Volunteering usually requires you to drive to a location and spend a few hours. Sometimes our lives are so busy, we just can’t find the time.
Do you have 5 minutes to volunteer for your Union? Here are some ways to help your Union procure more work for you and protect our rights to collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions.
Register to Vote and Update Registration.
Being a registered voter is an important part of being a Union member. As a registered voter, you are a “member” of a powerful voting block that sets the direction of government. If you have moved or your phone number has changed, you need to re-register to vote. County Elections Offices may need to get in touch with you if there was a problem with your ballot. If you are an “absentee” ballot voter, an accurate address is necessary to ensure you receive your ballot packet in a timely manner.
Open the mail the Union sends to you. Read it.
Dozens of members interview candidates for office every year. Those volunteers spend many hours to make it easy for you to make educated choices on who has our backs when it comes to jobs for our members. Honor their hard work by reading their recommendations of candidates running for office.
Vote every time there is an election.
Many members skip voting in Primaries, for School Bonds and Levies and other Special Elections. Don’t let others decide which candidates make it to the General Election, make your voice heard. School Bonds and Levies are a prime example of “voting for jobs.” Passing School Bonds for construction can put hundreds of our members to work, including you.
Voting regularly is a regulation in some states to remain an Active Registered Voter. If you stop voting, you may have to re-register. Don’t like to drive to the polls after a long day at work and stand in line? If you don’t live in a state with mail-in ballots, register as an Absentee Voter. This gives you the opportunity to vote at your leisure (and hopefully with the list of recommended candidates next to your ballot). This also gives you the opportunity to vote as a group with your family, friends and coworkers.
Still not sold on why it’s important to “vote jobs”? One lawmaker led the charge to kill the Columbia River Crossing project, a multi-Billion dollar bridge. Building that bridge will put hundreds of carpenters to work. Do you know that this politician won his last election by only 78 votes & that 77 members in that Legislative District didn’t vote? 78 votes could be the difference in our members collecting unemployment or earning Union wages and working. He’s up for re-election in 2016. Let’s show him the door!