An Amazing Election for the IBEW and Our Political Allies
The June 7th primary election was one of the best elections ever for IBEW Local 332. Every single labor-endorsed candidate in our priority races either won outright or advanced to the runoff in the November 8th election. Additionally, all the ballot measures we endorsed passed. This goes to show, when IBEW members vote and get involved, we win. Here are a few key races:
|
CA Board of Equalization D1: |
Headed for November runoff |
|
CA State Senate, D10: Aisha Wahab |
Headed for November runoff |
|
CA Assembly Ash Kalra, Evan Low & Robert Rivas |
Incumbents who all sailed |
|
CA Assembly, District 24: Alex Lee |
Headed for November runoff |
|
CA Assembly, District 28: Gail Pellerin |
Headed for November runoff |
|
Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, D1 Sylvia Arenas |
Labor ally will face Johnny Khamis, one of the worst legislators in the county, in the Nov. runoff |
|
Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, D4 |
Ran unopposed, which is good as she’s been an IBEW champion |
|
San Jose Mayor: Cindy Chavez |
Hotly contested race, finished |
|
San Jose City Council D1: |
IBEW ally won outright by |
|
San Jose City Council D3: |
Had more than 2x as many votes 2nd place finisher, narrowly |
|
San Jose City Council D5: |
Will face labor ally Peter Ortiz in the runoff. No matter who wins, IBEW will be well-represented |
|
San Jose City Council D7: |
Our strongest ally on council – headed for the Nov. runoff |
All labor-endorsed ballot measures won, including Measure B, which moves the San Jose mayoral race to coincide with the presidential-year elections. Our members have fought for this for years because more working families vote in presidential elections than in off-year elections. Thank you, 332 members, for all your hard work making this happen!
Key Endorsements for the Nov. 8 Election
The mid-term election is November 8th, and the IBEW needs to do what we do best on politics: vote for labor-friendly candidates who will serve our interests. This is one of the most consequential elections for local races in the last few years, with three key races that will have an enormous impact on IBEW members’ work and all working families. Stay tuned in the coming months for more about the candidates, the election, and how to get involved.
Aisha Wahab | CA State Senate District 10
So much is at stake on the state level, with $50 billion in Biden’s infrastructure bill money coming to CA, including roughly $10.5 billion for IBEW-made EV charging stations. We need an advocate like Aisha to ensure that work is is done by skilled union workers from approved apprenticeships. Aisha sits on the Hayward City Council and has been a long-time labor ally, passing numerous policies around wage theft and the minimum wage. Her opponent is not union-friendly at all.
Cindy Chavez | San Jose Mayor
Electing Cindy would be a game-changer. As the former head of the South Bay Labor Council and an IBEW ally on the San Jose City Council and Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, Cindy has moved policies that have benefitted our members. She helped secure numerous county PLAs and $6 billion for the BART extension, which is primarily IBEW work. Her opponent is a Sam Liccardo clone who is extremely anti-union. He has voted against PLAs on the city council.
Maya Esparza | San Jose City Council
Maya has been our closest friend on the San Jose City Council. She is very in tune with the IBEW and reaches out to us for our opinions. She is a tireless advocate on our behalf and spearheaded changes to PLA language for the City of San Jose. Her opponent is hand-picked by Sam Liccardo and serves business interests and not our members’ interests. Electing Maya is critical to keeping our majority of labor-friendly voices on the city council.
*** Get Involved! Join the IBEW Local 332 Political Action Committee! ***
Local 332 is a powerhouse in local politics because our members get involved in the electoral process
and turn out voters for labor-friendly candidates and legislation. All members are welcome to join
our Political Action Committee (PAC), which is charged with educating our members,
organizing canvassing and phone banking, and lobbying elected leaders. Join us!
PAC meetings are the last Tuesday of every month at 5pm.
For info, contact Alex Caraballo at acaraballo@ibew332.org or Will Smith at wsmith@ibew332.org
IBEW & Biden’s Build Back Better
With the passage of Biden’s historic infrastructure bill, $50 billion will be coming to California. A large portion of that will go towards IBEW work for a massive expansion of the electric vehicle charging station network. Training classes will be offered at 332’s ETASV (JATC) in the coming months.
The International ETA has revamped the training. The modules are administered through an online learning management system, and the ETA ensures the modules are completed and the required number of hours for certification are satisfied. Members can then take the test for certification. Please stay on the look out for announcements coming out of the ETASV for upcoming classes.
