By BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
Louisville-based Forward Kentucky, "the progressive voice for Kentucky politics," declined to endorse anybody in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.
The Kentucky State AFL-CIO didn't endorse anybody either.
"I’m not going to tell you whom to vote for," wrote FK publisher Bruce Maples. "All three candidates are infinitely better than McConnell. All three will get Forward Kentucky’s support if they win. You just have to decide for yourself what you think will be the deciding factor to beat Mitch this fall."
The three main Democratic candidates--in alphabetical order, Charles Booker, Mike Broihier and Amy McGrath--all have fans among Forward Kentucky readers and in the labor movement.
So the state AFL-CIO Executive Board, meeting as the state COPE Committee, unanimously voted "no recommendation" in the primary. That means individual unions and union members are free to get behind the candidate of their choice.
"And, no matter who wins the primary, we have to get behind them and work our a___ off to help them win," Maples added. "No pouting, no dropping back, no dropping out. To riff on the Gov’s saying: We’re going to beat Mitch, together."
Amen. Ditching Mitch is Job One.
Coincidentally, last last year's Democratic gubernatorial primary had a trio of top contenders, in order of finish: Andy Beshear, Rocky Adkins and Adam Edelen.
Beshear, Adkins and Edelen had boosters in Bluegrass State unions. So the COPE Committee unanimously voted "no recommendation" in their primary, too.
No sooner did Beshear win than the COPE Committee unanimously endorsed him. Admittedly, it was a no-brainer. On the campaign trail, Bevin didn't hide his disdain for unions. He pledged to make Kentucky a right to work state.
Bevin cheered on House and Senate GOP majorities when they passed RTW and repealed the prevailing wage, to boot. He couldn't wait to sign the legislation.
Not surprisingly, Bevin turned out to be one of the most--if not the most--anti-union governors in Bluegrass State history.
Meanwhile, election day would set Kentucky’s course “not just [for] the next four years, but for the next forty years,” Beshear warned when he visited last year's state AFL-CIO convention. "You know what is on the line—the future for working people."
Unions were indeed clued in. An army of union volunteers wore out shoe leather knocking doors for Beshear. They phone banked, passed out leaflets, spread the word on social media, wrote letters to the editor and plugged the Democratic nominee to their friends, families and co-workers.
Likewise, unions know what's at stake on Nov. 3. So expect the same help for the Senate nominee--and for the rest of our endorsed candidates.
McConnell despises unions. That's neither hyperbole nor partisan palaver. It's a fact.
He's the Union-Buster-in-Chief's leading lickspittle on just about every issue. While Trump, as president, has been going after unions for 41 months, McConnell has been at it for going on 35 years.
But don't take our word for it. Click here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here for Trump's record on unions. (This is just a tiny sample. There are many more examples out there.)
While you're at it, check out how McConnell fares on the AFL-CIO's Legislative Scorecard. Since he arrived in the Senate in 1985, he's voted the union position on issues 12 percent of the time. That would be an F-minus in the history classes I taught; 60 was passing.
McConnell (and Sen. Rand Paul--who also gets a 12 lifetime on the score card) rejoiced when Bevin and Republican legislators steamrollered RTW and PW repeal in 2017. McConnell (and Paul) favor a national RTW law.
But please be patient after the polls close at 6 p.m. in your neck of the woods Tuesday.
We're used to knowing the winner on election night, or no later than the next morning. This is an extraordinary election in extraordinary circumstances.
So it will probably be a while before we know who gets a crack at ditching Mitch. (Liles Taylor, state AFL-CIO political coordinator, reminds us that "votes received by June 27th--if postmarked by June 23rd--will be counted.")
Here's more from Maples: "For the most part, McConnell has a base that is going to vote for him, no matter what. You don’t beat him by persuading them to change their votes. You beat him by increasing the turnout on your side, both from your base and from people who are undecided."
Amen again.
Turnout, especially among union members and union families, was a big factor in evicting Bevin from the governor's office. Getting our brothers and sisters to the polls will be just as decisive this time--probably more so, because, truth-be-told, Ditching Mitch will likely be a taller order.
But when we have a winner, the COPE Committee will lose no time meeting, if by teleconferencing, and endorsing the winner.
From the leadership to the rank-and-file, you won't see pouting, dropping back or dropping out in union ranks. You'll again see "solidarity" in word and deed.