Teamsters gear up to oppose ‘Wall Street Whitman’

Californians now know the choice for California’s next Governor comes down to Meg Whitman or Jerry Brown. Now it’s up to us to make clear that the choice isn’t just between two people or two styles of leadership, but about the kind of California we want in the decades to come.

We’ve had enough of the Wall Street way, but that’s the kind of thinking Meg Whitman wants to bring to the Governor’s office. We’ve seen what happens when Wall Street controls our mortgages, our retire- ment savings, and our economy. We can’t let “Wall Street Whitman” get her grip on our schools, our health- care, and our jobs.

Everywhere Whitman’s gone throughout her career two things have happened: workers lost jobs and she got richer. That’s because Whitman believes to her core that what’s good for Wall Street must be good for everyone. If a CEO has a fatter bonus at the end of the year, it justifies job cuts and slashed benefits.

We know all too well just how wrong she is. When the economy col- lapsed, Whitman and her corporate friends made off with millions. We paid the price with job loss, home foreclosures and other hardships.

But there is a better way: Jerry Brown represents the Main Street val- ues of good jobs, quality schools and public services and a stronger California. In his time as Governor from 1975-1983, he created nearly two million jobs. He’s spent a lifetime fighting for us at all levels of government. That’s the kind of proven lead- ership we need to emerge from this recession. But before we can work with Jerry to get our economy back on track, we’ve got to stop Whitman’s “Wall Street Express” in its tracks.

The 2010 campaign has started early this year because Meg Whitman wants to buy her way into office. She has already shelled out more than $90 million on her hostile corporate takeover of California and she’s on track to more than double that before the November general election. Defeating her corporate agenda will take more than money; it will require an army of passionate volunteers and activists.

Teamsters Joint Council 7 is gearng up our political campaign with member-to-member organizing, encouraging membership in DRIVE, and getting out the vote. We need all members to get involved—see Political Power to learn how you can get involved.