e-Team Report, Oct. 16, 2012

Obama Buttons, Flyers Now Available

Election Day is only three weeks away and the campaigns are in full swing.  As you know, APWU is backing President Obama, with APWU delegates endorsing him for President at our 21st Biennial National Convention in Los Angeles.

To drive home that endorsement, APWU is mailing out buttons supporting the reelection of President Barack Obama to locals for distribution to union members and others.  Union members who want buttons should contact their local presidents.

Additionally, locals can now order AFL-CIO flyers supporting President Obama and contrasting his positions with Mitt Romney on the future of the Postal Service and issues important to working families. 

Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid reminds members that under the Hatch Act, postal employees and other federal workers are prohibited from wearing these buttons or distributing these flyers while on the clock or at work.

To read more about APWU buttons and flyers, please click here.

Romney's Bain Selling Out American Workers to China

Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital is still in the business of buying up and offshoring American enterprises.  It’s most recent offshoring project, Sensata Technologies, is in the process of sending 170 good, American jobs to China.  As the New York Times reports, Mitt Romney “owns about $8 million worth of Bain funds that hold 51 percent of Sensata’s shares.  If Sensata saves money by closing the Freeport plant, that could add money to Mr. Romney’s trust accounts, now or after the election.”

Romney Blasts Employee Free Choice Act

There he goes again.  On a call to Iowa voters last Tuesday, Mitt Romney accused President Obama of wanting to force people to join unions.  To do that, Mitt Romney mischaracterized President Obama’s support for the Employee Free Choice Act by saying the President “is intent on taking away the right for a secret ballot.”

Unlike Mitt Romney’s mischaracterization, the Employee Free Choice Act would give workers greater freedom to make their own choices about joining unions and bargaining for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. It would also stiffen penalties for retaliation by employers against workers who attempt to organize a union or obtain a first contract.

To read more about Mitt Romney’s unfounded attack, please click here.

GAO Finds No Evidence of Voter Fraud

Now, speaking of actual efforts to obstruct people’s right to vote…

A few months back, Philadephia Mayor Michael Nutter commented that the slew of new voter ID laws popping up across the country were nothing more than “a bad solution looking for a problem.”

State courts in Pennsylvania went on to agree with Nutter that voter ID laws were a bad solution.  They waived the state’s new voter ID requirement out of concern that legitimate voters could be denied their right to vote.

Now, the independent, nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has verified that voter ID laws are attempting to solve a nonexistent problem.  As National Journal details, “In a report released Thursday examining state voting requirements, the GAO could not document cases of voter fraud.”

To read more about the report, please click here.

Your Vote

So when will you vote? Do you usually vote in person on Election Day, or do you take advantage of absentee or early voting? If you’re going to the polls in person, do you go before work, during the day or on your way home? What issues are you going to be thinking about when you cast your ballot?

To check out a cool online tool to help working Americans plan their vote, please click here.

Gotta Vote

Unfortunately, several voter ID laws and tightened voting restrictions are on the books in many states nationwide.  Do you know what you need to bring to the polls this year? 

To find out exactly what your state now requires you to bring to the polls on Election Day, please visit gottavote.com.