I just spent the last few minutes reading the comments on other blogs regarding the Labor Council endorsements. I wasn’t surprised. As expected, there are some that are having “issues” with the endorsements.
The Labor Council endorsed Mark Madison, a progressive candidate who is in favor of the Five Rivers development. I might add that Mark is a member of AFSCME, the largest group of represented employees in the City of Oshkosh and Winnebago County. But, that is not the only basis for his endorsement. There seems to be a belief out there that to be a labor supporter, or should I say “the working man’s candidate”, you have to be tight fisted and against progress. B.S.! Development creates jobs…. construction of the magnitude of Five Rivers will give work to many in the trades. It is important that we have individuals on the City Council that understand the value of development and the importance of using contractors who are union. There were several of the candidates that didn’t understand the concept of prevailing wage, and even after having it explained couldn’t say whether or not they supported it. This included one of the other candidates who is a union member. Mark also understands TIF districts…which I can’t say is true of many of the other candidates. Folks want to believe that it is the TIF districts that drive up the property taxes, but this is not true.
Some of the other candidates that we interviewed were willing to look at Privatization as an option, and several didn’t understand the issues involved with contracting out services. It was obvious that Mark had “done his homework” on labor issues and also understands the issues within the city.
There is concern that we did not endorse another candidate who is a union member. It was pretty clear to me that this candidate did not understand the issues as they relate to organized labor, or at least that was not reflected in his answers. My suggestion is that perhaps, if you are a loyal union member, you should attend you local meetings (if you aren’t) and learn about current labor issues. I was also concerned about the “parochialism” displayed by this candidate. We should only care about Oshkosh residents, we shouldn’t be concerned about trying to get folks from other places to come and visit Oshkosh. With that kind of attitude, we may as well give up on any kind of development other than building a really big toilet along 41 so people can make a rest stop between Fond du Lac and Appleton.
There is discussion on several other Blogs about Paul Esslinger not attending the meeting. Neither did Dennis McHugh. Dennis McHugh did not respond to his invitation. Paul Esslinger wanted all the union members to be present at the meeting. The endorsement process does not work that way. Just as the citizens of Oshkosh elect individuals to represent them on the City Council, the unions in Winnebago County have representatives for each of their locals on the Labor Council. I don’t think the City Council would get much work done if the entire city was involved in the decision making process and the same is true of the unions. If our members don’t like the decisions we’re making, then we can be replaced, just like City Council members. If Mr. Esslinger wants to truly be the “working persons” candidate, he needs to learn how organized labor really works. As I’ve said before, as a union leader, I don’t appreciate it when others, who are not in organized labor think they speak for us. Enough said about Mr. Esslinger.
As to Jef Hall’s endorsement… We did not hold a question and answer for County Board candidates. Jef requested our support, and answered the questions we provided. Sometimes, we endorse based on the candidates actions. Jef has been a supporter of union issues and union activities in the past and we felt his history spoke for itself. We made the same call when the Winnebago County Labor Council was among the first to back Peg Lautenschlager for AG. If there are other County Board candidates who would like the Labor Councils endorsement, they should follow the same process and we will consider their request. Our next meeting will be on March 28th.
Finally, several individuals have said that the Labor Council endorsements are worthless and just another rubber stamp. Hmmm…there sure is a lot of angst and hand-wringing out there over who we did endorse. I’ll leave it at that for tonight…..
