Labor Council Backs Candidates Who Back Working Families

Download the March 2008 issue in PDF format

Lorena Gonzalez, Sec.-Treasurer

Your Committee on Political Education (COPE) has been very busy in the past month. In an attempt to get endorsements done with plenty of time to communicate with our members before absentee voting begins, COPE has been interviewing candidates for nearly every local, state and federal office in our two counties.

It has been awesome to see the number of labor leaders and rankand- file members who have come out for the various interviews. This year, we have some incredible candidates we are supporting:

Scott Peters for San Diego City Attorney

Council President Scott Peters isn't usually thought of as a "labor" guy. Yet, despite representing the upper-class community of La Jolla, Peters has proven himself to be a strong and consistent voice for working families. He helped the United Food and Commercial Workers' efforts to stop Wal-Mart Supercenters from coming to San Diego, and supported our firefighters in their contract negotiations last year.

He took the lead on helping us get livable and self-sustaining wage language in the general plan update, language that will be of incredible importance to our hotel workers and janitors in future organizing efforts. And, he pushed through one of the strongest lead-safe housing ordinances in the country, an effort we supported. In his COPE interview, Council President Peters addressed with dignity and respect the dozen AFSCME blue-collar city workers who attended, something they haven't experienced under Mike Aguirre. Peters confirmed that any fiscal issues with the pension are on the road to being reformed and made solvent. Peters reiterated his belief that rank and file workers should not be made the scapegoat for the pension under-funding.

Scott Peters is our best shot at having a City Attorney who respects all San Diegans and all working families. The Labor Council's unions were unanimous in endorsing Council President Peters for City Attorney.

Marti Emerald for San Diego City Council, District 7

Marti has pledged to bring her nononsense, corruption fighting, watchdog background to become the “Trouble Shooter” at City Hall. Unlike her opponent, April Boling, Marti supports the livable wage and has promised to fight corruption in outsourcing.

Her opponent, Ms. Boling, has been a perennial insider at City Hall for years, has worked on the campaigns of every anti-worker candidate in recent San Diego history, and has been fined numerous times by the city Ethics Commission for breaking campaign reporting laws. We need to help elect Marti!

Electing both Marti Emerald and Scott Peters will help continue to strengthen San Diego’s working families.