Lioneld Jordan for Mayor

AFSCME Local 965 is pleased to endorse Lioneld Jordan for Mayor in the General Election on November 4, 2008. Both Steve Clark and Walt Eilers demonstrated a broad understanding of issues important to working families and were generally supportive of the positions of our union. Nonetheless, Alderman Jordan’s voting record on key issues, his eight years experience in city government, and an even longer time advocating the interests of University faculty and staff on campus and with the state legislature, earned him the unanimous endorsement..

Dan Coody did not respond to our candidate questionnaire.

After reviewing the records of candidates and the responses to our candidate questionnaires, for the first time in our 46 year history, we were unable to reach a unanimous decision on endorsements for City Council candidates Don Conner, Brenda Thiel, Mark Kinion, Matthew Petty, Craig Honchell, Sarah Lewis, and Bernard Sulliban. All seven of the candidates for the three positions were very impressive, and each displayed a strong commitment to protecting the rights of public employees, supporting a living wage for working families, expanding public transportation, promoting affordable housing for low and middle-income families, and seeking to make our system of taxation more equitable. Our members and the other citizens of Fayetteville will be well served by whomever is elected to represent Wards 1, 3, and 4.

Endorsed County Candidates

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 965, representing faculty and staff employees at the University of Arkansas since 1962 is pleased to endorse the following outstanding slate of candidates for Washington County offices in the General Election on November 4, 2008.

Washington County Judge: Marilyn Edwards

Justice of the Peace, District 5: Candy Clark

Justice of the Peace, District 6: Barbara Fitzpatrick

After reviewing the records of candidates and the responses to our candidate questionnaires, we are confident that these outstanding candidates share our commitment to protecting the rights of public employees, supporting a living wage for working families, expanding public transportation, promoting affordable housing for low and middle-income families, and seeking to make our system of taxation more equitable.

Political action is the lifeblood of our Union: it is the way we elect our bosses, affect public policy, and hold elected officials accountable. We recommend that our members actively campaign and vote for the endorsed slate.

Labor Supports the United Way

United Way and organized labor work together to solicit contributions from workers through payroll deduction, which account for approximately two-thirds of the funds that United Ways raise each year. Through the Labor Letters of Endorsement Program of the Department of Labor Participation, the AFL-CIO president asks presidents of AFL-CIO-affiliated unions, state federations and central labor councils to send letters endorsing United Way campaigns to their memberships. The Labor Letters of Endorsement Program encourages individual union members to volunteer their time and contribute their resources to United Way campaigns.

AFSCME Local 965 is an active participant in the University of Arkansas effort to solicit support for the United Way and the services that it provides to organizations in our community. Please give as generously as you are able in these difficult and uncertain times.

Organized labor is also part of the decision-making process at United Way of America. Currently, there are four AFL-CIO representatives serving on United Way of America's Board of Trustees, with two of them on the executive committee. There are four union trustees in the volunteer structure of United Way International. Unfortunately, the United Way of Northwest Arkansas has not invited any representatives of local unions to serve on its board, but we remain hopeful that the organization will someday recognize the contribution to be made by the hundreds of union members in Washington and Benton Counties.

In other areas of the nation, the United Way works with local unions to train union members to assist co-workers and their families with information about available local services and to refer them to the appropriate organizations; to recruit, train and help place members of organized labor on the decision-making bodies of health and human-service organizations; and to recognize labor leaders who have rendered outstanding United Way volunteer service by annually awarding the Joseph A. Beirne Community Services Award.