Operating Engineer - Summer 2014

Politics & Legislation
IUOE Hosts Legislative Conference on Capitol Hill
OVER ONE HUNDRED IUOE
local union political activists from
around the United States gathered
in Washington, D.C. on July 8-10 to
discuss important legislative issues
affecting Operating Engineers and the
upcoming November elections.
IUOE Legislative and Political
Director Jeffrey Soth got the conference
underway with an overview of the 2014
political elections, in particular the
fight for control of the U.S. Senate. Soth
also briefed the audience on a recent
legislative victory, the signing of the
Water Resources and Development
Act into law. In addition, he discussed
ongoing IUOE legislative activities,
such as the Highway Trust Fund crisis
and other critical legislative issues.
Featured conference speakers
included the chairmen of two key
congressional committees: Senator
Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of
the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee and Representative
Bill Shuster (R-PA), Chairman of
the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee. Both Boxer
and Shuster spoke about the state
of the Highway Trust Fund and the
prospects of a passing a comprehensive
transportation bill.
Later on the first day, attendees
heard from Peter Rogoff, the Under
Secretary for Policy and Planning
USDOT, who spoke about the Obama
Administration’s proposals pertaining
to transportation reauthorization. In
April, the White House introduced
the “Grow America Act,” a four-year,
$302 billion bill that relied mainly
on corporate tax reforms to pay for
infrastructure work.
Attendees also participated in lively
panel discussions which focused on
important legislative issues facing
Operating Engineers in the national
and state capitols.
On the final day of the conference,
attendees were briefed by Charlie Cook,
one of the top political handicappers
in the country. He gave an in-depth
rundown of the 2014 political and
electoral landscape.
The two-day conference included
various speakers who discussed the
many tools and techniques being
utilized to influence legislative and
political battles across the country and
which local unions could use in their
respective jurisdictions.
At the conclusion of the conference,
attendees visited Capitol Hill to
lobby members of Congress to fix the
Highway Trust Fund and pass a multiyear
transportation bill, in addition to
other issues important to Operating
Engineers.
[above] Rep. Bill Shuster
[left] General President Callahan with Sen.
Barbara Boxer.
[photos] Jay Lederer/IUOE
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The Fight is on for Control of the U.S. Senate
ALTHOUGH THE CURRENT
Congress has been one of the most
unproductive legislative bodies in U.S.
history, the Democratically controlled
Senate has reliably stood with working
families and the Operating Engineers.
The Senate has been a thorn in the
side of the House of Representatives,
which has been hijacked by right-wing
extremists who have marginalized
the small minority of moderates in its
ranks.
The U.S. Senate is what currently
stands in the way of an onslaught of
anti-worker legislation from making
its way to the President’s desk. If the
Republican Party gains control of the
Senate in the mid-tern elections, it is
likely they will aggressively push for
repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, limit the
right to collective bargaining and put
forward a national Right-to-Work bill
in the next Congress.
One of the most watched Senate
races is in Kentucky. Republican
Senator Mitch McConnell is in a tough
fight against Kentucky Secretary of
State and Democratic Senate nominee
Alison Lundergan Grimes. A vocal
critic of labor unions, McConnell has
been a fixture in the Senate for the last
30 years and is seeking a sixth term in
office.
If the Republicans capture the
Senate, McConnell is poised to
become the next Majority Leader and
he will undoubtedly pursue an anti-
union agenda. In recent remarks
about funding for a bridge project in
Kentucky, McConnell stated, “The
Davis-Bacon Act is legislation from
the Great Depression era that is even
older and more obsolete than the Brent
Spence Bridge itself. It needs to be
repealed.”
McConnell’s legislative record over
the past eighteen months demonstrates
the kind of Senate leader he would
be. Four times he has sponsored or
co-sponsored anti-union bills and
amendments.
IUOE Local 181 Business Manager
Howard Hughes has urged his members
to “vote for labor friendly candidates
like Alison Grimes,” when they go to
the voting booths this November. “Our
future is at stake,” stated Hughes.
Sen. Mitch McConnell’s anti-union agenda in the 113th Congress:
June 2014:
Nov. 2013:
March 2013:
Jan. 2013:
Sponsored legislation to repeal the Davis Bacon Act (S.2512)
Sponsored the National Right to Work Act (S.Amdt.2011)
Sponsored amendment to repeal the Davis Bacon Act
(S.Amdt.493 to S.ConRes8)
Cosponsored the National Right to Work Act (S.204)
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
SUMMER 2014 13