Here are some more ideas for helping make Gov. Andy Beshear a two-termer
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is your website. We welcome your ideas on this topic. Just email them to us at bcraig8960@gmail.com. But don’t forget to include your name, your local and any union office you might hold.
BERRY CRAIG
AFT 9005
Candidate endorsements don’t amount to much if they don't lead to action.
We're polling union activists across the state to get their suggestions about how to put into action our historic early endorsement of Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection bid.
We're getting some solid ideas. Here's what our second group of respondents said:
Caitlin Blair, state AFL-CIO Executive Board member, UFCW Local 227 communications and political director:
We need to organize a program to talk to each other in an intentional way. In 2019, our union had over 5,000 conversations with our members about voting for Andy Beshear. If you remember, the vote margin was about that number. If those conversations hadn't taken place, then it's likely that union members might not have known not only that the union had endorsed Gov. Beshear but the reasons why. [The conversations gave] our members the tools and the information they needed to make their own decision and then make it to the polls. There are tools, new technology, we can use to do that in ways that are not a huge financial burden for local unions because we all know that most of our resources go to representing our members. So we can look at successful campaigns like Protect Kentucky Access and some of the tools that they used to help people who were passionate about that campaign to talk to people who are in their phone contacts. So when we have folks that are passionate about their union, and the reasons we endorsed Andy Beshear, we can make that easy for them to have conversations with their co-workers they are closest to.
Donna Haynes, state AFL-CIO executive board member, financial secretary, Owensboro Area Central Labor Council:
We need to make a list – maybe out of [the governor's] office or Bill [Londrigan's] office to show what he has done to support us. Look at what he's done – all those jobs that have come to Kentucky. For the most part, they are good union jobs, or at least good-paying jobs – and they wouldn't be good-paying jobs if it wasn't for unions. There have been tremendous strides in employment, in blue-collar employment. So we need a list to show people who watch Fox News or to show Joe Blow across the street what Gov. Beshear has done to support us.
Carl Mead Jr., former state AFL-CIO Executive Board member, retired president, Ashland Area Central Labor Council
The first thing I'd say is look at what [Gov. Beshear] did during Covid. He reached out to [Republican Ohio] Gov. [Mike] DeWine [during the pandemic]. Gov. Beshear doesn't care what your politics are. He cares about the Commonwealth first.
Kevin Walton, state AFL-CIO recording secretary, COPE director, Tri-County Council of Labor
We have to talk to people. You've got to bring forward facts on the good things the governor has done for all the people of Kentucky, workers included. He's always been an advocate for the working class. There are a lot of bright futures ahead for the working people of Kentucky because of all the work that Andy Beshear has put in to ensure that we get the right industries here. These jobs in the industry will solve a lot of the other issues like healthcare--these jobs will bring the good benefits [including healthcare] that union people have.
Steve Wimsatt, former state AFL-CIO Executive Board member, IUE-CWA Local 83761 retiree:
It's a marketing issue. Set your brand and market. What's his brand? That's really the question – he's caring, honest, non-partisan. He's a Democrat, but he doesn't care what party you're in if you need a hand. He helps everybody. I would follow that with how he looked out for people in the Covid [pandemic]. Some people were angry, but after the fact, they really know he did the right thing. I might say that should be his [campaign slogan]: "He's doing the right thing."