OPINION: We CAN beat Wall Street in District 2

By TRISH GUNBY

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that workers are worth more. Yet throughout 2020 and 2021, we’ve watched corporate boards celebrate record profits with unethical stock buybacks and bloated executive bonuses – all while the average worker’s dollar became less and less valuable.

As the saying goes, “Record profits are stolen wages,” and if it were up to politicians like Rep. Ann Wagner, Wall Street’s greed would know no boundaries.

Going up against Wall Street is like going to the casino – the house usually wins. In fact, if you look at the donations that corporations make to political candidates, you might assume they own the House of Representatives.

‘LOOKING TO BUY HER VOTE’
In the 10 years since Ann Wagner made it to Congress, she’s received millions of dollars from big banks, predatory lenders, insurance companies, and real estate firms all looking to buy her vote. Meanwhile, the costs of raising a family, buying a house, and paying for health care have all risen astronomically for the rest of us.

Simply put, if Ann Wagner is “Wall Street’s Biggest Supporter,” she can’t be ours –even though it’s our tax dollars that pay her salary. But I believe we have a chance to beat both Wagner and her Wall Street donors this November in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.

LABOR: STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Unlike the super-wealthy, everyday people possess strength in numbers, and no movement better harnesses their power than Organized Labor.

I’ve witnessed it on strike lines in St. James and Wentzville with Teamsters Local 618 and UAW Local 2250, felt it on election nights with UFCW Local 655, and seen its future at coffee shops represented by Workers United throughout the St. Louis area.

Together, I firmly believe we can flip the district and send a message that this district belongs to workers, not sell-outs like Wagner who voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and brought home $0 in federal projects this year.

HOW TO DO IT
How do we do it? The same way you helped me flip my current state House seat in 2019 – by meeting voters on their doorsteps.

Back then, Labor drove from St. Charles County, Franklin County, Warren County, even Jackson County (near Kansas City) to canvass with my team, and we took back a district previously held by a fierce “right-to-work” advocate.

If we want to keep fueling Labor’s national resurgence, we have to start by protecting our home turf from folks who have chosen the wealthy over the working.

Help me beat Ann Wagner, and we’ll all enjoy a victory over Wall Street.

(Trish Gunby is a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House in MO-02 and the current state representative for Missouri’s 99th House District. For more information on her campaign, go online to www.trishgunby.com or to team@trishgunby.com. The Labor Movement has not yet made an endorsement in this race. The incumbent is Republican Ann Wagner.)