HUNTSVILLE – The North Alabama Area Labor Council (NAALC) has released a list of promises made by Huntsville municipal candidates to support union workers.
The organization asked city council and school board candidates about their plans to support labor and workers ahead of the municipal election on Tuesday.
“Workers are the majority in Huntsville and Alabama at large and it is about time our political culture reflects that reality,” said Jacob Morrison, NAALC President and member of AFGE Local 1858. “North Alabama’s unions stand united in making that happen.”
According to NAALC, 9 out of 11 candidates were sent surveys.
“Two candidates did not have contact information listed and could not be contacted,” read a press release from the organization. “Of those contacted, Devyn Keith, Pat King, Claudia Harris, Carlos Mathews, and Michelle Watkins answered and returned candidate questionnaires. Of the listed candidates, all but King were interviewed by the NAALC political committee via Zoom.”
Keith and Watkins, both candidates for District 1 City Council, agreed to:
- Using union print shops moving forward
- Supporting a city resolution calling on the state to expand Medicaid
- Adding union members to Huntsville’s various boards and commissions
- Supporting the creation of a union-led Labor Board
- Publicly supporting unions and union campaigns
- Maintaining dialogue with North Alabama’s unions
Watkins suggested regular monthly meetings with the NAALC to ensure workers and organized labor are considered when creating municipal policies.
The school board candidates Harris, King, and Mathews agreed to:
- Using union print shops moving forward
- Respecting the current “Meet and Confer” policy for school worker organizations
- Opposing attacks on the Retirement Systems of Alabama and fighting attempts to cut pensions
- Supporting and helping the NAALC expand our current Labor in the Schools campaign
- Maintaining dialogue with North Alabama’s unions
Harris and King also agreed to publicly support unions and union campaigns.
After receiving the surveys and conducting interviews with numerous candidates, the NAALC has chosen not to endorse in the upcoming municipal elections.
“After careful consideration and thoughtful answers from many municipal candidates, the NAALC chose not to endorse in this year’s Huntsville city elections. The council hopes that in sharing these answers, labor becomes an essential pillar of candidates’ and voters’ priorities.”
The North Alabama Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO is the regional federation of unions in North Alabama, one of hundreds of state and local labor councils of the AFL-CIO.
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