You probably saw the news from the Republican National Convention this week: although the theme of the night was “Making America Work Again,” no speaker mentioned strengthening unions, protecting retirement security, standing up to corporate CEOs, or investing in America’s public transit system. As your union, we won't tell you who to vote for. But we wanted to share a few facts about the GOP and their plan for working people:
- Mr. Trump has said publicly that he supports “Right-to-Work” laws that eliminate unions. (Source) Gov. Pence championed right-to-work legislation in Indiana and sponsored federal right-to-work legislation during his 12 years in the House of Representatives. (Source)
- Mr. Trump opposes raising the minimum wage, complaining that “wages in America are already too high.” (Source) He's also said he cares about creating jobs in America, but he produces many of his Trump-branded products in low-wage countries like Bangladesh, China, and Honduras. (Source) Gov. Pence calls minimum wage increases “anti-poor.” (Source)
- The GOP platform announced this week—and supported by the Trump/Pence ticket—includes stripping transit programs from the Highway Trust Fund and privatizing Amtrak service. Similarly, Gov. Pence’s record includes repeated votes FOR the Paul Ryan budgets that slashed federal transportation funding by more than 30 percent, and several votes to gut Amtrak – even supporting proposals to zero it out, end all service, and send pink slips to 20,000 dedicated employees. (Source)
- At the Trump hotel in Las Vegas, Mr. Trump’s managers allegedly assaulted workers to prevent union organizing and refuse to recognize a union election even though a majority of workers voted “union yes.” Just yesterday, the hotel settled with two workers, but still refuses to negotiate with nearly 500 others. (Source) While in the House, Gov. Pence voted multiple times to limit the powers of the National Labor Relations Board and to deliberately frustrate the process by which workers choose a union. (Source)
- Mr. Trump uses America's bankruptcy laws to make himself richer — just like American Airlines and countless other corporations. He has filed six different bankruptcies. Each time, Mr. Trump gets richer on the backs of working people. (Source)
As we inch toward the election in November, consider your vote carefully. Make sure you're armed with the facts, and vote with your best interests as a union member and working American in mind.
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