John McCain’s record as it stacks up against our key issues

As the Democratic primary winds to a close, we thought it would be a good time to start looking at John McCain’s record as it stacks up against our key issues:

• Collective bargaining and the Employee Free Choice Act
• Health care reform that reduces employers’ demands for concessions
• Retirement security that protects our pensions
• Fair trade

I'm interested in hearing what CWA members think about John McCain. What are the most common things you hear about John McCain from your co-workers and friends? Please send in your comments:

http://www.cwavotes.org/feedback

We’ve asked our folks to look into the McCain record, and I’ve been disappointed that this patriot has consistently voted against our key issues.

On collective bargaining, John McCain voted for a National Right-to-Work for Less law that would attempt to eliminate unions altogether. He voted against the Employee Free Choice Act and has said unions have "serious excesses."

On health care, John McCain wants to tax union members $3,000 for our negotiated benefits. He may say he supports tax cuts, but we’re paying more for our health care because of them – and there is no relief in sight at the bargaining table.

On retirement security, John McCain voted to privatize Social Security and trust Wall Street with our retirement. He voted to raise the age of eligibility for Medicare from 65 to 67. He voted against pension protections and against allowing the government to negotiate for lower prescription drugs for Medicare.

And on fair trade, McCain says he supports free trade and most favored nation status to China. That has resulted in nearly 2 million lost jobs – mostly from manufacturing. He opposes tougher sanctions and inspections to keep us safe from toxic toys and food made in China. And he supports Bush’s economic policies that have us borrowing billions from China.

John McCain may appear to be a good guy, but his voting record is out of touch with working Americans.

Let me know what you think and what you’ve been hearing about John McCain:

http://www.cwavotes.org/feedback

This is a big year for us. We’re bargaining for 55,000 workers at Verizon and 20,000 workers at Qwest, along with the hundreds of other contracts across the country.

Our ability to bargain good contracts is influenced by the political climate and growth in the union movement. That’s why we’ll be spending the upcoming weeks and months talking about John McCain, and providing new opportunities for members like you to get involved and help in the elections this fall.

In Unity,




Jeff Rechenbach
Executive Vice President
CWA