Why Not McCain?
"John McCain has served our country well
as a warrior and as a U.S. Senator,” noted APWU President William
Burrus in a recent
APWU magazine article. "As a prisoner of war for five-and-a-half
years, he embodied every principle of outstanding service. He also
has
been principled as a senator."
So why not endorse McCain?
Because Sen. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has
made it clear that he intends to continue many of the policies of George
W. Bush, who has been no friend to postal workers. And John McCain has consistently voted against working people.
According to Congressional Quarterly, McCain has voted in support
of President Bush’s position 89 percent of the time, and 95 percent
of the time in 2007. Among his votes are several that the AFL-CIO and the
APWU consider detrimental to workers and their families:
Jobs
- McCain voted for President Bush’s plan to privatize and
outsource hundreds of thousands of federal jobs, including jobs
at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Department of Homeland
Security, and DHS’ Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- McCain supported rules that favor contractors over government
workers, voting to eliminate regulations designed to create a level
playing field between private contractors seeking government work
and the agencies and workers that perform the work.
- McCain voted to send jobs overseas, supporting tax breaks for
companies that ship jobs out of the country. He also voted to weaken
and waive “Buy American” laws that keep jobs at home.
Social Security
- McCain voted in favor of President Bush’s Social Security
privatization plan, and has stated that the only solution for
fixing Social Security is through privatized accounts. This privatization
scheme would directly affect all postal employees who are covered
by the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) and who will
depend on Social Security for their retirement benefits.
Trade
- McCain has voted for both the Central American Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The
AFL-CIO has long opposed these so-called “free trade” agreements
that further undermine the manufacturing base of this country and
invariably lead to the loss of good-paying jobs.
- After CAFTA and NAFTA were approved, McCain voted in favor of “Fast
Track” trade authorization, which gives the president the
authority to negotiate more trade agreements with foreign countries,
without consulting Congress or state legislators. Fast-tracking
creates a situation under which negotiators are not held accountable
by the public, and legislators are denied their Constitutional
authority to set the terms of trade agreements.
Workers' Rights
- When the Bush administration proposed to change the overtime
pay rules — which would force employees to work longer hours
for less pay — McCain supported the proposal and voted against
protecting overtime rights for millions of workers.
- McCain has voted against extending unemployment benefits not
once, but several times. He also has voted against assistance for
displaced workers.
- McCain voted to block the Employee Free Choice Act, which would
have given American workers both protection and assistance during
efforts to form labor unions. He also has voted against legislation
that would have established an efficient system to enable employees
to form, join, or assist labor organizations and to provide for
mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing
efforts and for other purposes.
- McCain also has supported a national Right-to-Work law, which
is really a “right-to-work-for-less” law. In individual
states such laws allow employers to impose all manner of restrictions
on workers’ right to form labor unions.
- McCain also has voted against raising the minimum wage and — no
surprise — has consistently supported tax cuts for
the wealthiest Americans.
Healthcare
- McCain voted against renewing the State Children’s Health
Insurance Program (SCHIP), which helps working families to get
affordable healthcare by providing coverage for children in families
with modest incomes but that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.
SCHIP passed, but when President Bush vetoed the renewal legislation,
McCain voted to uphold the veto.
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