Time to Come Together Around Lee?

For me to come together behind Lee (I can not get behind McEntee ever) he would need to come out and say that he will not run for President of AFSCME in 2012. I heard a number of sisters this week who I felt showed leadership qualities. I would like to see folks who have come up through the rank and file to take leadership rolls in our union.

I was thrilled to see the rank and file on the floor show our strength when we were witness to obviously corrupt electioneering. We showed our power when the nominations were about to begin and the microphones were surrounded by legions of yellow shirts. “The Yellow Shirts are coming.” I heard my roommate proclaim. This was McEntee’s theatre, his anointing of the heir apparent. When we raised that ruckus we put McEntee on notice and pissed him off. His treatment of the delegates never improved after that.

He treats each delegate with disrespect when they rise to speak and the little light is toggled by the Sergeant at Arms. “The delegate at Mic 12. Is this a Point of Order or are you Speaking to the Question?” The disdain for the membership is evident every time he calls on a delegate to speak.

This Convention is the place where delegates, elected and trusted by their coworkers and Local members to spend the Local’s money to send the delegation to represent in the arena where the policy of the Union is to be set. We debate resolutions, and craft the policy and empower the leadership we elect can go about doing the business that we directed them to do.

But it is not working that way and I am pissed. Because this Union is the last hope I harbor for democracy in this country. I was so honored to be sent to Boston all the way from Tacoma, WA with an awesome delegation of 12 committed union activists. I really feel that the membership at large was represented on the floor but was not represented on the stage. The diversity on the floor looked like the diversity in my office and at my local meetings but not like what I saw on the stage at the Convention Center in Boston.

The Obama wave is overtaking AFSCME. The delegations on the floor were largely made up of folks who got fired up and active during the Obama campaign two years ago and have kept their activism going by organizing, and other union activities. Now we have seen the ugly face of corruption and we do not cower from it. Just like AFSCME’s initial endorsement of Hillary in 2008 created waves in the union for a little while and then the local activists just moved past it and left Hillary and the AFSCME power brokers in the dirt. And we will do so again.

See you in L.A 2012, Remember Boston.