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The UFCW Political Action Committee is a segregated fund of voluntary payroll deductions of $.25 (twenty-five cents) per week from UFCW members.  The funds raised are used to help elect labor friendly candidates in our cities, counties and at the state Legislature.  State law strictly prohibits unions or corporations to use general revenue for political campaigns.

A candidate will receive UFCW Local 99's endorsement based on their support or position on working family issues; not on party affiliation.  Issues such as worker's right to organize, collective bargaining, living wages, and quality health care to mention a few, determine who gets our support.

A successful political campaign needs a qualified candidate, volunteers, and money.  Money allows the  candidate to deliver their message to the voters.  Direct mail, radio and TV spots are extremely costly but necessary to communicate with the voting population and effectively deliver the candidate's message.

Join UFCW Local 99's Political Action Committee. 

For more information regarding the UFCW Local 99 PAC, e-mail Stan Chavira at stanc@ufcw99.com

I’m often amazed by how the most simple and obvious things can get lost in the big picture.

A long-distance runner needs to use all his strength to run 26 miles to get to the finish line, but without taking small sips of water along the way, he’ll never make it.

A closing pitcher of a baseball team needs to record the final three outs of the game to win the championship, but he also needs to know how to simply throw the ball before he can hurl any strikes.

We need to change America, but we need to elect the people who will help facilitate that change from the local races to the presidential race before we can do that.

The simple and obvious fact is: We need to elect more people who care about the wellbeing of working men and women.

Before you vote on Nov. 4, please take the time to review each candidate’s record on issues that are important to us — issues like the Employee Free Choice Act and local proposals to build Wal-Mart Supercenters: the issues which will affect your economic wellbeing.

For example, here’s what to look for in a candidate:

Candidate A

Candidate A has supported pro-corporate, pro-rich policies throughout his political career.

Candidate A opposes all initiatives to protect and expand the right of workers to organize and negotiate the terms of their employment. In fact, this candidate supports legislation that would make it even harder for workers to join a union. He also opposes the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which would enable workers who have been discriminated against on the basis of gender, race or religion to recover damages from their employers.

This candidate repeatedly expresses hostility against environmental controls, infrastructure improvement and protecting our industrial base against outsourcing.

Candidate A promises a lot, but he does not promise the change that working people in this country need.

Candidate B

Candidate B, on the other hand, shares our vision of an America where hard work is respected and those who do it are protected.

He supports the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which is Labor’s top legislative priority, and also backs the Fair Pay Restoration Act.

Candidate B has a solid record in support of policies that will protect the environment, repair our deteriorating roads and bridges, and save good American jobs.

Which candidate should get your vote? That’s easy.

Candidate B is a true friend of Labor who deserves our enthusiastic support.

In this all-important presidential election, candidate B is Barack Obama. Candidate A is John McCain.
Sen. Obama is the one candidate who aligns himself with working families’ principles and who backs our legislative priorities.

This is what he has to say about the Employee Free Choice Act.

 “I support this bill because in order to restore a sense of shared prosperity and security, we need to help working Americans exercise their right to organize under a fair and free process and bargain for their fair share of the wealth our country creates. The current process for organizing a workplace denies too many workers the ability to do so.”

We need a friend in Washington who understands that the purpose of government is to help all people, not just the privileged few.

Corporations are backing McCain because he is against the Employee Free Choice Act. A vote for McCain is a vote against yourself.

We do not advocate that you vote for a candidate from one party or another, but that you make a decision on his or her stand on issues that protect our economic future and not other “hot button” issues.

Inside this issue are other candidates up for election in their respective races who have a proven track record for voting positively on the issues that affect the hard-working men and women of Arizona.

Help us elect worker-friendly candidates at all levels of government. Talk to your union representative about how to get involved in union-backed “get out the vote” campaigns ongoing now. Every little bit helps.

We can elect more worker-friendly candidates to public office, but we need you to make it happen. You can make the difference.

