A Union Perspective on the Election

Since our country’s founding, the norm for United States’ elections has been a peaceful transition of power for the good of the republic. That doesn’t mean our elections have always proceeded smoothly. In 1876, the election was settled by a political arrangement that ended Reconstruction and subsequently allowed Southern racists to institute Jim Crow laws and waves of violence against Black communities. In 2000, the election was ultimately settled by a 5-4 decision in the U.S. Supreme Court. While there was subsequent political violence in 1876, our country’s elections have largely been peaceful, and this stable, peaceful transition of power has rightly been a point of pride.

However, for the first time in the history of the republic, an incumbent president has said that he may not accept the election results and has declined to say that he will give up power peacefully. In fact, President Trump is actively dog-whistling right-wing groups like the Proud Boys and preparing them for potential election-related violence. This isn’t typical campaign posturing, and it should alarm all Americans — no matter your political party, no matter which candidate you support. It’s important to note that President Trump isn’t doing this because he is strong and feels confident that voters will re-elect him, but because he is weak and knows he would lose an election in which all the votes are made freely and counted fairly. A president who is planning to defy any election result that removes him from power is a president who is planning a coup.

As union members, we have an interest in the preservation of our democracy. We know that in authoritarian systems, unions are crushed and the living standards of working people are weakened and destabilized. Furthermore, through our democracy we have the power as citizens to make improvement to our lives by organizing and voting. As flawed as our government can be and is, particularly for marginalized people, it maintains the structures and norms that allow us to make advancements peacefully. 

While our international union makes presidential endorsements, and has endorsed former Vice President Biden, Local 328 generally stays out of the fray of national politics; however, so much is at stake with the 2020 election that we can no longer afford do that. Too much is threatened by the re-election of Donald Trump — the lives and rights of BIPOC and other marginalized communities, the rights of women, the rights of unions and workers, our democratic institutions themselves. Our country is at risk of tipping into authoritarianism.  

As a union, we must fight for a better society and protect our members, and that means we cannot be passive in this moment. We owe a debt to those who came before us in the fight to create a better and more equitable society, and we won’t let them down. Over the next few weeks, our union will publish a series of op-eds from our members discussing the election and preparing people for what is likely to be a chaotic few months.