October 2010 Vol. 13 No. 10

Jerry Brown for Governor

Jerry Brown addresses the UBC convention last August.

The Choice is Clear

Jerry Brown has emerged as the clear choice for union carpenters. On the issues that matter to us most-jobs, infrastructure investment and protecting prevailing wages-Brown stands with union carpenters.

At the October Regional Council meeting, delegates expressed their strong support for Jerry Brown. "He has always stood with us, now we need to stand with him," said one delegate.

Another member talked about partisanship: "With all due respect to people in other parties, we have to back the Democrat this time. I voted for Ronald Reagan, but this choice is easy-we need to vote for Jerry Brown."

As the campaign comes to a close, recent events have made the difference between the candidates abundantly clear. At a debate in Fresno on October 2, Brown issued a strong call to put people to work building high speed rail. He pointed out that this investment in modern rail technology would create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and provide a much needed boost to the construction industry. When completed, the system would also spur the economy, especially in the central valley.

But Meg Whitman said we should delay, and that we can’t afford to invest now.

This followed their first debate, held late last month at UC Davis, where Jerry Brown called for investing in infrastructure as the best way to create good jobs in California, for Californians.

Whitman, on the other hand, called for eliminating the capital gains tax, which would primarily benefit millionaires and billionaires (like herself) without any guarantee that the money would be invested in California jobs. Furthermore, Whitman called for reducing regulations on business, and said California should be more like Texas.

Of course, Texas is a right-to-work state with no state prevailing wage. While Whitman has not publicly called for the elimination of prevailing wage, she was the keynote speaker at an anti-union ABC conference and promised to fight against project labor agreements (PLAs). She has also spent the summer running against "the unions."

Jerry Brown, on the other hand, has made his position clear. At the UBC convention last month, he talked about his record as attorney general, suing contractors who cheat their workers out of their pay. Brown pointed out that he would have even more ability as governor to go after the underground economy, by involving taxing agencies.

A group of delegates outside the Regional Council meeting show unanimous support for candidate Jerry Brown.

Brown: A Vision for California

Brown also talked about his vision for the future of California. "Good jobs at good wages in California is the path out of this deep recession," said Brown. He pointed to his record as governor the first time, when California created 1.9 million jobs.

At an earlier talk at Local 2236 in Oakland, where he discussed infrastructure investment and job creation with UBC members and contractors who belong to the Engineering and Utility Contractors Association (EUCA), Brown said, "We need to convince the people of California to invest in infrastructure, in order to put people back to work."

That day in Oakland, Brown went on to talk about the challenges facing the state, and how it will take someone with experience to pull the various interests together.

Whitman, of course, has no experience with governing. She is a billionaire who has already spent $119 million of her personal fortune on her campaign, setting a record for the largest "self-funded" campaign in US history. She has also spent more on this campaign than Al Gore spent running for president in 2000. Whitman previously had no experience-and apparently no interest-in government, given that she has admitted she hasn’t voted in 28 years.

Jerry Brown, by contrast, has the experience to get the job done. He served two terms as the state’s governor, was elected and re-elected as mayor of Oakland, and was elected California’s attorney general in 2006.

"This won’t be easy," Brown has said repeatedly, "but I have the experience and the commitment to pull everyone together and get California working again."

That leadership is what California needs. Please vote for Jerry Brown for governor of California. For more information, visit www.jerrybrown.org.

Back to Current Issue | Top of Page