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The Vice-Presidental Candidates - Why they Matter
Aug 19, 2016

The Vice-Presidential Candidates – Why they Matter

John Nance Garner, the 32nd Vice President of the United States, referred to his job as “a spare tire on the automobile of government.” It seems the American voters somewhat agree. According to a recent Wall Street Journal survey, the majority of voters polled said a Presidential candidate’s choice of Vice President does not influence who their choice for President will be. So, why should we be concerned about the choice of VP running mates?
Besides the obvious reasons that the VP is the first in line of succession if the President is unable to perform his duties, and that the VP also presides over the Senate, (but with a vote only as a tie breaker), the scope of the VP’s office has greatly expanded since Vice President Garner’s time. Today, the VPs frequently have roles in national security and in developing and implementing foreign and domestic policy.
We believe the comparison between the VP candidates sustains our position that the Hillary/Kaine ticket is the best for working families and IBEW members.
In this election, the vice presidential candidates are Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and Governor Mike Pence of Indiana. There is a stark contrast in their positions on unions and working families.

Mike Pence:
• Pence opposes prevailing wage laws, supports right-to-work laws and has
  lobbied for passage of the Trans Pacific Partnership.
Source
• Pence signed the repeal of an 80-year-old law last year that set a common wage
  for most state construction projects.
Source
• Pence was a co-sponsor of the National Right-to-Work Act in 2003. Source
• Pence defended the Indiana RTW law when local judges ruled that the 2012 law
  violated the state’s Constitution. Pence stated that "Indiana is a right-to-work
  state, and we're going to continue to work to advance that in our state even
  while this is a matter that's moving through the courts".
Source
• Pence took a stand against raising the minimum wage, from $7.25 to $8.25
  while he was governor of Indiana, and instead signed into law a bill prohibiting
  local governments from forcing businesses to raise the minimum wage unless
  mandated by state or federal government.
Source

Tim Kaine:
• Kaine has a 96% lifetime Senate voting record from the AFL-CIO. Source
• Kaine opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement in its current form. "All
  agree that trade, under the right conditions, benefits our economy," Kaine said
  in an op-ed ahead of last year's vote. "The question is whether we can negotiate
  deals that protect workers’ rights, environmental standards and intellectual
  property, while knocking down tariffs and other barriers that some countries
  erect to keep American products out."
Source
• Kaine joined U.S. Senator Patty Murray and 31 of their Senate colleagues in
  introducing the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would raise the federal
  minimum wage to $12 by 2020 and help expand economic opportunity for
  hardworking families. Beginning in 2020, the minimum wage would be indexed
  to median wages.
Source
• Kaine’s father is a union ironworker contractor represented by the Ironworkers
  and his mother is a teacher. Kaine’s campaign has stated that he opposes
  federal right-to-work legislation and is against efforts to add Virginia's existing
  right-to-work law to the state constitution.
Source

We do NOT need anti-union leadership for this country. However, we DO need a leader that will support our union values. Click here to view flyers about the candidates and how they stand on our issues.


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IBEW Local 659
4480 Rogue Valley Hwy, Suite 3
Central Point, Oregon 97502
  541-664-0800

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