HOW TO RIG A NATIONAL OR REGIONAL UNION ELECTION

I can think of more than half-dozen tricks that incumbents or those favored by the “powers-to-be” can use to get a large advantage in multi-local elections.  But I want to focus on a new age one that involves e-mail addresses. 

To put it most bluntly, often the incumbent or the candidate favored by the house has access to the personal e-mail addresses of the local officials who will vote in the election, without the same information given to opposing candidates. So, the incumbent or favored candidate can send out multiple campaign releases or even put together a Zoom/Skype call with the tap of a few keys while the opposition often does not have e-mails, phone numbers, or even home addresses of the voters. (Remember, campaign material cannot be sent to government e-mail boxes.)  This is like a criminal trial where only the government prosecutors get to address the jury, while the defense counsel’s best tactic is to stand outside the court room and try to buttonhole folks who “may” be jurors.

How do the incumbents get these personal email addresses and phone numbers  of the local leaders? Easssssssssy.  Every time an incumbent meets local leaders at a training session, bargaining trip, visit to the local, s/he asks the local delegate for the information.  The request may be camouflaged as a flattering gesture of “Let’s be friends” or even “The union needs that data for its lobbying efforts.  Give it to me and I will pass it on.”

Given that this information is never shared with opposition candidates, they are left to find a way to equally communicate.  Otherwise, they rest their entire campaign on the one or two mailings the union officially does for each candidate.

Any incumbent or favored candidate elected using this information should be very worried that a challenge will be filed.  If the data is given from one union official to another s/he wants to see elected that creates the potential for a charge of conspiracy to interfere with a union election.