"Joe Snodgrass on The Labor Movement and Democratic Candidates" Transcript

Welcome to The FloridaProgressives.Com Podcast, Episode Twelve, for August 1st, 2014. I'm Mike Eidson.

This is my first in-person interview, usually I am speaking with Florida's activists from across the state over Skype, but this time, I'm out to lunch with Joe Snodgrass, from Crescent City in Putnam County, and he has been a union member for 44 years, from the UAW to the IUE to the IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which he has 38 years of service in and is currently retired from. This allows him to commit to doing the progressive activism he enjoys and also campaign for progressive candidates. Right now he is volunteering his time on the gubernatorial campaign for Nan Rich, and we'll talk about the other campaigns, local, state, and federal, that he is working on. And we’ll also talk about the labor movement overall. So, at this point, we've already exchanged pleasantries and are just getting started:

You and I first met through local Awake the State rallies in Putnam County. Your friends and followers on Facebook might have seen that you are the guy with the RV, the recreational vehicle, the words “Nan Rich for Governor 2014” on the side of your RV, right?

JS:

Correct. Yes.

ME:

And you have been traveling the state, including a lot of areas that Democrats maybe don’t often think about going to.

JS:

Absolutely. We’ve done a tour from Jacksonville to the Panhandle to the Florida Keys. Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Miami. Volusia County. I’ve traveled so far, in the course of purchasing this particular RV: 4,896 miles as of yesterday.

I did an Interlachen [in Putnam County] political forum last night [editor’s note: this was recorded July 25th] by the Historical Society for local candidates in Putnam County. But like I say, all over the state. The Panhandle one was one of the better ones. It was five counties, four cities, six events, in three days. Pretty busy!

ME:

Right. Yeah, I want to talk to you more about those other candidates a little bit later. When you are travelling the state, you are not a campaign staffer for Nan Rich. You are a supporter.

JS:

Correct. Volunteer. Just a normal guy, like everybody else on the street.

ME:

When you drive around and talk to supporters, or just average citizens of Florida, what kind of reactions are you getting?

JS:

I get, most of the time, very positive reactions. Of course, [laughs] I don’t particularly like to engage negative people. But the standard question, and it’s really not a question, it’s a reaction, they go “Who’s Nan Rich?” And I’ve had to develop a reply in, “I’m glad you asked. Nan is a 12-year legislator from the state of Florida.” Many say they don’t know her, but I find that to be a falsehood, because anybody in this day and age with a computer can find out who someone is.

ME:

I know, when you compare her with a lot of other Democratic candidates, she has had relatively some trouble fundraising. We could go into the reasons why, and there are plenty of reasons, and I do not necessarily blame Nan Rich, I blame the media structure, I blame the political structure, but that’s a whole other topic.

You and I both met Nan Rich at a fundraiser in Gainesville last year. Was that your first experience with her campaign?

JS:

No, that was already, actually, my fourth event. I actually saw her here in Putnam County on June 13th of 2013. Nan was actually my state senator when I lived in Broward County. I used to use Broward County for my homebase when I was working, so… I saw her speak when she was not in session, in Broward County, years ago. If I recall, it was either 2001 or 2003, give or take.

ME:

Right. So you are all aboard the Nan Van. [laughs] Is that what you call it, or what other people started calling it?

JS:

Well, that was the moniker hung onto it by Joe Kreps, down in Broward County, but yeah, hey, it’s good for me. It’s what it is. Most people… [laughs], when I stop, they expect Nan to come emerging out of the van. She has been in the coach; I do have pictures of her there, but, no, she doesn’t travel with me. This is all about me and my thing.

ME:

Well, I really like that whole thing that you’ve got going. I mean, it has a grassroots feel to it. I’m a big fan of it. Moving on from the work that you’ve personally been doing, to the race itself: Nan Rich vs. Charlie Crist, in the primary, August 26th. Those are the two choices to be the Democratic candidate for governor, against Rick Scott in November. Do you have any comments you want to say, about that race?

    

JS:

Yes. Very much so. The media and even the FDP have picked their candidate.

ME:

That’s the Florida Democratic Party.

JS:

They have almost coronated Charlie. The primary is just a thing that they wish would go away. It’s not going to go away. It’s the democratic process.

The polls don’t matter -- there was a poll the other day, a Quinnipiac poll -- but the polls don’t matter. The only poll that matters is the poll where you go and cast your vote at on August 26th or in early voting. That’s the one that’s going to count. This is all about Florida’s record for poor turnouts with primary elections and midterm years. This is all about getting out the vote. And that’s why the grassroots campaign, which can run on a lot less money, is much more successful than what Charlie Crist or Rick Scott can muster.

