Why did I spend $3,000 on an election I will most likely lose. I'm afraid this election will go down in our history as an assault on brotherhood and the strengthening of union autocracy.
Why do I say that? Just look at the campaign’s new rules. If you're not an incumbent, you get no union support. Zero.
If you're an incumbent, your job is to promote unions everyday as an elected official.
That's a good thing, but doing that you have to sell yourself. In other words, campaigning, for the union’s benefit is campaigning for yourself on behalf of the union.
It’s absolutely no different than what contractors do. As a contractor when I met with a potential customer. I would tell them how wonderful and skilled are crews are and how good a job we will do. Are business agents and manager are doing the same thing, selling themselves because that's the commodity we sell. Selling trust. In other words, we’re campaigning to win over their trust. So all that blabber about making the rules equal to everyone is hypocritical.
It's a disease that's been here for a while and it's growing. It was easy to see the symptoms, hide history, and ask the lawyers if betraying the members is legal.
The die has been cast. The rule has been made. Unionism castrated by political greed.
Access will cost you $3,000 and absolutely, no guarantees.
Dear brother, your right to campaign has a price.
It's capitalism. How ironic is that?