IAFF: Withhold A Vote, Save A Union
A Powerful Message
If you’re not happy about the choices (or lack thereof) in one or more of the races, make a decision with true integrity: withhold your vote in that race.
Don’t be forced to vote between two bad choices (or no choice) when the future of the IAFF is at stake.
If the likely winner is just more bad news for our already deeply troubled union then don’t rubber stamp their behavior.
By withholding your local’s vote you demonstrate your integrity, communicate it to your members and send a clear message to the IAFF.
What’s the message to the candidate(s)?
You may have won but not with a true mandate which reflects the will of the membership. You were just the last one (or only one) standing.
It’s a voice of protest aimed right at the heart of treachery, incompetence and greed.
Very importantly, it’s also a clear signal to the Departments of Justice and Labor that rank and file members know the IAFF can do better.
If you wouldn’t want a candidate as an officer in your own local, don’t support their IAFF candidacy either.
Not voting in a race with no proper candidate is taking a principled stand and allows you moving forward to say with conviction to your members that you did the right thing.
Now, some will say that by voting you “have a voice” but everyone knows that no one really has a voice with evil.
Here is where it is essential to look beyond their pretty words which may make you feel warm: look at their deeds.
- Have they treated others with dignity and respect?
- Have they acted with honesty and integrity in carrying out their duties?
- Have they surrounded themselves with ethical people?
If the answer is “no” to any of these simple questions then voting for that candidate, no matter the force of their voice or the likelihood of their victory, is morally wrong and bad for the IAFF.
This does not apply in the race for secretary-treasurer where there are actual choices representing honesty, reform and ethics.
Speaking of actions which should guide your vote, the board’s attempt to bury the Ethical Practices Report by first failing to publish it well before convention and then by trying to keep it secret and then finally to release it only to local officers after the convention was over, tells you what this gang is up to and what they are capable of.
Don’t be fooled by the split board vote on whether to release the report, look at the full picture: they tossed us moldy table crumbs and played us for suckers.
It’s time to return the favor.
