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“While our
candidate, John Kerry, did not win, we are proud that the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, along with the entire
family of labor, united in an historic effort to fight for the
interests of working families. And while President Bush was
re-elected, we note that more than 55 million people cast their
vote for a progressive agenda. We will continue the fight for
that agenda in the next Congress and in state legislatures
around the nation as we work hard to expand the base of support.
“For the
Teamsters, this election marks the largest member mobilization
effort in the history of the union. With hundreds of Teamsters
working full time on the campaign in the field, and with
hundreds of thousands of leaflets and phone calls, hundreds of
work site visits and dozens of rallies, the Teamster membership
has never been more involved in a Presidential election. We are
proud that the Teamster membership responded by turning out in
overwhelming numbers for Senator Kerry and in support of our
economic justice agenda.
“We began
this campaign in the fall of 2003 with our mobilization for Dick
Gephardt and we never stopped working. We understood that at a
time of war, the campaign to defeat President Bush was a
tremendous challenge, but it was a challenge we could not avoid
because working families confronted a jobs, pension, and health
care crisis that could only be solved with a new direction in
government policy. That crisis continues and we will not rest in
our efforts to confront it and solve it.
“November
2 was not the end of our fight to take back this country for
working families. It was the beginning. This effort was never
about one candidate, one political party, or a single election.
It is about moving forward a pro-worker agenda at the national
level. We will continue the fight for fair trade, universal
health care, worker rights, pension reform and retirement
security. And we will continue to work with everyone—Republican,
Democrat and Independent—who shares our agenda.
“This
union has a proud history of coming together when faced with a
daunting task. Traveling around the country over the past few
months, we were able to see first-hand the energy and resolve
among our members. We have never been so proud to be a part of
the Teamster movement for economic justice.
“To every
Teamster and every union member who joined us in this cause, we
thank you for your effort, your sacrifices and your commitment.
More importantly, we urge you to stay engaged and work with us
as we continue the fight on behalf of working Americans.” |
