The CRC CARPENTER The Newsletter of the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council Tuesday, August 7 THE CRC CARPENTER Vol. 22, No. 3 03. From the EST 05. Regional Meetings 04. Our Campaign 07. Talk About It 08. Reaching Out 10. Deja Vu ‘ ‘ 11. In Their Words 06. On Our Side 12. Are You Ready 18. Snapshots 20. Training Schools This issue of the CRC Carpenter paid for by the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council, 1401 Hampton Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63139, Al Bond, Executive Secretary-Treasurer 2 Al Bond, Jr. Executive Secretary-Treasurer THE CRC CARPENTER Vol. 22, No. 3 The moment has finally arrived. Very soon we will have the opportunity to repeal so- called “Right to Work” by voting NO on Prop A on August 7. In 1978, I was just starting my career as a carpenter. I didn’t know at the time just how critical my vote on this issue was, but the older members made sure we understood our careers depended on it. Here we are 40 years later, and I’m nearing the end of my career. This issue is just as important and our votes are even more critical this time. The same out-of-state corporate interests are still trying to hurt working families in Missouri. They lost in 1978, and we’re doing everything to ensure they lose again on August 7. Thanks to the hard work of thousands of volunteers—you’re likely among them—and the more than 310,000 Missourians who signed the petition to get our repeal on the ballot, we have the chance to defeat “Right to Work” once again. Never before have I seen unions, allies and advocates come together like we have to defeat Prop A. It’s going to take all of us to win, and more. I’m asking you to make sure all your friends and family know to vote NO on Prop A on August 7. • Make sure they know Prop A will drive down wages for working families. On average, the median household income in “Right to Work” states is $8,740 less. • Tell them Prop A hurts us all. It will affect union and non-union families alike by weakening job safety, working conditions and gutting our pay, health insurance and pensions. Ultimately, we need to make sure our friends and family know Prop A isn’t what it seems. It’s a deliberate attempt to confuse voters and attack the pay of hardworking families. It will broaden the pay gap between workers and wealthy CEOs, leaving us with lower wages and harder lives. Our way of life is on the line. We need to do everything we can to get everyone we know to turn out to the polls on August 7 to vote NO on Prop A. Let’s send a message loud and clear that “Right to Work” is WRONG for Missouri. 3 A Message from the No On Prop A Campaign Our chance to defeat “Right to Work” in Missouri is coming up on August 7th in large part because of the Carpenters Regional Council of St. Louis and Kansas City’s early and ongoing support at the highest levels of this campaign. The No on Prop A campaign wouldn’t have been possible without allies like you. Last summer, more than 310,000 Missourians signed our petition to make sure voters statewide would get the chance to Vote NO on Proposition A and repeal so-called “Right to Work.” Because of the CRC and other allies, voters will get that chance on August 7th. As the Campaign Manager for the No on Prop A campaign, I want to personally thank EST Al Bond for taking the lead and providing continued support from the CRC. With your help, we got this issue on the ballot and with your help, we will WIN for Missouri’s working families. CRC members have been with us every step of the way, doing whatever we needed to get the job done – whether it was making phone calls, attending events or going door to door. That’s what you do. So, what can you do in the short time left before election day?Volunteer when asked—we still need to knock on thousands of doors and speak with thousands of our neighbors about how important it is to de- feat Proposition A on August 7th. And please make sure all your friends and family are ready to Vote NO on Prop A on August 7th. These final days won’t be easy. The opposition is spending millions of dollars because they know that if Prop A passes, out-of-state corporations and greedy CEOs will make more money off of us by lowering our wages and slashing our benefits. We are facing the fight of our lives to protect wages, jobs, and our voice in the workplace. We are hard at work mobilizing people to defeat Prop A. And, this campaign is going to win because hardworking people like you stood up and fought back. Please continue to help us spread the message until August 7th that Prop A will drive down wages and cost us jobs. It is designed to confuse voters—but we are not falling for it. See you at the polls on August 7th and thank you again for your support and leadership. EST Al Bond presenting a check to Mike Louis of the AFL-CIO to help fund the NO On Prop A In solidarity, campaign. Ryan Burke No on Prop A Campaign Manager www.VoteNoOnPropA.org NoOnPropA 4 THANK YOU CARPENTERS REGIONAL NO ON PROP A MEETINGS All across Missouri, hundreds of you joined EST Al Bond at regional informational events to learn about our campaign to defeat Proposition A. From St. Louis to Kansas City, and points in between, we heard from members and families looking to volunteer and spread the truth about “Right to Work.” “If anything good has come out of our current political battles, it’s the solidarity that we have seen in every corner of the state,” said EST Al Bond. “There’s nothing like a crisis to bring families together and I think this has reminded all of us how much strength there is in our union. I couldn’t be more proud today to call myself a union carpenter.” After 310,000 petition signatures were collected last year, the RTW law that was passed by lawmakers and signed by the governor was put on hold, setting the stage for the Aug. 7 vote on Prop A. Not since 1978, when “Right to Work” was last put to a vote of the people, have we experienced this level of involvement and volunteerism. Many long time members say it’s the kind of unity and strength in numbers they remember from decades past. That kind of dedication will be even more important on Election Day. It won’t be enough to just defeat Prop A. In order to send a message and keep this terrible legislation from coming back year after year, we need a real show of force and a sizable victory. Given what we have already seen from our members around the state, we’re on the right track. 5 ON OUR SIDE In Jefferson City, a vocal minority of lawmakers has been fighting the good fight against big-money special interests hoping to get rich(er) off working families. What do you tell your constituents who asked about “Right to Work”? Is the leadership in the Missouri House eager to see us become a RTW state? Rep. Bruce Franks (D-St. Louis): Folks in RTW states make less money and their Rep. Doug Beck (D-Affton): It’s pretty obvious work environment is less safe. The peo- that this was their top priority. I guess it was ple pushing this are bamboozling us with one of the promises that they made to their this rhetoric. Everybody has the right to billionaire donors that they would get this done work. What they’re doing is just wrong. this year. Rep. Crystal Quade (D-Springfield): Particularly in my Is it tricky for Republican lawmakers who district, where we have a very high poverty rate, we need stand with us and fight against “Right to to do everything we can so folks are able to provide the Work”? best wages for their families. It’s about protecting workers Rep. Becky Ruth (R-Festus): Not versus corporations and the corporate interests. for me. I’ve always stood very strong with my district. Obviously Do you have a prediction for Aug. 7? the GOP has a majority that has Rep. Doug Beck (D-Affton):If the vote is close then I would voted for it in the past, but you still expect them to introduce it again next year. We need to have a portion of Republicans who defeat it hard, and if we do, I don’t think they’ll come back are not in favor of it and they vote with it again next year. their districts. Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis): When that rally hap- Who is really behind the push to make Missouri a RTW pened at the Capitol and they turned in those 310,000 sig- state? natures there was an overwhelming sense of ‘holy cow, this is a real force.’ I definitely think some of the Republicans Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis): There are some legisla- started to think maybe they are wrong to keep pursuing tors who really have bought into the mythology that labor this because the people are going to hold them account- is the enemy and that high wages are the enemy of a good able eventually.