SEIU Ponders Early Endorsement of Newsom

by Paul Hogarth, Beyond Chron (reposted)

Wed, May 23, 2007 6:23AM

It’s only May, but key endorsements for the Mayor’s race are already picking up. Last night, the various locals that make up SEIU had a question-and-answer meeting with Gavin Newsom, as he seeks the powerful union’s early endorsement for re-election. While the group made no public recommendation before the State Council votes on June 4th, members gathered to ask the Mayor about issues with their contracts – proving that an early endorsement from SEIU cannot be taken for granted. For Local 1021, who represents all City employees and several non-profits, meeting with Newsom was a meeting with their “boss” – with the Mayor’s budget (which will have a profound effect on their jobs) scheduled to be released on June 1st. Meanwhile, Supervisor Chris Daly was on hand to ask SEIU to hold off on an early endorsement, as he invited members to attend the June 2nd Progressive Convention that will field another candidate.

While labor unions tend to support progressive candidates, it’s not unusual for them to endorse Mayors for re-election. For example, while Tom Ammiano challenged Willie Brown in 1999 from the Left, most unions went with Brown. Therefore, with Newsom having sky-high approval ratings and no serious opponent yet, it won’t be surprising if SEIU and other unions choose to endorse him.

In a letter to the SEIU members as they entered the hall, Daly acknowledged that many in the labor movement think that an early endorsement of Newsom is “the best that can be done” for working people. But he urged members that “when we fight, we win,” as he argued that Newsom’s record on labor issues does not stand scrutiny. Inside the hall, one of the member chapters distributed a flyer against an early endorsement – citing unresolved issues such as temporary employees, retirement benefits and privatization.

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§Anti-rent control Newsom & Anti-labor Daly are both Democrats

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Thu, May 24, 2007 2:33AM

The county employees union, SEIU, is now endorsing the reactionary anti-rent control puppet of the real estate industry that employs the county employees, election fraud "mayor" Democrat Gavin Newsom, proving that this union is just another company union. Rent control is enjoyed by the workingclass of San Francisco without whom this city would come to a grinding halt.

The other Democrat discussed above, Supervisor Chris Daly, has become known for his defense of tenants, a safe and popular issue in a city that is 60% tenant, while attacking the wages and working conditions of the workers at the Municipal Railway, the mechanics and operators of the trains and buses, with a proposed charter amendment. This vicious attack on labor by Democratic Supervisors Chris Daly and Aaron Peskin was announced in their Op-Ed piece in the Bay Guardian of April 18, 2007 at
http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=3404&catid=4&volume_id=254&issue_id=291&volume_num=41&issue_num=29
This was preceded by the Sunday, April 15, 2007 Chronicle's article on the same anti-labor charter amendment at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/15/BAGBAP8VRE1.DTL&hw=Peskin&sn=003&sc=638
It was succeeded by another article in the San Francisco Chronicle on May 22, 2007 at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/22/BAG0NPV5P61.DTL&hw=Peskin&sn=001&sc=1000

Neither Daly nor Newsom nor their rotten Democratic Party have anything to offer the workingclass. If there is no candidate from the Green or Peace & Freedom Party, then we can just skip the mayor's race. If there are propositions on the ballot, they are worth a vote, either for or against. If this charter amendment is on the ballot, there should be a strong campaign against it, and it will certainly put an end to Daly's political career, which he deserves. If this outrageous Chamber of Commerce-SPUR proposal makes the November ballot, it will mean that either 4 supervisors or the mayor or a sufficiently large number of signatures were used to put it on the ballot. The only likely possibilty is that 4 supervisors endorsed it, and all 4 should have their political careers ended this November. If somehow this charter amendment passes, it will certainly bring a bus and train strike to the City, effectively making possible a general strike as this City cannot run without its public transportation system. The measely $26 per hour ($55,000 a year) earned by the bus drivers doing a very hard job is barely enough for one person to live in San Francisco. IT IS OUTRAGEOUS THAT CHRIS DALY STILL CLAIMS TO BE SOME KIND OF "PROGRESSIVE" WHILE PROMOTING THIS ANTI-LABOR CHARTER AMENDMENT. Both he and Gavin Newsom are just 2 of many examples why one should avoid voting for any Democrat or Republican at any level of office. Only the socialist and Green Party candidates are worth considering, and if they are not running for a given position, skip that position.

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