I grew up hearing my father talk about the union and that the union was good for workers,’’ Miles said. “So, when I came to Goodyear it was a no-brainer.”

Miles worked in the plant for nearly 10 years until 1998 when she decided to run for local office as recording secretary, and “they’ve had me ever since.”

USW Local 7655’s William E. Jones is PAC Member of the Quarter

July 02, 2009

USW Local 7655 President William E. Jones knows how important it is for labor to be active in politics and he puts his money where it matters.

“Having labor-friendly candidates means a lot to the future and the very existence of organized labor from our local city and county officials all the way to the president of the United States,’’ Jones said.

Local 7655, which represents employees at the Carrier Air Conditioning plant in Collierville, Tenn., urges members to get involved in local, state and federal elections and participate in payroll check-off for the Steelworkers’ Political Action Fund.

PACs and the funds they raise play a key role in the USW’s ongoing activism on behalf of working people and their families. USW PAC Coordinator Michael Scarver notes that most corporations have well-funded PACs to push their causes in Washington, D.C., and at state and local governments.

“Politics has an effect on everything that this union does for our members from negotiating labor agreements  to fighting for issues that pertain to the running of the facilities where our members work,’’ Scarver said.

Federal Election Commission rules prohibit the use of union dues money for political purposes, making it imperative that members voluntarily support PAC.

Scarver said it is easier than you might think to get a PAC started in your local and arrange for the company to allow payroll check off.  “Once we take that first step and talk to our members, it becomes pretty easy,’’ he said.

Members at Local 7655 are asked to support the fund through voluntary donations of at least $1 a week or $52 a year. This year’s drive was conducted by local Chairperson Debra Daniel.

“This local has been very active in the political arena, particularly in the 2006 Senate race here in Tennessee and, of course, the presidential race last year,’’ Jones said.

"I know PAC is important because it gives labor an opportunity to develop resources to help get pro-labor candidates elected. Corporations outspend labor many times over, but thanks to PAC we were able to pull members out of the local to get the job done.”

Because of its consistent activism in politics, Scarver honored the local by naming Jones the PAC Member of the Quarter.

“They are one of the top contributors in District 9,” Scarver said of the local’s members. “They are at the forefront of every important election that can impact employees at that plant.”

Jones, 34, started working at Carrier when he was 19 and quickly joined the union once his probationary period ended. He has been actively involved since 1997, serving as shop steward and chief steward before being elected president of the local in 2006, when he was 31.

He has served on the locals’ Rapid Response, organizing and bargaining committees as well as the Tennessee Labor Management Foundation, the executive committee of the Shelby County Democratic Party and the United Way Advisory Committee representing labor.

“There is always room for improvement. We as working people should always hold our elected officials accountable and true to their word,’’ Jones said. “There is nothing better for a working person than a union and PAC is a major contributor to the very existence of organized labor.”

USW Local 10-1's Jim Savage is PAC Member of the Quarter

April 03, 2009

For USW Local 10-1 President Jim Savage, the unknown was holding him back.

The long-time union leader knew full well how important politics are to the lives of working families. But he thought getting his company to allow payroll check-off for the Steelworkers' Political Action Fund would be too difficult.

"Our local never donated to PAC. No one ever did it. I was a little uneducated on it to tell you the truth, and I thought I'd have to get it in contract negotiations. I always thought it was important, but I didn't want the company to be able to go to the members and say, ‘You could have had this but your union wanted your PAC money.'"

Enter Mike Scarver, the USW's PAC Coordinator. Savage attended a workshop presented by Scarver and learned that not only was it easy to get the company to allow check-off, but it was necessary.

PACs and the funds they raise play a key role in the USW's ongoing activism on behalf of working people and their families. Most corporations have well-funded PACs to push their causes in Washington, D.C., and at state and local governments.

"I found out that the company had a PAC, and all we needed to get started was to get a letter to company," Savage recalls. "The company said they wanted to wait until negotiations but I of course said, ‘No. We want to do this now.' We couldn't afford to let the company have a say in decisions that impact our lives and our jobs. We had to get in the game."

Getting Educated

Savage said he spoke about the importance of PAC at a local membership meeting and asked shop stewards to show leadership by contributing. The local union leaders got educated about the issues and answered questions from many of the local's 650 members.

"We did pretty good. We asked everybody for a dollar a week and most people were OK with it," Savage said.

More than a third of the local's members are now contributing to PAC.

"It made a big statement to the company when we took in that big stack of cards," Savage said. "It showed that our union is active and involved."

Savage said the local's leaders were able to show most members that PAC is the right thing to do.

"A lot of people were leery of it at first because some said we shouldn't get involved in politics. Our local's leaders said, ‘What do you mean we shouldn't be involved in politics? You're getting screwed every day by politics. We could never compete with these big corporations with the amount of money they donate but we should support the people who support us,'" Savage said.

