I have seen several comments today regarding our politicians and our members distaste for them all. As the HAMTC Political Committee Chairman I would like to share my perspective with the membership, so here goes........I understand every ones frustration with our elected officials in light of what is happening in this country and to your jobs as I type this. However, I would like to point out a few things that you may or may not be aware of. These points are not my opinion, merely facts. The fact that any HAMTC worker still has a pension at all can be attributed to the strong support HAMTC has received over the years on this issue from our Democratic Senators. And Im talking as far back as the early 70s, Scoop Jackson and Warren Magnuson. When the contractors came after our pensions in the early 2000s we prevailed with the help of our Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell along with Jay Rockefeller out of West Virginia and someone named Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts. There is hardly a week that ever goes by that either President Molnaa, Health Advocate Kirk Domina, or myself is not in direct contact with our Senators. Whether the issue is pensions, policy, or worker health and safety, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are ALWAYS there to listen. Sometimes they see things our way and support us, sometimes they dont, but they ALWAYS listen and are readily accessible. As for our Congressman, Mr. Hastings, I can only say that it is my experience that he is the exact opposite of our Senators. The ONLY time his office has ever responded to one of my inquires, they had the issue I contacted him on TOTALLY WRONG. He constantly puts out press releases taking credit for fixing issues for Hanford when in fact he has done nothing but sit on his ass while our Senators go to bat for us. The few times his office in Washington DC actually agreed to see me, I showed up 10 minutes early for a meeting that I had triple confirmed only to be told that I had either missed the meeting or it was in 6 hours. This could be explained as a simple mistake if it were not for the fact that his office does this very thing to the Boilermakers lobby delegation every spring. The last election cycle, Patty Murrays campaign asked HAMTC to provide security whenever she came to the Tri-Cities or Walla Walla while Doc Hastings bashed labor every chance he got. Given all this and far more that is too much to list here, I have absolutely no doubts that Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have the best interests of ALL workers, Union or not, in their hearts during this government shutdown mess. I also have no doubts whatsoever that Congressman Hastings has nothing but Corporate interests in his heart. (Or that gaping void in his chest cavity where a heart would normally be) Respectfully, Fred Rumsey
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 04:19:12 +0000
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