Culinary Union releases statement blasting Bernie's campaign (staffers were posing as union members)

[Cali_Democrat]

CULINARY UNION STATEMENT REGARDING SANDERS CAMPAIGN STAFF IN EMPLOYEE DINING ROOMS:

We can confirm multiple reports of Bernie Sanders’ campaign staffers attempting and gaining access to Employee Dining Rooms at Las Vegas Strip properties where over 57,000 members that we represent work.

We are disappointed and offended. It's completely inappropriate for any campaign to attempt to mislead Culinary Union members, especially at their place of work.

The Culinary Union button that hundreds of thousands of union members have proudly worn to work every day represents 80 years of struggle and fighting for justice. We strongly condemn anyone falsifying their affiliation with the Culinary Union in order to gain access to properties and we will cooperate with casinos and hotels so that this matter is fully resolved.

The Culinary Union has not made an endorsement and is focused on a major citizenship and voter registration campaign while preparing for upcoming contract negotiations.

http://www.culinaryunion226.org/news/press/culinary-union-statement-re-sanders-campaign-staff-in-employee-dining-rooms

More:

How Bernie Sanders’ Campaign ‘Disappointed And Offended’ Nevada’s Most Powerful Union
BY ALICE OLLSTEIN JAN 28, 2016 3:16 PM

Reports surfaced Thursday alleging that campaign employees of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) had posed as hotel workers on the Las Vegas Strip in order to preach to members of the Culinary Union — one of the biggest and most politically influential unions in the key early caucus state.

The Culinary Union confirmed the reports, telling ThinkProgress in a statement that the campaign’s actions left them “disappointed and offended.”

“It’s completely inappropriate for any campaign to attempt to mislead Culinary Union members, especially at their place of work,” said the union’s Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Arguello-Kline. “We strongly condemn anyone falsifying their affiliation with the Culinary Union in order to gain access to properties and we will cooperate with casinos and hotels so that this matter is fully resolved.”

Sanders campaign workers visited four unionized hotels, The Rio, Paris, The Mirage and Planet Hollywood, and by wearing the union’s iconic yellow button, accessed employee dining rooms to speak with and give Sanders literature to workers.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/01/28/3743961/sanders-nevada-union/

[NurseJackie]

1. Oh good god! Seriously?! --- Imagine if this had been Hillary's campaign staffers.

GDP would be filled to the brim with OP's demanding that she withdraw from the race.

[Metric System]

4. I know right?

[kristopher]

74. How so? Sounds like standard union-busting rhetoric and manipulation

First rule - Keep the agitators away from the workers!!!

Bogus rules and phony outrage by those who don't want unions to be unions.

[kristopher]

82. How Walmart Persuades Its Workers Not to Unionize

How Walmart Persuades Its Workers Not to Unionize
America’s largest private employer cares a lot about preventing its workers from organizing, a leaked training video reveals.

Brian Snyder / Reuters

One former Walmart store manager tells the story that after discovering a pro-union flyer in his store’s men’s room, he informed company headquarters and within 24 hours, an anti-union SWAT team flew to his store in a corporate jet. And when the meat department of a Walmart store in Texas became the retailer’s only operation in the United States to unionize, back in 2000, Walmart announced plans two weeks later to use prepackaged meat and eliminate butchers at that store and 179 others.

With 1.3 million U.S. employees—more than the population of Vermont and Wyoming combined—Walmart is by far the nation’s largest private-sector employer. It’s also one of the nation’s most aggressive anti-union companies, with a long history of trying to squelch unionization efforts. “People are scared to vote for a union because they’re scared their store will be closed,” said Barbara Gertz, an overnight Walmart stocker in Denver.

Walmart maintains a steady drumbeat of anti-union information at its more than 4,000 U.S. stores, requiring new hires—there are hundreds of thousands each year—to watch a video that derides organized labor. Indeed, Walmart’s anti-union campaign goes back decades: There was “Labor Relations and You at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center,” a 1991 guide aimed at beating back the Teamsters at its warehouses, and then in 1997 came “A Manager’s Toolbox to Remaining Union Free.” The first half of a statement in that toolbox has been repeatedly snickered at for being so egregiously false: “We are not anti-union; we are pro-associate.”

Early last year, Anonymous, a network of hacker activists, leaked two internal Walmart PowerPoint slideshows. One was a “Labor Relations Training” presentation for store managers that echoed the “Manager’s Toolbox” in suggesting that unions were money-grubbing outfits caring little about workers’ welfare. “Unions are a business, not a club or social organization—they want associates’ money,” the PowerPoint read. (Walmart confirmed the PowerPoints’ authenticity.) “Unions spend members’ dues money on things other than representing them,” it added.