ME:

Nan Rich has a consistent record on many, many issues: environment, women’s rights, education. She’s huge on that. Children with disabilities. She has been consistent, whereas her competition has not been. I mean, he has had three different party affiliations and many different stances on those issues, you know what I mean?

JS:

Yes, the biggest thing to me about Charlie Crist is, when I look at people, when I go and research a candidate that I’m voting for... he’s running on a Democratic ticket but he doesn’t have a Democratic record. So I’m supposed to take him at his word, because now, since December 2012, he is a registered Democrat? I’m supposed to take him at his word, now that he’s the opposite? He’s all for gay rights, he’s all for organized labor, he is for women’s rights, education? He has been a strong promoter of the vouchers, and still, as of April, they said, well, what does he think about vouchers? He said, well, it’s not good at this time.

That’s not the answer I want to hear, as a progressive Democrat. I want to hear: it is never a good time for vouchers.

ME:

Right. Okay, let’s move on to other campaigns, either in the past or currently, that you have worked on. I think one of our very first conversations was when you were speaking about Heather Beaven vs. Ron DeSantis, for the 6th Congressional District. You said you put in a lot of hours for Heather Beaven; unfortunately, she lost. Ron DeSantis is representing this area. Do you have any Congressional work for this election cycle?

JS:

I’m actually doing multiple Congressional campaigns. I am promoting my candidate, David Cox, for FL-6 (St. Johns, Flagler, Volusia, and part of Putnam). David is running unopposed right now; he’s not in the primary, but he’ll be in the general election against DeSantis.

Yes, I backed Heather, both in 2010 and 2008, much more progressively in 2010.

Through the course that I’m touring the state, practically, I’m promoting Jim Bryan in FL-1, Gwen Graham in FL-2, Marihelen Wheeler in FL-3, Mike McKenna in FL-10, and so on. The list goes on.

ME:

Wheeler is running against [Ted Yoho], assuming Ted Yoho beats the primary. I mean, he’s the guy that wanted to default on our national debt. So these are really serious [matters with] Congress members, where we need to try to get the bad ones out and the good ones in, y’know?

JS:

Absolutely. If Mike McKenna wins his primary, he will be running against “Taliban Dan,” as Mr. Grayson hung on him. Dan Webster, out of FL-10. Jim Bryan is running against, I believe, Jeff Scott [editor’s note: Jeff Miller], up in FL-1. He’s the one that talks big about all the veterans up there, and is head of the Veterans Committee, but seems to fail and drop the ball on many of the issues for the veterans, but they continue to elect him up there because it’s a strong Democratic [editor’s note: Joe meant to say “Republican”] congressional district.              

  

ME:

What about local candidates in Palatka and in Putnam County. Are there any that you… you said you were at an event in Interlachen recently. Any off the top of your head that you can unabashedly support right now?

JS:

Right now, the school board is big this year because we had a retirement from Mr. [Charles] Overturf in District 5. And, just for the record, the school board districts and the county commissioner districts match, number-for-number and size-for-size. So, Mr. Overturf retired, so there is a race of four people there, and yes, I have a strong candidate there, in Shirley Diaz-Basel. She works in the school system now, and she’s very, very well-qualified. She’s not looking at it from the position of a second job. This is going to be her primary job. And this is going to be what she devotes all her time to.

And that’s big to me because when you look at Putnam County, the majority of the officeholders have one, two, three jobs. So, to me, it’s a big thing. The rest of the races are pretty much a flip. They can go either way. They all look about the same. And county commissioner, unfortunately, the Democrats couldn’t muster a candidate, in County Commission District 4.

ME:

Okay, another fun thing on your Facebook feed is the “This Day in Labor History” fact sheets. A lot of Americans -- I mean, this is my personal opinion, here -- have forgotten or have never learned the importance of unions throughout our history. Can you speak to that, and also, how you first got involved in the labor movement? I mean, I guess it was through your line of work, right?

JS:

Yes! One of the few things -- my father and I were not real close -- one of the few things he shared with me was, as a young man, when I got out of high school -- I wasn’t going to attend college -- he said, “If you want to make something of yourself, get a skilled trade and join a labor union.” He said, “You’ll be taken care of, the rest of your life. Doubly taken care of, if you work hard and put in as much as you take out.” And that’s what I did, one of the few things I took his recommendation on. And it worked.

But, yes, history. All big labor unions pretty well have an organizational campaign, and they organize people, they increase their membership, they increase their union dues, but they fail to teach what our ancestors fought for and the history of organized labor. How they fought for the rights to be represented by a labor union and what accomplishments they got.

