CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
Attention Fence-Sitters:
Do the Right Thing November 7
by Cathy Repola
 Cathy Repola |
By the time you are reading this, the November election will be just days away. No doubt everyone is tired of the ads, the mailings, the phone calls and too many people telling you how to vote. If you are voting for Phil Angelides for governor of California, then I am preaching to the choir. So don’t bother reading on unless you’re a political junkie and enjoy all this political fervor.
If, at this point, you are adamantly supporting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, then it must be due to your personal views on whatever social, economic or political issues are near and dear to your heart. No matter how many times the union informs you that as a labor union member, you should vote for Angelides—and no matter what I write here—your mind is made up and there is nothing I, or anyone else, can say that will change your viewpoint. Reading on may just aggravate you.
The ones that should read on are those who think they may vote for Schwarzeneg-ger but aren’t really sure, or are truly sitting on the fence undecided, or don’t want to bother to vote at all. It is for all of you that I am writing this. If you have read any of the political commentaries by this union or any other in the past, there are always key words or catchy phrases used and, as much as I attempt to avoid them, they will likely shine through here because they are the truth and I am writing this from my heart.
The other disclaimer: I have written in this magazine many times telling you how crucial it is to make sure that so-and-so gets elected, or that some proposition passes—or not—and how it is more important than every time before. Well guess what? Every time I have said it, it has been true—and it is true again.
You may remember having heard a few years ago from this union, the IATSE, and the entire labor movement in California, about the fear of what Schwarzenegger would do to unions and working people if elected. It all came to fruition and then some. He went beyond what we even imagined and launched an unprecedented attack. He tries to persuade people that he has learned his lessons. However, in the one and only debate that took place for this governor’s race, he said that his ideas were right—it was just the way he went about trying to make the changes that was wrong.
At the core of who he is and what he stands for, he is in stark contrast to what a labor union’s ideals are rooted in. He stands for the opposite of what we fight for, what we believe in and what created the labor movement in the first place. If re-elected, he will continue to try and move his agenda forward and the labor movement in this state will have to continue to devote our time and resources to fight him off.
The IATSE was the first labor union to officially and publicly endorse Angelides during the primaries because IA President Tom Short and the Executive Board understand the contrast between these two candidates. Any union sincerely dedicated to the essence of its mission and the livelihoods of its members must do everything it can to convince those members to vote for Angelides. He has pledged his loyalty to the labor movement and specifically to the IATSE membership.
And if the labor movement perspective is not enough to sway you, then remember that Angelides has promised to fight to get film tax incentive legislation passed in California, unlike Schwarzenegger, who didn’t lift a finger to help in our campaign to pass this legislation earlier this year. It failed as a result.
Please consider all of this and make sure your vote is cast for the only candidate who will look out for our interests, Phil Angelides.
Cathy Repola is the Guild’s Assistant Executive Director in the Hollywood office.