The Election and Unity

As we have been hearing since Saturday June 6, 2008 when Hilary Clinton dropped out of the race for the Democratic Nomination for President, there is a major push to unify the Democratic Party. While I certainly understand the concern since I saw it first hand at the Texas Democratic Convention in Austin, are we not being somewhat too concerned. The Democratic Party has had big fights in the past and they have been able to elect a President. I personally think that the primary season was what the doctor ordered for the Democratic Party. There were so many people that ran for President on both sides and with those different approaches there will be as many different opinions on what should be done. While I do not personally subscribe to the way the Republican Party wishes to govern (or rule in many cases) there were some real differences between the individuals on that side. On the Democratic side there were many people with basically the same ideas on governing but with different ways of getting to same end.
Now there are two. They are vastly different in their approaches to governing and what needs to be remembered is that the Republicans do not offer anything but more of the same in respect to Labor. The Republicans want a consumer-driven health care system which has been proven not to work. The Republicans also do not want the workers of this country to be able to fairly organize at the work place so that they may actually have rights on the job. Their idea of employee free choice is for every state to be a "right to work for less" state where you are completely at will like here in Texas.
The Democrats are 180 degrees the opposite. They want to have a real health care solution where it is not on the bargaining table. They want workers to be able to exercise their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, which would be further augmented by the Employee Free Choice Act, and be able to organize without the fear of losing their jobs.
The Democratic Party and the Labor Movement must, and I mean must, unify if the Labor movement in this country has any chance of being here in the next 10 or 20 years. If you are in the Labor movement you must know the effects of what bargaining health care are and will continue to be if we do not get a solution to the current failure. Regardless of who you supported during the primary season on either side, you must vote your own interest. If your interest is being able to work on a job with safe conditions, good wages to support you and your family, good and sustainable health care for you and your family and justice on the job then you must vote in the Democratic column this fall. If you do not care about those things and/or enjoy having your eyes taken off the prize then I am sure the Republicans will appreciate your vote. They will be so appreciative that they will be more than happy to show you the razor that they will use to slit your throat. While that may sound extreme that it is what the current administration has been doing for the last seven-plus years. If you do not believe me ask the Teamsters. I am sure they will be more than happy to explain what an endorsement of a Republican for President really means.