Walmart is perfectly within its rights to communicate its stance to employees....

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/how-walmart-convinces-its-employees-not-to-unionize/395051/


This is a corporate video portraying the "agitators"

[lolly]

5. Add to the growing list--

Imagine if Clinton's staffers had stolen Sanders' data...

If Clinton made a habit of curtly dismissing crackpot questions about climate change...

If Clinton mailers used logos of organizations that hadn't endorsed her...


There would be no end of vitriol.

When Sanders' campaign does it--meh.

[Agschmid]

8. Did this happen?

Clinton mailers used logos of organizations that hadn't endorsed her...

[lolly]

13. Yes, with the AARP and one other group--can't remember which one

The AARP generally doesn't endorse in primaries--but Sanders campaign implied they had endorsed him in a mailer.

http://states.aarp.org/aarp-statement-in-response-to-sanders-mailing/

[Agschmid]

21. Wow, that's crap.

[lolly]

15. To be clear--

I have no problem with Sanders' dismissal of the idiotic climate denier question--

But I can only imagine what the response would be if Clinton dared to respond to any questioner in the same manner.

[Bill USA]

126. there would be many hours of discussion on tv of HRC's "imperious manner"..

[wyldwolf]

114. they were getting away with posing as union members on Facebook..

... I guess they tried to take it offline.

[Bill USA]

128. my God, it's like smoke seeping in through any cracks it could find.....

[Starry Messenger]

150. Oh wow! So not cool.

[JimDandy]

155. POP! That's the sound of the bubble bursting on this nothing story.

The Culinary Union and Sanders' campaign have settled their differences. There were no legs to the nearly fact-free press release by Geoconda Kline (surprise--a Clinton supporter).

There was only ONE known instance of Sander's supporters being in one of the Casino's employee dining rooms. And in fact they were wearing Sander's paraphernalia and had not misrepresented themselves.

Really, people, when a press release like this is so meager on info, don't simply believe it sans any proof, just because it smears (yup, that was the intent) your candidate's opponent. It just makes Dems look as silly as Repubs.

Geoconda's press release was odd and immediately raised red flags:
1. None of the supposed "Bernie staffers" were named;
2. No mention of the date(s) this occurred;
3. Glaring omission as to whether the "Bernie staffers" (red flag right there) were simply union members who supported Bernie;
4. If they were non-union or family/friend of a union member, there was no mention as to whether they had received permission from a union member to be on site;
5. No citation of a specific rule that was violated (is no political campaigning allowed in the employee dining halls?)
6. And no explanation as to whether a union member simply provided them with the union buttons (Ockams Razor-probably by a member).

[workinclasszero]

25. No kidding

But it's Bernies guys so.....pass

[riversedge]

88. Well, as a start, most likely we would see at least 1O threads every hour for 2-3 days on this

issue. That is not counting the hundreds of Rec's each thread would get and the godzillion responses to each thread

[NurseJackie]

90. Bingo!

[Beacool]

129. We would never hear the end of it.

Ahhh, the hypocrisy is par for the course.

[passiveporcupine]

145. That's funny because I never heard the beginning of it

When team Hillary did it in 2008.

[Bill USA]

130. "OBVIOUSLY THIS UNION IS A HILLARY 'PLANT'"... YOU SNEAKEY HRC PEOPLE, trying to make us look bad"

... if a Sanders supporter hasn't posted this yet, I thought I would do it for them! LOL!!

[randys1]

2. So they were getting free meals?

This is depressing.

I have seen a few examples lately of Bernie staffers acting stupidly.

I thought this kind of behavior was limited to non staffers

[oasis]

48. "Free meals" nice try. Employee dining rooms are the only place union

business can, by law, be conducted on casino properties. Only EMPLOYEES or contractors are allowed in the team member dining area, with the exception of UNION officials.

The individuals who were directly involved in this illegal and dishonest enterprise also committed the act of trespassing on private property. If it can be determined they were given the green light by Bernie staffers, this has the makings of a huge political scandal.

[randys1]

50. I wasnt trying anything, so they were using the rooms for meetings. IT didnt say that

in the little blurb I read, just that they accessed them.

If you read my posts you will understand i dont apologize for either candidate.

[kristopher]

94. Yep, I'm sure it will tickle the cockles of every anti-union heart everywhere.

You are doing nothing but reframing standard UNION BUSTING RHETORIC.

