Jconway last week opined why MA-05 is closer than you think. He used as his basis that in his conversations with Union Members in the 5th that a good portion of them are supporting Jim Ogonowski. For that opinion he was ridiculed by striker57. I believe that jconway was right and in today’s Lowell Sun there is a letter to the editor echoing that view.
I, Brian E. Fournier, as a union member of AFSCME Local 700 from Tewksbury Hospital in good standing, would like to endorse Jim Ogonowski for Congress. I am asking and encouraging all of my union brothers and sisters in the 5th District to vote for Jim.
I know it goes against the grain for unions to vote Republican in Massachusetts, but I feel this time we have to do it. What will Niki Tsongas bring? Nothing but partisan politics. She will be a puppet for the Democrats already there, whereas Jim has vowed to be nonpartisan. Think about it, Tsongas has to rely on Nancy Pelosi and Bill Clinton to help her out, while Jim goes house to house seeking support. It shows in my mind that Jim is for the people and Niki is for the party. While he stumps for votes, she stumps for money.
So, again, as a member in good standing of AFSCME local 700, I fully endorse Jim Ogonowski and encourage and implore my fellow union members in the 5th District to do the same.
BRIAN FOURNIER
Dracut
If there wasn’t a large crack in union support would a union member like Mr. Fournier open himself up to the scorn of his union brothers and sisters by endorsing Jim Ogonowski. This commentator thinks not.
One member writing a letter does not a crack make. Nor does one union endorsing Ogo (Re: Lowell Patrolmen).
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Unions have the same mix of population as any ohter organization. Progressives, conseratives, vegans and steak lovers, bad drivers and all the rest. That is why we set the bar high for endorsement votes. If a candidate can pull together 2/3s of that diverse group, then they realy have “earned” the endorsement.
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Unions are also democratic (that is the small d in this case) organizations. That means free speech and all that goes with it. I know I have posted this several times but here we go again. Peter Hart has been exit and post election polling union members for several cycles on behalf of the AFL-CIO (www.aflcio.org) On average, union mebers vote in the 62-65% range for candidates endorsed by their union.
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Aside from a strong majority vote from our members, Organized Labor brings grassroot operational strength and the ability to talk with our members (and their families) by direct mail, email and phones.
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The Merrimack Valley Labor Council and the Mass AFL-CIO are running a door-to-door voter contact knock this afternoon. It will be union members and union supporters going to registered voters in union households to talk about Niki Tsongas. That is why a Labor endorsement holds the value it does.
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So like every organization, unions have members who disagree and are vocal about it. You may have watched On the Waterfront one too many times – we don’t “scorn Brothers and Sisters” for holding opposing political views. We work to educate them for the next election and then fight together for our next contract.
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“Don’t Mourn, Organize” – -Mother Jones.