Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1179544
Those workers in the Dayton glass factory were force- fed a bucket load of disinformation and pressured toward acting against their own best self-interest. This has happened in other factories and in fact, all across the country we've seen the same cynical tactics used in public elections, as well. But we are not helpless to stop this. With hard work, we really can get this right. The antidote is information, education, and engagement … activism. We need to devote ourselves to making sure that working women and men know the facts whenever they cast their ballots, whether on the factory floor or on their election ballot for local, state, and federal office holders. Labor-friendly civic leaders create labor-friendly legislation. And under the protection of law, the middle class can grow once again toward the prosperity we knew. We're only twelve months away from an election that may be more important than any other in our lifetimes. When it's over, we may find ourselves with representatives who work for our best interest or representatives who work against them. We may end up with leaders who support the rights of working women and men or ones who want to crush those rights even further. Leaders to build an environmentally sustainable future or ones who would destroy it. Leaders who champion healthcare and human rights for everyone or ones who turn their backs on all but the rich. The choice will be made by American voters. We can't afford to sit back and watch to see how it all turns out. The next time you're handed a ballot, vote like your future depends on it. But don't stop there. Convince ten friends to vote, and when they do the same, you've just leveraged that one vote by a factor of a hundred. But don't stop there. Engage, participate, volunteer in every way you can. But don't stop there. Through our activism, we have the opportunity to give our kids what our parents worked so hard to give us … a better, safer, healthier world to live in. But don't even stop there because there's more that needs to be done. Nothing less than the American Dream is at stake. In Solidarity, Scott Bernard and Laurence Abrams