Great Job Team Hillary.

[oasis]

141. Union MEMBER here and former shop steward.

Great job indeed pal.

[livetohike]

3. Wow....bad campaign move whoever organized this. n/t

[Skwmom]

6. Proof? Names? Of course not - that's why we need a new thread. n/t

[JimDandy]

63. Not even a date this supposedly happened! And the union

didn't say anthing about whether these people had been given permission to be there or whether the buttons were provided to them by union members who support Bernie.

Not enough info or facts yet.

[kristopher]

95. Since when did union busting tactics need facts? nt

[Bubzer]

111. Odd that it's the Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union making this claim.

Secretary-Treasurers aren't generally the ones to make pubic comments such as this.

[JimDandy]

123. True... Usually it's the union's head of public relations. n/t

[workinclasszero]

7. These people need to be immediately fired

by Bernie Sanders, followed by a sincere apology to the union.

[matt819]

9. Oh FFS

Call out the faux outrage machine.

And the release only says that they were trying to gain access to the employee dining rooms. There's no refernce to posing as union members. This is not a crisis. No one needs to be fired. Bernie doesn't need to withdraw from the race. The union over-reacted. In short, this is BS. And it would be BS even if they were Hillary staffers doing the exact same thing. The fact that the union issued this release pretty much tells you they will come out in support of Hillary, but that's neither here nor there.

[NurseJackie]

23. Well, actually ...

https://www.ralstonreports.com/blog/sanders-workers-are-masquerading-culinary-members-campaign-inside-hotels

Culinary officials have been made aware of the faux union workers at four hotels -- The Rio, Paris, The Mirage and Planet Hollywood. The Sanders campaigners are wearing the distinctive yellow Local 226 pins, implying they are union members, to gain access to employee dining rooms. Beyond the obvious deception, union officials surely also are concerned about the implication that the organization has endorsed Sanders despite its recent pledge to remain neutral until after the caucus.

[virtualobserver]

52. You are accused of the heinous crime of button wearing, and of "implying".....How do you plead?

[oasis]

70. Wearing unions buttons while hard selling Bernie's $15 per hour

minimum wage to unsuspecting team members. I wonder how many kitchen employees are politically savvy enough to know what it would take to get Bernie's proposals passed through a GOP congress.

[virtualobserver]

71. Don't be condescending......They are smarter and more savvy then you think.

[oasis]

84. Easily duped by a fast talking, paid impostor selling $15 per hour

tickets to help them with their day to day expenses.

[virtualobserver]

86. you think that workers are stupid, as does Hillary

[passiveporcupine]

144. You were saying?

UPDATE, 11:15 AM: Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, a longtime Culinary employee who endorsed Clinton on Thursday, said, "The employee dining hall is kind of our place. For people to abuse that is just wrong. I'm really disappointed."

From Ralston Report linked in thread above.

I wonder how many kitchen employees are politically savvy enough to know

So Hillary supporters are not savvy?

[oasis]

157. ""Assemblywoman"! You doubt she would be politically savvy?

Oh brother!

[passiveporcupine]

158. Not me.

You are the one saying these culinary employees were not savvy. I just showed you a cullinary employee who is a Hillary supporter and asked if that's what you meant?

Just caught you with your own words.

Maybe you should think twice before you diss people like that.

[oasis]

159. Maybe you had better "think twice" and read a statement

before commenting on it. I wrote "HOW MANY of the culinary workers were politically savvy?" This could mean, all are, some are or none are.

Do I have to explain to you the meaning of "how many"?

[passiveporcupine]

160. Sorry, that's not the way it comes across.

And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who took it that way.

Because they are union workers, and unions affiliate themselves with politics and politicians, I suspect more (if not all) of them are politically savvy than you realize.

[oasis]

161. I was a union shop steward for seven years.

During the time I served, union membership in our local shop ranged from 42-47 members out of 50 employees. Over the years, our state union was fortunate to have prominent Democrats as guest speakers at our conventions and other union functions.

I had to hustle to get members of my shop to attend gatherings to hear Democrats like Neil Abercrombie, Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, Debbie W. Schultz, Daniel Inouye, Jesse Jackson. Our shop had break room bulletin boards with our national union leaders encouraging membership to get involved.

We had very few takers.

I know of what I speak.

[passiveporcupine]

162. I was a union member for about ten years

Just because people don't get involved in politics doesn't mean they don't know what is going on or keeping up with it.

