1. Senator Kamala Harris said her record of confronting corporate power and working with unions are key to her campaign for president. 2. Senator Elizabeth Warren with San Francisco Veterinary care workers at VCA/Mars - a company that has been fighting union members. 3. Senator Bernie Sanders explained how his “Medicare for All” plan would help working Americans and union members. Editor’s note: this article is from the September 2019 issue of The Dispatcher. It has been edited for length. To read full length article, please visit ilwu.org/the-dispatcher-newspaper/current-issue/.

Three top contenders running for U.S. President met with ILWU International Executive Board members in August. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris each took several hours from their busy schedules to sit down with the Board, give short presentations and answer questions from union members on August 22 and 23.

Their appearances resulted from an invitation extended by International President Willie Adams, who said he was pleased that three leading candidates made it a priority to attend. “We’re hoping that others will be able to attend our next Executive Board meeting in December, including former Senator Joe Biden,” said Adams.

The visits are part of a new effort to involve more union members in the endorsement process by providing more information about the candidates. Local unions have been encouraged to hold their own meetings for members to discuss the candidates and issues.

Elizabeth Warren goes first 
After thanking International President Willie Adams and Board members for the invitation to appear, Warren launched into her fast-paced overview of the problems facing America’s working families. She explained that her views were shaped by growing up in a working-class family of six, “...on the ragged edge of the middle class in Oklahoma, where my dad sold fencing and carpeting – then ended-up as a janitor - with my mom working a minimum wage at Sears. Both had no unions to protect them, so we went through some hard times,” she explained

Working-class family struggles 
She recounted that when her father suffered a heart attack, he lost his job and the medical bills almost cost their family to lose their home and station wagon.

All three of her older brothers served in the military, including one who spent five years in Vietnam.

Another brother got a union job, and became a life-long union member

“At every town hall meeting, I always tell people that unions built America’s middle-class and they will re-build America’s middle class.”

Beating the odds to teach
 “I wanted to become a teacher, but our family had no money to pay for a college application, let alone four years of tuition, so I got a scholarship but then got married and dropped-out at 19. I later went to a community college that cost $50 a semester where I got my teaching degree and taught children with special needs, which I loved.”

“Why I’m in this fight” 
“I’m running because I’ve seen how our federal government has worked better and better for the wealthy and well-connected – and kicked dirt in the face of everyone else. That’s why I’m in this fight. I’m in it to build a

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Democracy matters at

Members of the LEB getting sworn in at the first meeting of the year on March 15. The union has elections every three years where you can vote on who everything from who becomes President to the members who serve on this board. These members will serve the next three years.

At the ILWU your voice matters. So much so that one of the largest governing bodies of the whole union – the Local Executive Board (LEB) – is made up of rank-and-file members.

Individuals from workplaces such as Foodland, Kuwaye Trucking, Grand Hyatt, and Young Brothers all come together four times a year to this meeting to discuss and vote on issues important to our union brothers and sisters.

The majority of these members were voted in to serve on this board; democracy is a hallmark of the ILWU and we welcome you to attend these meetings that we open to members every quarter.

Read on inside to learn more about the memebers who make up this board. We hope you get inspired to get involved in making this union YOUR union!