BARACK OBAMA vs JOHN McCAIN
	Where the Candidates Stand on Issues that Affect Working People
HEALTH CARE Sen. Obama is committed to providing quality, affordable health care to every American, regardless of age, employment status or pre-existing conditions. He will work to expand Medicaid and SCHIP programs and lower health care costs in general by overhauling and modernizing the U.S. health care system. Sen. McCain opposes a universal health care program. He wants to shift health care responsibility onto individuals rather than employers. He even wants to tax health care premiums. McCain refuses to acknowledge the plight of America's working families; his plan does nothing to control skyrocketing health care costs or to help the 47 million Americans without insurance. HOUSING Barack Obama is committed to preserving the American Dream. His well-defined plan to end the housing crisis includes a $10 billion fund to help prevent foreclosures — funded partly by penalties imposed on fraudulent lenders. He also wants to increase financial counseling and tax credits for homeowners, while eliminating many fees. Sen. Obama’s plan also will require better disclosure by lenders. John McCain doesn’t really have a strategy to end the housing crisis. He says he would consider greater intervention by the federal government to limit the effects of the mortgage meltdown if current measures fail, but he believes a government bailout should only be a last resort. LABOR As a co-sponsor and strong advocate of the Employee Free Choice Act, Sen. Obama is committed to protecting workers’ rights. He worked to raise the minimum wage and supports increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit to help working families. Obama wants to protect collective bargaining rights, expand FMLA and paid leave, and ensure that workplaces are safer. Sen. McCain voted to block the Employee Free Choice Act and has consistently voted against collective bargaining rights, overtime guarantees, unemployment benefits and fair pay. He even voted to eliminate the federal minimum wage and to allow privatization and outsourcing of government jobs. TRADE Barack Obama supports fair trade policies that create American jobs instead of sending them overseas. He will meet with trade representatives from Canada and Mexico to overhaul NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) in order to help American workers. Sen. Obama will pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from using unfair trade practices. “Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.” — Sen. Barack Obama, July 24, 2008 John McCain voted yes on NAFTA in 1993 and maintains his position that it is “a good idea.” He also supported CAFTA (the Central American Free Trade Agreement) and wants to expand free trade. He has even voted to outsource government jobs overseas. Sen. McCain has called himself “the biggest free marketer and free trader that you will ever see.” EDUCATION Sen. Obama is a strong supporter of public education reform, including expansion of early-childhood programs, increased funding for schools at all levels and improved assessment policies. Sen. Obama will overhaul the No Child Left Behind program and ensure that it is funded adequately. Obama supports college outreach programs for low-income families and wants to simplify the financial aid process. He proposes an American Opportunity Tax Credit to give many Americans $4,000 in exchange for 100 hours of community service. Sen. McCain voted for President Bush’s flawed No Child Left Behind. He strongly and consistently supports school vouchers, which use public education funds to help families pay for private school tuition, but takes money and students away from public schools. McCain voted against increasing federal student loans and Pell Grants and against expanding eligibility for financial aid, making higher education further out of reach for many American families. RETIREMENT Barack Obama strongly opposes privatizing Social Security. He will reject any Social Security plan that includes benefit cuts or a massive increase in debt. Obama understands the problems of American seniors and is committed to finding solutions. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security with risk-based accounts and has supported deep benefit cuts. He voted to raise the retirement age, raise the Medicare age and expose seniors to higher Medicare premiums. He also voted to cut more than $6 billion from Medicare and to use Social Security funds to pay off federal debts rather than to help America’s seniors. ECONOMY Barack Obama recognizes that our economy is in trouble and is committed to finding a solution. He will invest in infrastructure, innovative technologies, schools and medical care and use tax credits to help working families. He will reform bankruptcy laws, especially to protect families with out-of-control health care costs. John McCain is out of touch with the needs of working Americans. Despite skyrocketing health care, housing and living costs, and stagnant wages, McCain still believes the “fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong.” He nevertheless admitted: “the issue of economics is something that I’ve really never understood as well as I should.” ‘The issue of economics is something that I’ve really never understood as well as I should.’ -John McCain IMMIGRATION Sen. Obama is a strong supporter of immigration reform. He co-sponsored the DREAM Act and the Citizen Promotion Act, and also supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act and the Secure Fence Act. He wants to reduce incentives for illegal immigration and would toughen penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants. Sen. McCain also supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act and the Secure Fence Act, but unlike Sen. Obama, McCain also said that existing illegal immigrants should be “rounded up and deported.”

EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT: Workers need it NOW! By Paul Rubin

You have probably been approached at work to sign a card to support the Employee Free Choice Act.
Congress took up the issue last year. The House of Representatives passed the legislation, but the Senate didn’t. President Bush promised to veto the act if it was passed.

Now, with a new president and a new Congress to be elected in November, there is new hope that the act will become the law of the land.

So, what’s this all about?

Poll after poll shows a majority of workers in the United States want to be represented by a union. Yet the percentage of workers who are represented by unions is in the low teens. Why the disconnect?

Back in the 1930s, Congress passed the Wagner Act, which established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to protect the rights of workers to organize and join unions. The law worked well for many years, but over the past 25 years, employers realized they could easily thwart the law.

A whole industry of “union busters” arose, advising employers how to intimidate their workers and only get minor, inconsequential penalties.

Under today’s NLRB, employers can force workers and their unions to go to elections to determine if a union should represent the workers. Employers want elections, even though they are “secret ballot,” because they know they can easily win elections.

How? The election process takes about a month, which gives the employer plenty of time to fire key activists. Another common tactic is to hold one-on-one meetings between supervisors and employees where the employees are told that the workplace could close and the employees could lose everything they have. These meetings are generally conducted by supervisors who are trained by the union busters.

The other favorite tactic is the “captive audience” meeting. At these required meetings at the workplace, employees are harassed and threatened by union busters and company supervisors.

It’s all about spreading fear, because they know that scared employees generally don’t vote for a union.
So how will the Employee Free Choice Act change that? The act allows unions to be the representatives of the workers when a majority of employees sign authorization cards saying they want to be represented by a union. No month-long attack against the employees. A majority signs cards and the union is the representative. This is similar to the way it is done in Canada.

Why should this matter to all of you who already have the protections of a union contract?

The answer comes down to market share. If all of the workers in an industry were covered under a union contract, then the bargaining power of workers in that industry would be that much greater. Which, of course, is why the employers are poised to spend many millions of dollars to prevent that from happening.
Fortunately, we have the people on our side and we have a presidential candidate, Barack Obama, who has pledged to sign the act if and when it is passed by Congress.

EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE: Fiction and Fact

FICTION:“The legislation would end the rights of employees to secret ballot elections.”  — Center for Union Facts

FACT: Employee Free Choice does not abolish elections. Under the proposed bill, workers get to choose the union formation process — elections or majority sign-up. What the Employee Free Choice does prevent is an employer manipulating the flawed system to influence the election outcome. When faced with organizing campaigns: 25 percent of employers illegally fire pro-union workers; 51 percent illegally threaten to close down work sites if a union is formed; and 34 percent of employers coerce workers into opposing the union with bribes and favoritism.

FICTION: “Legal recognition of a union has traditionally been achieved through secret ballot elections… just like how a person votes for a senator or congressman.”  — Center for Union Facts

FACT: Current union elections involving secret ballots bear no resemblance to political elections. Workers’ free speech rights are squelched, employers practice various forms of economic coercion, and labor law allows employers to indefinitely delay recognition through drawn-out appeals. The presence of secret ballots can’t overcome the corrupt nature of NLRB elections.

FICTION:  NLRB elections are “the only way to guarantee worker protection from coercion and intimidation.” — Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

FACT: Workers are more susceptible to coercion in NLRB elections than in majority sign-up. Workers in elections are twice as likely (46 percent vs. 23 percent) as those in majority sign-up campaigns to report that management coerced them to oppose the union. Further, fewer than one in 20 workers (4.6 percent) who signed a card with a union organizer reported that the presence of the organizer made them feel pressured to sign the card.

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Please mail the signed completed form to: UFCW Local 99 Attn: Stan Chavira 2401 N. Central Ave, 2nd Fl Phoenix, AZ 85004-133