So, This Is How IBEW Wanted To Spend Your Union Dues...

Vilifying Energy Efficiency and Homelessness in the CD 12 Election?!

Instead of using union dues to support candidates that align with a mission to house the homeless and invest in renewable energy, IBEW has a starkly different message, and they wanted to use your union dues to support it.  They chose to use their voice to vilify the homeless and sensible climate reduction policies as outlined in the City’s Green New Deal in order to get their candidate, John Lee elected to City Council.

The dishonest and misleading mailers are funded by Working Californians, a PAC created by IBEW Local 18 and supported by our affiliated IBEW Local 11, smearing Dr. Loraine Lundquist’s advocacy for homlessness and electric vehicles.  This is the same fund that $15,000 of your member dues were proposed to go to.  Thankfully, due to persistent EAA member complaints, the Board made no endorsement in the race.

In response to even more egregious falsehoods, smearing her past advocacy for LGBTQ rights as a college student, and alleging that Lundquist is both a secret Republican and a Socialist at the same time (?!!?), the LA Times has put voters on notice to see past the lies and vote for a true public servant.  Toxic messages and outright falsehoods such as these run at cross-currents to our members’ work programs as we strive to address the City’s many challenges and they pose a direct threat to EAA’s membership retention and attraction.

It is heartening to see that EAA members are not alone in our anger and disappointment with our parent affiliate IBEW for putting our collective future at risk with their irresponsible smear campaign, with the IBEW membership also protesting IBEW’s endorsement of Joe Biden over Bernie Sanders (as IBEW members you can also register your complaint here). There is a real peril for unions who do not reform themselves to solicit and authentically value members' choices in political expression and they will gradually see attrition in their member dues thus losing their leverage in collectively bargain.

We need to continue to engage the EAA Board to urge them to listen to the members in making political endorsements and contributions.  If they are smart they will find that we can excite our membership base, attract new members, and win campaigns for true public servants and labor champions at the same time.

EAA and IBEW may have just missed an opportunity in the March 3 election to bring a true champion to LA's City Council for labor, housing the homeless and investing in renewable energy. Support for Dr. Loraine Lundquist could have united membership and focused our dues for fighting for true progressive change. This now stands as another opportunity lost, leaving an incumbent in office with no incentive to address these challenges and a membership alienated by the toxic expression of IBEW's leadership.

We can do better if we continue to engage our union leadership on the policies that matter to the members.