COPE Kick-Off Follows Dallas Protest

Tue, 05/29/2012 - 8:06am

By Bruce Hamilton

The chanting had barely died down outside Greyhound’s corporate headquarters in Dallas on May 22 when Local 1700 COPE activists from across the Southwest kicked off the 2012 campaign to re-elect Pres. Barack Obama. Get ready for a summer and fall filled with voter registration and mobilization.

Our first task is making sure that everyone we know is registered to vote. @WAR will concentrate on this essential step during June and July, and Local 1700 will hold meetings and organize activities to get the job done.

New voters are overwhelmingly “ours.” Some are young people voting for the first time, and they reject the conservative social agenda. Others may have ignored politics before, but now see how Big Business has stacked the deck against them. Others may be former voters who are discouraged, but blame Republicans for causing Washington gridlock.

At the meeting we discussed the most useful information on the Internet for arguing our case to our extended families, our co-workers and our neighbors, from the AFL-CIO and ATU Local 1700 websites to the Obama-Biden campaign’s website. And we discussed the timeline for activities leading up to the November elections.

Local 1700 members haven’t always agreed on which presidential candidate to support, but this election is different. This time the Republicans – led by the Tea Party fanatics – have made it absolutely clear that their goal is to destroy unions and everything ATU members have fought to achieve for our communities, our families and ourselves. And their “Super PACs” have billions to spend!

Our most basic rights are at stake, but this election cannot become a defensive fight. We’re just beginning to clean up the mess that George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and their corporate supporters created. Click here for a 7-minute video about the Obama Administration’s accomplishments.

This November, we need to elect a Congress willing to enact fair over-the-road policies, beginning by extending overtime laws to cover inter-city bus drivers! And then ATU-COPE must continue to actively influence public policy during Obama’s second term.

Please share your comments about the first three issues of @WAR.  This is something new we’re trying out this year because of the extreme importance of this election. We want to make sure we’re reaching our most active members – those of you who are willing to roll up your sleeves and help move the entire Local 1700 membership to work hard and win this fall.