There’s an old saying, “In mixed company you don’t discuss politics or religion.”  Politics is a subject that when discussed from opposing viewpoints, in many cases does not end well.  So, no one likes to talk about it.  That being said, hear me out.

As citizens of the United States, we have the privilege of electing our leadership.  This is something we must not take for granted.  However, to realize this privilege, we must VOTE.

I dare say that the majority of voters do not agree with every position of their chosen party's platform, including myself.  As a lifelong Union member, my priorities for leadership fall to those candidates who support the working class in the United States.  That goes hand in hand with a candidate who stands up for organized labor, meaning Unions.

It’s no secret that the rules governing the financial support of those seeking a political office vastly favor the wealthy and corporate America.  As Union workers, we must pool our limited resources and place those resources in the hands of those who will support the hard working women and men of America’s middle class.

As Teamsters, D.R.I.V.E. is an avenue to do just that.  The acronym D.R.I.V.E. represents Democrat, Republican, Independent, Voter, Education. Over the years, D.R.I.V.E. has contributed to candidates from any party that clearly support America’s workers and organized labor.

In Wisconsin, those in power brought us Act 10; stripping public sector workers of their right to bargain a Union contract.  Perhaps, if you weren’t employed in the public sector you didn’t care.  Then came Right to Work (for less), once again, if you weren’t a Union employee; no need for alarm.  We began to see other issues following in their wake; we saw changes that made collecting Unemployment Compensation more difficult, gerrymandering which affected the outcome of state elections and a biased Wisconsin Supreme Court.  On a national level, the erosion of NLRB and DOL’s support for American workers.  Unfortunately, the list goes on. As the middle class in America, we must support labor-friendly candidates with our votes and our dollars. If we fail, the erosion of the protection of workers rights will continue.

If your contract does not contain D.R.I.V.E. language, propose it for your next contract. If your contract does contain D.R.I.V.E. language, seek out your Steward or Business Representative to sign up to contribute a dollar or two each week for D.R.I.V.E.  It is through our many small contributions that we will help finance the election of leaders who will fight to stop the continuing attack on American workers' rights.