>>3688679 (PB)

hmm interesting the Rochester IBEW happened to hire a lobbyist about a year ago. I'll have to check and see who it is.

I love the way the BM says "trust me, we have our reasons", when speaking on who to vote for their endorsed candidates.

http://ibewlu86.org/business-managers-desk/

Business Manager’s Desk

Election day is near, and there is much to discuss.

There are members who may disagree with the union’s decisions on endorsements, but trust me, we have our reasons. We must put our personal feelings aside and look at a long game that is much more involved than meets the eye.

Our goals involve a strategy that requires a political influence, creating an obstacle that those who intend on eliminating your jobs cannot avert. We do what we do every day not to better ourselves personally but to create an environment that promotes the people we have sworn to protect. That is the union difference.

If this means we must sacrifice our time in order to accomplish our goals, then so be it. I make myself available to those who are willing to spend time on their own to become more involved in our plight. I understand what it means to do this, and it means a lot to our ultimate goals.

Don’t get me wrong, we are doing quite well on a local level with our relationships with local elected officials who continue to give us a seat at the table to further the success of local workers, their rights to collectively bargain, and the ultimate goal of ensuring fair living wages, benefits, and retirement. But we are on an island.

My biggest fears of seeing what is happening on a national level, coming into our homes and our communities, is what prevents me from retirement. I cannot, and will not, allow such attacks to occur to the men and women, and their families, that I have sworn to protect. What happens to them, happens to my own family, which makes all of us in this together.

Our unions are our army. We are a fighting force that will not back down to such tyranny. It is this passion and belief in our cause and goals that has kept me going for all of the years that I have committed myself to a greater good.

The only thing I ask of all of you is to get out and vote for what will protect our ability to continue providing for our families. This is not a selfish act. It is an act of brotherhood and sisterhood that we all benefit from. At the very least, it creates an environment that ensures a democracy by which we all get to vote on the beliefs by which we live upon.

Thank you for your involvement in your union, and your participation in such a critical time for working men and women in our region.

Fraternally yours,

David A. Young, Jr

Business Manager