Union corrects donation claim
To the editor:
There seems to be a lot of misinformation that is being offered to the public in the form of letters to the editor and citizen input time regarding the city of Cape Coral elections. I am going to clear up at least one of these untruths.
In the Oct. 10 edition of The Breeze, there was a letter accusing one of the candidates of accepting contributions from businesses that are affiliated with MWH. This is simply not true.
Local Union 2301 of the City of Cape Coral has the undaunted responsibility of educating our members about the candidates. We understand that to vote responsibly you must know what each of the candidates represent.
On Monday, Sept. 7, the Union had a Labor Day picnic to celebrate the working people’s contribution to society. Along with all union members, current and retired, we invited all City of Cape Coral Council and Mayoral candidates to attend. We conversed with each candidate and in some cases, their representatives, on a personal, informal note. A few days after the picnic, the executive board decided who would be the best candidates to endorse, not only for the good of the members as city employees, but also for the good of the members as Cape Coral taxpaying citizens. This is just a recommendation to our members, not an order.
When we decided which candidates to endorse, we informed our International located in Washington, D.C. Our Local Union cannot contribute to a candidate using collected member’s union dues. This is illegal. Our International has established a PAC (Political Action Committee) fund. Donations for this fund are received from union members from all over the United States and Canada. Funds are not only received by our International for political actions, to aid in the rights of all working families benefits, but also for Job Corps (formed for at-risk and underprivileged youth academic and vocational training) and PATCH (Painter’s and Allied Trades for Children’s Hope). So those checks, from plumber’s unions and PAC from Washington D.C., Orlando, Miami, etc, that were assumed to be affiliated with MWH, were actually affiliated with our International and other International Unions. We just wanted to clear up any misconstrued thoughts or statements.
Lora Greenwell, Treasurer,
Local Union 2301