May Day: Labor on the Move in Plymouth

May has been a good month for organized labor in Plymouth. The town of Plymouth experienced two significant examples of just how effective the grassroots mobilization efforts of organized labor can be in political campaigns. On May 10^th Plymouth voters went to the polls, and by the end of the day elected a new, pro-worker Selectman, as union brother and International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 4 member John Mahoney topped the ticket, and town voters supported a historic economic development proposal by favoring the "Plymouth Rock Studios" project with 89-percent of the vote.

The two campaigns involved an intense mobilization push by area unions and the Plymouth/Bristol Central Labor Council and the Brockton and Vicinity Building and Construction Trades Council. The two Councils, with assistance from the State Federation and State Building Trades Council, executed a textbook grassroots mobilization campaign to educate union members and their families, as well as the general public, about the merits of both Brother Mahoney's campaign for Selectman and the enormously promising "Plymouth Rock Studios" project. Kathy Manson, President of the Plymouth/Bristol Central Labor Council, and Peter Gibbons, President of the Brockton and Vicinity Building Trades Council, led a tremendous effort that included mailings to all union families in the town, as well as letters from individual local unions to its own members. Phone banks to union families were up and running for the two weeks prior to Election Day, automated calls served as reminders to union families about the importance of the Plymouth elections, and volunteers were recruited and mobilized to staff visibilities at all 14 precincts across the large town.

John Mahoney, Jr. ran for the Board of Selectmen with a major focus on strengthening the local economy. The overwhelming support for the Plymouth Rock Studios on the same Election Day proved that the economy was arguably the leading issue on voters' minds. Brother Mahoney defeated incumbent Selectwoman Jean Loewenberg. Union members worked together to help turn out the vote for Brother Mahoney, who will now represent working families in Plymouth as Selectman.

The Plymouth Rock Studios project has the potential to have a massive positive impact on not only the economy in Plymouth but the entire southeastern region of the state. Substantial job creation and revenue generation will result if the project becomes reality. Plymouth Rock Studios is interested in purchasing 300 acres of town-owned land in South Plymouth for use as a film production studio. The Plymouth/Bristol Central Labor Council, Brockton and Vicinity Building and Construction Trades Council, and area local unions fully supported the Plymouth Rock Studios project because of its potential to bring over two thousand family-sustaining jobs to the Plymouth area, and add another component to our diverse state economy. The plans for Plymouth Rock Studios call for construction of 14 soundstages, two 100,000-square-foot production buildings, a village with housing, a hotel and stores, a K-12 performing arts school, vocational classrooms, and more.

Labor mobilized a committed campaign to win the referendum on establishing Plymouth Rock Studios. The referendum passed with 89-percent of the vote, with residents supporting the release of 1,000 acres of town-owned land. The next step will be at a town meeting in June, where town-leaders will be asked to authorize the Board of Selectmen to sell the property for studio development. Plymouth Rock Studios is interested in buying 300 acres of the 1,000 acre plot, and the remainder would be protected as open space.

Kathy Manson, CLC President, was proud of the unions who made these victories happen, saying, "Plymouth is the fastest growing town in the Commonwealth, probably this part of the country, and there are so many union families who want to make a difference in this proud and historic town. Unions worked together in Plymouth as never before. The great byproducts of this campaign in Plymouth are the newly formed and strong relationships between the area's unions. Unions who have long been active joined with unions who had not previously had a track record of political action. AFL-CIO unions joined with independent and other non-affiliated unions. The result of such solidarity is a union brother speaking for us and standing for us on the Board of Selectmen, a huge economic development on the cusp of revolutionizing the economy in the area, and a reinvigorated Labor Movement in the town where it all began."

The two important victories in Plymouth have demonstrated once again the power of Labor when we work together. It is exactly this sort of mobilization effort that the Labor Movement will use push working family issues in the 2008 elections. These victories were only enhanced nearly a week later when Utility Workers Union of American Local 369 used the strength of solidarity and conviction to stare down a lock-out threat by nuclear energy behemoth Entergy Corporation to come to a tentative agreement on a good contract that averted a possible lock-out, endangered the safety and energy supply of this crucial area of the state, and provided the economic security that the 300 Utility Workers deserve for their work at the Pilgrim Power Plant.

To learn more about the victories in Plymouth:

Click here to read more about the Plymouth Rock Studios victory.

Click here to read more about union brother John Mahoney's victory.

Click here to read more about UWUA Local 369's victory.