Lots of people can't seem to find time in their lives to get involved in anything other than their immediate lives.

And younger people seem to be more involved in politics today than I remember from my youth.

I just think that union members are probably a little higher on the learning curve in politics than your average worker who is not fighting a constant battle for better wages and benefits.

[oasis]

163. Union workers are naturally going to be more polically aware

than the scab working next to him.

Anyway, I'm always glad to hear from a person who had in in them to join a union. So my hat's off to you for that revelation.

I'm off to bed. Nice discussion, good night.

[pnwmom]

106. The buttons are a form of ID's and they used them to gain access to the area.

That would make them trespassers.

[virtualobserver]

117. forgive me if I am more concerned with union job losses from Clinton's policies...

than attempted chatting with workers. What a heinous crime.....they had tons of Bernie paraphernalia on as well....

[pnwmom]

127. The union had made a deliberate choice not to endorse during the primary.

So this very large Nevada union has gone from a situation of being neutral with regard to Bernie's campaign, to strongly condemning actions of some of Bernie's people.

Feel free not to be concerned.

[passiveporcupine]

133. they endorsed Obama over Hillary

Feel free not to be concerned.

[pnwmom]

137. And they decided not to endorse this time, and now Bernie's people have angered them.

I'm not concerned at all.

[passiveporcupine]

147. It's bad timing to endorse anyone.

said Yvanna Cancela, Local 226's political director, who confirmed multiple reports at hotels. "As of yet, the union has not made an endorsement, but is focused on a major citizenship and voter registration campaign while preparing for contract negotiations."

As of yet they have not made an endorsement...but they probably will.

Don't worry...Be happy!

[pnwmom]

148. They've announced that they're not going to endorse in the primary at all.

They're concentrating their efforts on getting ready for the General.

[passiveporcupine]

149. They are worried about Trump, not the primaries

That should make you even more worried. Because Bernie stands a far better chance of beating Trump than Hillary does.

And:

This year, the Culinary indicated it would focus on the general election, with a statement saying the union hoped to register thousands of its members to vote in November.

I think union members tend to break in Bernie's favor, while union leaders often follow the money.

[virtualobserver]

140. you really believe that this will affect the vote? that is what is laughable

[passiveporcupine]

120. Oh noes...Hillary did it first

From the Ralston Report link

And the casino politicking is a reminder -- and an ironic one -- of how the Clintons made their way inside various Strip resorts to try to get to workers in 2008 after the Culinary endorsed Barack Obama. Clinton won that caucus, 51 percent to 45 petcent, but lost the delegate fight to Obama.

Now where is the outrage for Hillary doing this?

I will say that I'm disappointed that Sander's campaigners would try this, but I sure don't remember this being an issue when Hillary did it...then or now.

[matt819]

153. Yeah but

Even the union press release didn't makes this accusation.

[CajunBlazer]

24. You didn't access the links did you?

No, of course not; that would kept you from embarrassing yourself:

"Sanders campaign workers visited four unionized hotels, The Rio, Paris, The Mirage and Planet Hollywood, and by wearing the union’s iconic yellow button, accessed employee dining rooms to speak with and give Sanders literature to workers."

[NurseJackie]

10. And another thing (or two) ...

Is this criminal? (Or will the defenders try to dismiss it as being just a "prank"?)

How desperate does one have to be in order to come to the conclusion that something like this is a good idea??

Whoever thought of doing this MUST have been aware that it was wrong, and that there would be risks and consequences if they were discovered. So... considering the consequences, things must be pretty darn bad if this scheme seemed like the "best" option available.

Will this cause irreparable harm to the candidate they hoped to benefit?

[CajunBlazer]

26. According to the links:

They were trying to convince union members to vote for Sanders so they posed as union members to get access to their lunch rooms at four hotels:

Sanders campaign workers visited four unionized hotels, The Rio, Paris, The Mirage and Planet Hollywood, and by wearing the union’s iconic yellow button, accessed employee dining rooms to speak with and give Sanders literature to workers.

[NurseJackie]

30. So it wasn't just a "spur of the moment" thing, apparently. It was planned and organized.

Not looking good. I see that many of Bernie's hardcore fans are already trying to dismiss this as being unimportant and inconsequential. The swiftness and urgency in their haphazard response belies the "unimportance" of that which they seek to defend.

I can easily imagine that it won't be long before someone suggests that maybe they "did it intentionally" to "demonstrate the security vulnerabilities" of the unionized hotels.