Also, another thing about history and passing it on at this time, is for people who are not union members and never have been union members, they must realize, without the labor unions and what they fought for, they rode on our shirttails all this time. They don’t want to admit it, but it’s the honest truth. When my wages go up, as a union electrician, the non-union electrician wages go up, too, because they don’t want to lose that electrician to the union, through an organizing program.

ME:

Yes, and in terms of benefits, let’s say it’s a private-sector, non-unionized job, I’ve heard people with those types of jobs complain, and say, “Well, why should they get all these benefits and great pay, when we don’t!” And that’s a weird logic, to me, because they’re trying to drag everybody down to their level, instead of fight for their own rights!

JS:

Exactly. Why criticize me because I make a fair, living wage and you don’t. So, don’t come up with an original idea for how to fight for your own benefits, better yet, drag me down. Make me the villain, turn the tables on me, and make me look like I am the one, organized labor is the one, that is destroying the economy and creating havoc for everybody else.

ME:

Right. Y’know, a proud history, like you said, of the labor movement. And those people that are villainizing unions, I would recommend, take your anger, and redirect it towards the people that write the laws, and try to get an expanded, organized work force for the whole country. [That] would be wonderful. We could stop outsourcing so much, we could have more Made-in-the-USA products. What are your thoughts on that? Because it seems like the whole American economy is lost without unions, y’know?

JS:

Absolutely. We have not had any legislation on the federal level that has increased the benefits of the working class people since 1950. And people must realize they want all these things, but if you have a fair, living wage job, there is nothing that you cannot purchase for yourself and do to take care of yourself and better your family and the future of your family.

But the thing that people have to understand is that things are not welfare programs. The biggest problem that we have had, since the Obama administration came in, is the outsourcing of jobs. If we had legislation that was written to encourage people to keep jobs in… if we had the manufacturing base today that we had in Bill Clinton’s era, we would not be having the financial difficulties and the economic crisis that we are having today. None, whatsoever.

ME:

Bill Clinton did sign NAFTA, though.

JS:

Yes, he did. And that’s a whole other story. We can get into Walmarts, we can get into many, many things there, but no, that was not good. Yes, Bill is not necessarily… he is not my favorite president, but besides himself and all the things that he did, he still came out with some excellent statistics, because the economy turned around and was in a boom era. But that boom came from manufacturing jobs. Fair, living wage jobs. Not people working two jobs, not people working underpaying jobs.

ME:

Okay, my last question is, as an activist in this area for a while, what would you recommend for Putnam County and the surrounding areas, what do they need to do in order for their voice to be heard, in Washington?

JS:

The biggest number one thing with me is youth. We need the young people in the county, every county, every city, every place in the nation, the young people need to stand up. And put the cell phones down, stop texting, and start getting involved, face-to-face with people and learn how to communicate with people on a one-to-one thing. That’s the reason why I picked a door-to-door process in my precinct, to knock on doors and to greet people and meet people and let them know that there was somebody in the community that knew what they were doing and how important they were. That’s what I say. I think the young people need to step up. I’m old. I’m an old man, I’m sixty four years old. “Oooh, it’s not that old.” Well, trust me, when you look behind you, and you see no youth stepping up, it’s really scary, because what’s going to happen when the old people are gone? We’re going to have nothing. Absolutely nothing.

ME:

Okay. Well, Joe, thanks so much for joining me today, thanks for all that you do on behalf of your fellow Floridians.

JS:

You’re very welcome, Mike. It’s my pleasure, and I consider it to be a privilege to have the opportunity to speak out and try to show people that there are two sides to every issue. There are two parts to every story. And that people need to realize that the world and the things that go on are about more than just their opinions, and just about them. It’s about everybody and it’s about equality for all and fairness for all. There isn’t anybody in the country that shouldn’t be able to make a fair living wage and make as much money as they can possibly make.

ME:

All right, excellent, thank you.            

This episode goes out to all the Nan Fans, who have enjoyed a good portion of ridicule and resentment all for daring to participate in what Joe very simply and accurately describes as the democratic process. Thank you all for demanding debates, for respecting the primary process, and for standing up for your progressive values. I hope we continue to have that attitude with other races throughout Florida.

Joe Snodgrass can be found on Facebook. More on the candidates and labor unions he mentioned in the interview are linked to throughout the transcript of this podcast at Florida Progressives.Com.

You can find me on Facebook at The FloridaProgressives.Com Podcast. You can find me on Twitter at mike eidson, spelled e i d s o n. This is the third podcast out of five, in five days. If you want to promote the podcast on social media, you can use the hashtag #5interviews5days .

This music is by Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com . It is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/            

Thanks for listening.