Deb's Dedication to Democracy

In a week where Democratic Socialists have made news nationwide for their electoral and policy wins, important developments in Albuquerque’s labor scene have also taken place. New Mexico is not a state famous for its culture of militant unionism, yet here, as everywhere else, the idea that we are stronger together and that we deserve some of the value we create is surging.

Members of Albuquerque DSA stood with our allies in organized labor on Monday June 22 as a newly minted union of web developers demanded formal recognition with their employer called Real Time Solutions. Real Time Solutions is a company in the business of making websites, including websites for the government of the State of New Mexico. Because of this, Real Time Solutions faces pressure not only from its employees, but also from the State’s Executive Branch. In New Mexico, while the State Legislature write laws and allocates funds for those laws, it does not prescribe which contractors the State must hire. Therefore, the Executive Branch is somewhat unrestrained in its decision-making process of whom it hires to carry out government obligations--including the development of websites on behalf of the State. The new union, a local of the Communications Workers of America, identified this and recruited Deb Haaland--New Mexico’s likely next governor--to make a statement to Real Time Solutions in support of the workers. When Haaland is sworn in next year, an option available to her or to agencies she controls will be to unilaterally cut ties with Real Time Solutions, and the union asked that she make that clear to Real Time Solutions management.

Yet Deb Haaland’s statement to the management of Real Time Solutions didn’t appear to sway them in any capacity and they remain determined to fight the union. This raises two reasonable possibilities: either the management of Real Time Solutions is willing to lose what is likely its biggest customer as a sick power play against its employees, or Haaland’s statement in support of the union was soft and not truly in the spirit of solidarity with the workers that make the profits possible. You decide which one is more likely.

To be clear: Haaland was clearly the superior choice in the Democratic primary for governor, though that mostly boils down to her lack of outright hostility to progressive and socialist organizations in the state. But in the same week a corporation that is contracted by the State is either making a terrible business decision or wasn’t sufficiently pressured to make the right decision, Haaland endorsed Stephanie Garcia Richard to be her Lieutenant Governor.

Earlier in June, New Mexico held its primaries, and one of the offices for which candidates were being considered was Lieutenant Governor. Maggie Toulouse Oliver won that race handily against State Senator Harold Pope. But Toulouse Oliver, citing health issues, then dropped out of the race 2 weeks after she had won the primary. And instead of advocating for a transparent process that respects the will of voters, Haaland endorsed Garcia Richard--who did not appear on the ballot--to be her Lieutenant Governor. Because Haaland’s voice carries significant weight with the New Mexico Democratic Party State Central Committee, Garcia Richard is likely to become our Lieutenant Governor without ever having been granted the consent of the governed. Garcia Richard is currently the State Land Commissioner--a powerful role in the state government that oversees the leasing of state land to various projects, including oil and gas. The decisions she’s made in that role have been questionable, with favors granted to out-of-state industry including a missile manufacturer in Sandoval County that she easily could have blocked.

Even if these two events--Haaland’s (likely) weak statement in solidarity with union workers and her endorsement of Garcia Richard in the New Mexico Democratic Party’s shadowy second-in-command selection process--are unrelated, they are both symptomatic of how our state’s politics run: not by a commitment to improving the lives of regular New Mexicans, but by a web of power brokers who all have a vested interest in ensuring that New Mexico remains a playground for the wealthy and an extraction for industry while its people live in poverty, its rivers run dry, and wages stay low. Corporate money speaks a lot louder than the voice of the people, especially when the people aren’t even given a voice.

Haaland’s shaky commitment to democracy, whether that’s political or economic democracy, is now on full display. But as has been shown across the country, the establishment of both parties is frightened of the power we have when we organize our people, our resources, and our ideas. While we may not be there today, the shadowy networks that built New Mexico’s political machine should be prepared for a movement that is intent on delivering liberty, equality, and community to the people that actually run this state: the bus drivers, teachers, bank tellers, government employees, and yes, the web developers that make our state’s websites. Democracy in our government and in our workplace is vital for progress. As democratic socialists, we understand that. By organizing, we can make entrenched interests--political or economic--understand that, too.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Red Rose, any individual editor, Albuquerque DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America, or any individual therein.

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