[FloridaBlues]

108. This happened in 4 different hotels wow this was stupid but than look who heads BS campaign!

Well say goodbye to Nevada to the Bern
His campaign is really spinning this one just like they did with data stealing oops I mean accidental looking for 45 mins.

[NurseJackie]

64. Ha!! :-D

That's a brilliant analogy!! Perfect!

[kristopher]

98. You don't seem to have a clue about the labor struggle.

"the mega-Vegas Hotel Casinos have a very strict no politicing policy that applies to all employees"

Do you think the "very strict no politicking policy" enacted by the "mega-Vegas Hotel Casinos" is designed to promote or diminish union strength?

Go Team Hillary

Those Walmart perspectives will certainly get you a lot of labor votes. Well, maybe not so much with the rank and file, but hey, the leadership is right behind you.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

11. This is serious business guys. Trespassing into private union space is a big no no.

Every union has a safe space where non unions are not allowed unless they are escorted and have permission by union members. This transgression will resonate with every union. This is a big deal.

[JimDandy]

56. So it's possible they had permission. They got official union buttons from somewhere. n/t

[pnwmom]

109. They did NOT have permission. That is why the union is upset.

The union had decided NOT to endorse anyone this time around, and they did NOT give permission for Bernie's people to wear the union button and go after their workers.

[JimDandy]

115. The union interestingly doesn't say that. That's my point.

They walked all around that...never mentioned whether individual union members provided them with buttons and gave them access to the dining halls.

In fact, they never said whether the "staffers" (volunteers most likely, but public relations people know to use the term "staffers" for political impact) were union members (or family/friends of members) who were simply passionate about their candidate and were campaigning for him on their lunch breaks, nor even provided their names. To inflict damage (and that clearly is the intent here) all they had to do was make the claim and provide as little facts as possible to float it out there.

If it was union members, then it is an employment matter, which would explain why no names were released.

If you have a link where the union specifically says no one in the union knowingly allowed them access, I'd like to see it. Thanks.

[pnwmom]

122. If the button-wearers were union members, then the union wouldn't object because

union members are allowed to talk to other members during their breaks. My brother is a union member and a Bernie supporter and talks to other workers -- no problem.

The problem in this case is that the Bernie workers were FALSELY identifying themselves as union members by wearing the buttons, which Weaver acknowledged when he stated that the buttons were worn in "solidarity" with union members.

And it doesn't let the campaign off the hook if they got some worker to hand them some buttons. They would still be wrong if they wore buttons that falsely identified them as union members.

[JimDandy]

131. Apparently union members are not allowed to do any political

campaigning in the employee dining rooms, according to another poster on DU. My brother is also union and they are not allowed to campaign for a candidate/political party on union or employer property, per their union rules. But, they do allow my local Dem party to rent their union hall for quarterly meetings.

Many questions still: Is everyone entering the dining hall required to have union id/button to enter? Where did the buttons come from? How did these Bernie supporters get access to the dining area? Did a union member knowingly give them access? Were these Bernie supporters also union members? When did this happen?

Am still looking for a link from you...

[pnwmom]

136. It wouldn't matter if a union member provided them with a button -- both they and

the union member would be at fault then. They don't get to wear a button simply because some member gives it to them. The buttons are to be worn to identify union members only.

[JimDandy]

138. Getting the button from an employee, or being a union member makes the most sense.

I'm on a mobile...would REALLY appreciate a link please.

[pnwmom]

142. I don't know what info you're looking for that's not already in the article in the OP.

Try reading them.

[JimDandy]

146. I read the union's press release hours ago. Again no mention

that they didn't have permission from a member to be in those dining halls, or that the buttons weren't provided to them by a member, or that none of them were union members. Just that the union objected to Bernie "staffers" wearing the union buttons in the dining halls and passing out campaign literature in them.

[Bobbie Jo]

132. Damn right it is

Those who are dismissing this stunt have NO clue about union culture or protocol.

Wow. This is a big damn deal.

[notadmblnd]

12. How did the staffers get the buttons.

If you have to be a union member to have a button, wouldn't that involve someone at the union hall giving them out? I don't think people can just walk into a union hall and take what they want? Do you?

[MineralMan]

35. Uh...see below:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Culinary-Bartenders-Union-Solidarity-1-75-Pinback-Button-Food-Service-Nevada-Ad-/121868031111?hash=item1c5fe69487

Here's one for that local, for sale on ebay. There's a nice, high-quality image on the item. Child's play to take that image and have some buttons made by any place that prints buttons.

