Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1947-10-03

selecting leadership.
Other unions besides the
UAW also spend considerable
energy on their conventions.
Here is a concrete living ex-
ample of political action.
1t is unfortunate that the
active unon membership as a
whole do not manifest the
same interests in public poll
tics as they do in politics with
in the union.
If we as active unionists
will only take the same inter
ests in the city, county, state
and national general elections
as we do in shop, local and
international union elections,
we can change the whole poll
tical picture.
In 1946 we failed to show
the same interest in the public
elections that we displayed in
our union elections.
Today we are payin g a
trariffic price for our negll-
gence. The rights of citizens
and the living standards of the
people as we'll as the hard won
rights of organized labor have
come under the legislative ak.
1t is only r e a soma b e to
assume that people who aspire
to public Office will give ear
to the interests of the eco
nomic groups who represent
the most votes. If organized
labor represented the most
votes it is only logical to con-
clude that the state and ma
tional legislators would pay
particular attention to the
suggestions of spokesmen for
organized labor.
1t just hapens that most
citizens must work in order
to live. Therefore organized
labor represents, directly or
indirectly, the interests of the
vast majority of the popula-
tion.
The vast majority of the
people are however, totally
unaware of this fact. There
fore in actual practice the
spokeSmen for organized labor
acn only speak for those work.
ers who are sufficiently aware
of their interests TO assert
themselves at the ballot box.
Upon whether or not we
succeed in getting out the
labor and liberal vote on cleo
ton day depends the future
of America.
Shall our future be a new
and worse depression, fol-
lowed by a more devastating
war or shall it be full employ
ment with adequate social
security and civil liberties for
all in a nation participating
in an effective world organiZa-
ton to promote world peace?
Only the workers of
America can decide this issue.
1t can be decided only at the
polls.
More than one-third of the
workers have lost the right to
vote since the last general
election.
We still have until Monday,
Oct. 9th to get our people
registered. After that it will
be too late to register to vote
in 1947.
Elsewhere in this paper ap-
pears a list of registration
places.
Only an arous e d people
determined to register and
vote can save the day pro-
gressive principles.
We have most potential
votes. Statistics prove it. We
have the largest number of ex-
perienced politici ans. We
prove this every convention.
We have the facilities to do
the job.
The stakes are high and the
time is short. Let us all re-
solve to roll up large regis
tration by the deadline of
Oct. 9th.
Candidates for public office
will cease to Scorn us and
begin to WOO our support.
If we decide henceforth to
put 500 of the energy we
have been putting into union
politics, we can elect the
President, the whole Congress,
every state legislature body,
the judges, every city admins
tration and the people will
really become the sovereign
power in America.