Union leadership like Forstag’s is what D.C. needs

If there’s one thing most Montanans can agree on, it’s that our politicians on both sides of the aisle have failed to put the needs of their constituents before the wants of their donors.

I’ve found that in my civic life, the one political institution that has actually worked for my interests more than anyone in Helena or D.C. has been my union. In a country where Super-PACS and lawmakers work unilaterally to keep healthcare expensive and wages low, workers that are organized are workers that are protected.

And yet, there remains a large number of overworked Americans who are convinced that their lives wouldn’t be substantially improved if they too had this kind of representation. We need leaders who push to expand union membership and strengthen collective bargaining rights.

Aaron Flint and his Republican colleagues have a known record of vilifying organized labor and some Democrats are no better. That’s why the only candidate I trust to protect our right to organize is the only one with experience in union leadership, Sam Forstag.

I’m done gambling on candidates that promise they will put the interests of working people before their donors. This primary, I’m only voting for candidates with a record of doing it, and Sam being the only candidate touting his success in collective bargaining tells me everything I need to know.

– Charles Grant, Arlee