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 When Daraka Larimore-Hall completes his Ph.D. at the University of California, he hopes to become a sociologist. A teaching assistant at the Santa Barbara campus, the UAW Local 2865 chair is, meanwhile, gaining plenty of real-life, hands-on experience in social action as a member of the local’s CAP committee, vice chair of the county Democratic Party and vice president of the tri-county Central Labor Council. As a union officer, why do you spend so much time on politics? We have to protect our bargaining gains. Everything union members have won is under attack. Look at what happened to academic student employees at New York University. They had a contract, then political appointees took away that right. What do you say to members who think politics diverts attention from union business? Union business is about defending members’ interests. We have to fight on all fronts – bargaining and political. Every union member has a stake in fighting against the deindustrialization of America. What are your expectations for the November elections? Between the costs of human life and our nation’s wealth, we need a new direction in this country’s foreign and domestic policies. We need to fix our education system, create jobs and rebuild our infrastructure. That takes money. In California, we have a Democratic candidate for governor (Phil Angelides) who’s not afraid to tax the top 1 percent to rebuild our state.
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