LocalUnionNo.

98

INTERNATIONALBROTHERHOODOFELECTRICALWORKERS
1701 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130

Phone: 215-563-5592
Fax: 215-561-2168

November 17, 2016

Dear Brothers and Sisters and Your Families,
DONALD TRUMP WON THE ELECTION.
Despite receiving a 460,000 vote plurality out of the City of Philadelphia - thanks to the Herculean
efforts of the AFL-CIO, the Philadelphia Building Trades and most definitely the members of IBEW
Local 98 - Hillary Clinton lost Pennsylvania and, quickly thereafter, the White House. No other region
of the state came through for Hillary the way we did in Philadelphia, which is indefensible.
If the election was decided by the most campaign signs, the most hats and t-shirts, the best sevenday-a-week phone bank operation, the highest number of new voter registrations, the biggest
VOTE HILLARY banner that just happened to wrap your union hall, or the biggest army of dedicated
volunteers from the DNC convention through Election Day, she would have won easily. If the other
traditionally Democratic strongholds across the country came through the way we did in Philadelphia,
she would have won easily.
But its pointless to dwell on the result, just like its a waste of time to be protesting the election
process. Its over. Local 98 is moving forward and we will continue to write our own success story.
At the risk of sounding boastful, your business office and political operation make it look too easy. We
do double the work and have double the market share of any other IBEW local in the country. Your
funds are at their highest levels ever. Your multiple pension funds are solvent and trending in the
right direction. You enjoy the best healthcare plan available and your union provides unemployment
benefits for all members. And our Apprentice Training program is second to none and recently
earned complete college accreditation. Despite the medias efforts to falsely accuse Local 98 of doing
economic harm, were solely about ensuring economic fairness for working families.
The huge plurality you delivered this election is a tribute to your skills and work ethic. Every one
of you who worked so hard should hold your heads up high. You outperformed all expectations,
delivering 80% of the citys total votes for our candidate. In the days since the election, I have received
dozens of congratulatory calls, texts and emails from state and federal officials on both sides of the
political aisle who said that they couldnt believe the kind of effort you delivered for Hillary. They
showed you the respect youve earned and deserve.
Although we were all disappointed that our endorsed candidate didnt win, we will work well with the
Trump administration. In fact, we look forward to working with the Trump administration on issues
like infrastructure, energy and undocumented workers. I have some concerns about the future makeup of the Supreme Court and social and civil rights changes that may lead to continued civic unrest
across the country, but those issues will not significantly impact our core business. And understand

this point: The Democratic Party has become almost solely based on cultural liberalism. I get it.
I have a wife who underwent cranial surgery using stem cell-like technology. My one daughter is gay
and I adopted a second daughter who lost both parents to opioid abuse. Their issues matter more to
me than anything. I understand the value of cultural liberalism, but if the Democratic Party and the
national labor movement dont get back to focusing on class issues, the unionized labor movement
will soon be extinct.
I understand how and why Donald Trumps victory happened. People are frustrated and angry at the
lack of change in our nation. Their votes for President-Elect Trump were a rejection of the status quo
and, in large measure, a rejection of Americas two-party political system. I also acknowledge that
many brothers and sisters in the national labor movement, their families and our families have faced
economic hardships for far too long and wanted change. Many have yet to recover from the Great
Recession. Wages have been stagnant. Benefits have been cut. Health care contributions have risen.
Additional financial resources have been needed to shore up struggling pension funds. Many union
brothers and sisters across the country are still unemployed and their lives have been made even
more challenging because many dont have unemployment insurance.
Their plight is all the worse when you consider that abuses in our industry are rampant undocumented workers, the misclassification of workers, weakened federal and state labor laws, and
a total lack of enforcement of existing laws. All of these issues have resulted in a massively unlevel
playing field for unions.
The harsh reality is that no one has been able to stop the decline of unions. Ive come to realize some
hard truths in the aftermath of Trumps victory. The unionized labor movement has to stop meddling
in other peoples business. And we have to stop paying everyone elses bills. We need to put away
the tuxedos, stop attending the fancy dinners and fundraisers, and get back to union organizing and
spending our money on organizing. We need to be pushing issues like infrastructure reinvestment; the
creation of a national energy policy; the health and safety of our members; and the enforcement of
city, state and federal laws that govern the construction industry. The ones who abuse those laws are
the ones who are guilty of creating economic harm by cheating their workers and the government.
Here are the facts: The Democratic Party has consistently gotten its butt kicked. The party has not
been this week since 1928, a year before the Great Depression. This election revealed a stunning
lack of energy, resources and commitment. There is little to no middle class and there is little
unionized labor. Im not even sure how many Democrats are still squarely in the Democratic column.
The significant Democratic cross-over vote for Trump confirmed my doubts. If all of this bleak news
doesnt scream for an uprising in the Democratic Party, I dont know what does.
Despite unionized labors many issues, there is one major point of differentiation that should give you
great hope for the future: IBEW Local 98 is unlike most other unions. Local 98 has become a respected
national brand. Our market share in our jurisdiction is unrivaled anywhere in the country. We are the
best trained and most experienced electricians in the industry. And that is a credit to every one of you.
As I said before, the Trump administration will not affect our day-to-day operations. We will continue
to engage with our industry partners and developers to promote the benefits of union construction
to create jobs for our members. We will continue to make smart investments in new construction
projects in the city, both to create jobs and to constantly improve our financial position. We will
continue to be innovators in our industry and leaders in our community. And we will continue to
support candidates for political office who understand the value and importance of a strong labor
movement, no matter which political party they claim.

I am unapologetic on this point, which bears repeating. The Democratic Party is too fixated on cultural
liberalism and not focused enough on the populist economy. Wake up, Democratic Party leaders.
You can no longer expect us to pay all the bills, but seldom get a seat at the table. You can no longer
expect to receive our financial contributions, borrow our members, and count on our votes if youre
not going to give us jobs. Those days are over.
And the election is over. The people have spoken. We have to move on - and we will. We will stay
together and we will remain strong. I cannot thank you and your families enough for all of your hard
work. You did yourselves, your country and your union proud.
Yours in solidarity,

John J. Dougherty
Business Manager
P.S. As a wise old man once said, Its the economy, stupid.