‘Believe in what you're doing'

Savage said the results have been about more than money for the local, which represents Sunoco Philadelphia refinery workers.

"Most people are giving a dollar or two dollars a week and they feel like they're involved. We were able to talk to every single member of the local and have some important discussions," he said.  "The whole thing was a positive experience for us."

Savage said that he encourages all local union leaders to get involved with PAC.

"The main piece of advice I'd give is that you shouldn't be afraid to speak to your members. Most people, if you know what you're talking about and you're willing to answer questions, most people are OK with having the conversation," he said. "If you approach it as a conversation then something good comes out of it, even if you don't get their dollar a week."

"If every local had their members give $1 a week, we'd raise a whole lot more money to compete with these big corporations," he said.

Savage's other piece of advice: "Believe in what you're doing and what we stand for. You can't sell it if you don't believe it."

For more information about how you can get involved in PAC, contact Mike Scarver at 412-562-2342 or mscarver@usw.org. 

Wayne Holland Jr of Utah is PAC Member of the Quarter

January 05, 2009

Wayne Holland Jr., a USW staff representative for Utah and northern Nevada, has a stellar track record in recruiting for Political Action Committees. How does he do it?

Knowing that PACs and the funds they raise play a key role in the USW’s ongoing activism on behalf of working people and their families, Holland asks members to sign up at the one occasion where he knows the attendance will be good - contract ratification meetings.

“It’s the only time I get the vast majority of members together. It’s an opportunity you can’t pass up,’’ said Holland, a third generation copper miner and political activist.

 Politics, bargaining mesh

Contract ratification meetings are a good place to explain how the political and bargaining environments often mesh since the members expect to hear about the bargaining obstacles faced during the negotiations.

“Steelworker members never fail to step up to the plate and engage in the battle once they have a clear challenge and understand that the bargaining environment is directly affected by the political environment,” Holland said.

Health care is a prime example. Maintaining affordable coverage is a constant struggle as employers push for workers to pay more of the costs and move work to other countries to avoid the expense.

“We can’t solve that at the bargaining table,’’ said Mike Scarver, the USW’s PAC Coordinator. “The only way we’re going to be able to fix the health care mess is through the legislative process. If we can get the right people elected, we can make the problem go away.”

Holland was involved in five separate contract negotiations last year and said he was able to improve PAC participation at every one of those locations. On two different occasions, Holland said more members signed PAC cards than actually voted to ratify the proposed agreements, although in both cases the agreements were approved by comfortable margins.

In Holland’s view, it is a disservice to members to not use ratification meetings to discuss how bargaining successes and political successes intertwine.

“Asking members to be part of the solution so they are not part of the problem should be a natural part of every ratification meeting,” Holland said.

 Stepping up at Dugway

At the Dugway Proving Ground, a U.S. Army facility 85 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, USW members negotiated PAC check-off language for the first time and agreed overwhelmingly to participate in the political fundraising.

PAC sign-up cards were distributed along with contract ratification ballots, Holland said, and 68 out of 78 members agreed to participate by pledging at least $1 a week. Seven members pledged $120 a year.

There are often fears that discussing PAC contributions at the contract ratification will have a negative impact. But Holland said those worries are usually unfounded.

“I still find staff reluctance,” he said. “But the ratification vote is going to go the way it is. You can’t pass up the opportunity to encourage the membership.”

Working family roots

Holland, 50, was born into a working family and raised in a mining community where most of the residents on his street worked for the Kennecott Copper Mine. He joined the union 30 years ago while working for Kennecott during summer breaks from college.

He was interested in politics at an early age. By age 6, he was helping his father, a union miner, put up political signs at intersections where workers would pass.

“I remember governor’s races and U.S. Senate races, putting signs in my dad’s old 58 Chevy pickup,” he said. “I’d hold them while they pounded.”

At 10, he was painting banners for Democrat Hubert Humphrey, and at 23, he was named the western director of Frontlash, an outreach program for young Americans that was funded by the AFL-CIO.

He then worked as a regional community relations director for the AFL-CIO before joining the USW as a staff representative in 1995.

 “I guess looking back, it’s always been in my blood,’’ he said.

For more information about how you can get involved in PAC, contact Mike Scarver at 412-562-2342 or mscarver@usw.org. 

Mike Martin of Malvern, Arkansas is PAC Member of the Quarter

August 26, 2008

Political Action Committees and the funds they raise play a key role in the USW's ongoing activism on behalf of working people and their families.

Several districts and locals have been singled out for their exemplary participation by International PAC Coordinator Mike Scarver.

Leaders like Mike Martin, president of Local 602 in Malvern, Ark. Martin and the local's other officers decided to lead by example and contribute $20 a week each to their local's PAC.

"They understand that the main competition for the product they make is China and that issue can only be resolved through the legislative process,'' Scarver said.

For more information about how you can get involved in PAC,  contact Mike Scarver at 412-562-2342 or mscarver@usw.org.