WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The North American Building Trade Union leadership was in Wausau on Tuesday for a Day of Action ahead of the November 5th election.
NABTU Political Lead Nick Webber says that means connecting union members with candidates to understand better how legislation impacts local jobs and tell the union story from the inside out. “We have the responsibility as union members to tell that story to other union members. Allowing them to understand that this job they may be working on is a result of legislation- that’s why you’re working here- maybe in your hometown,” said Webber. “Also being able to have that conversation with members of the community, I think that’s a very good thing.”
Webber says union projects like repairs to public buildings or roadways should be a point of pride, especially when they are completed by local workers who may have worked their way up the ranks through an apprenticeship. “[When we see] that local people are working on these jobs in their communities, that’s exciting for me. But I know it’s exciting for the workers and their families as well.”
Webber says while Democratic candidates are traditionally tied to union endorsements, they do work across the aisles as well. “What we all have in common, no matter what letter you have next to your name, is we all value our Wisconsin workforce- some of the most highly-skilled, hardest-working workers in the country. [Something else we can agree on] is it helps our local economy when our local folks are working on these construction jobs. Being able to start where we both agree is just like being at the bargaining table. We may not agree on everything here, but there is usually an answer in the middle that everybody can work toward. We, as a labor organization, are more than willing to have that conversation.
“We understand as union members that a lot of our day-to-day work, whether that be at the job site or the bargaining table, is affected by legislation,” added Webber.
Webber says he and his team have held Days of Action in several other communities in the last few weeks and will continue to do so through election day.
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