Or, you can visit this link and buy the buttons and a tool to make custom ones. All you need is an image, a printer, and a few minutes:

http://www.umakebuttons.com/details/pin%20back%20button%20parts/1.75%20inch/187.php



If you think such things are difficult, you don't have very broad experience in what can be purchased if you want to purchase it.

[notadmblnd]

57. Cut the personal crap. Did I say it was difficult?

I asked a damn question. I don't need or want your opinion in regards to my experience and I doubt that the rest of DU cares what you think about my experience either.

Do you have any evidence that Sanders supporters had these buttons made up or is it just another one of your opinions?

from the article:

"We strongly condemn anyone falsifying their affiliation with the Culinary Union in order to gain access to properties "

The button to me looks like it is an endorsement and not an employee ID or union ID. If it is not employee ID or Union ID and anyone is able to wear the button in support of the Culinary-Bartenders-Union. How does wearing a button that endorses and supports the Union- which obviously anyone can buy and wear- constitute falsifying affiliation?

[MineralMan]

116. Go to that union local's website.

See if you can find a place to buy those buttons. If you're a member, you can click the Members button and buy union gear. If you're not, you can't log in at that portal.

You can buy a button making starter kit and make a dozen buttons, using the image of the button at the link I provided.

How do you think those staffers got the buttons?

[notadmblnd]

124. You gave me the link to buy the button

I think it was ebay. I'd have to go back to your post and look. Eleven dollars.

Yeah, it was ebay

[JimDandy]

135. They may have been provided them by a union member who is a Bernie supporter.

The easiest explanation and the one that makes the most sense, especially if those dining halls required some kind of union Id/button in order to enter.

[MineralMan]

139. That's possible.

Perhaps that member will come forward.

[angrychair]

14. Hmmmm

How do we know it wasn't HRC campaign workers, pretending to be Sanders campaign workers? In turn, they were not actually HRC campaign workers but were really tRump campaign workers, pretending to be HRC campaign workers, pretending to be Sanders campaign workers?

[CajunBlazer]

27. Typical - its another conspiriency - LOL!!!

Yea, Clinton staffers would be trying to convince union members to vote for Sanders.

"Sanders campaign workers visited four unionized hotels, The Rio, Paris, The Mirage and Planet Hollywood, and by wearing the union’s iconic yellow button, accessed employee dining rooms to speak with and give Sanders literature to workers."

[angrychair]

43. Nooo

I said HRC people that were really tRump people...keep up....


That being said, I have done work on several campaigns and it is unlikely to be anything nefarious, just ignorance of the rules. Been there, seen it. You're a excited, energetic and enthusiastic volunteer, qualities a campaign wants and needs, doesn't mean you make the right decisions or even realize your doing of saying something wrong when you do.

The very public admonishment of the Sanders campaign is very heavy-handed but is par for the course in this "win at all cost" election. Who they are going to endorse is clear.

[Thinkingabout]

59. "Win at all cost", why would this be hapoening? At least give union members credit

For being smart, the invaders not so smart.

[angrychair]

73. Look I am a member of a union

And a shop steward in a state employees union. No one is stupid or wrong.
This is not a plot, a crime or a conspiracy.
Worst case it is overly enthusiastic campaign volunteers doing what campaign workers do, talk about their candidate. This isn't a mob movie, no one 'leaned' on anyone or bribed anyone...the union press release said they walked around the cafeterias and talked to people and handed out fliers.
Not saying it was the best decision, just saying it wasn't as big a deal as it is being made out to be.

[Thinkingabout]

79. I am also a union member, was a steward for thirty years, was on the union board also.

Did not say the union members are dumb and in this case is smarter than those who thought they soul fool the union members.

[angrychair]

96. Did you actually read the release?

They were dressed in Sanders campaign gear, talking about Sanders and handing out campaign fliers. I would hardly call that an attempt to "fool" anyone.They were not dressed as ninjas while sneaking into a cafeteria.

[Thinkingabout]

102. Did they have the union pins? Were they members of the union?

[stonecutter357]

16. K&R!

[tecelote]

17. There are a few bad apples in every group.

No one is condoning this but, come on... does this have any bearing on the issues?

No, it's just an excuse to condemn a candidate. It could easily have been any other candidate's.

This is garbage. I'd say so if it was Hillary or even Trump.

[ms liberty]

107. This, as well as angrychair's comments upthread

[RufusTFirefly]

18. Let the sliming continue. Luckily, Hillary's record speaks for itself

You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, folks.

The world's greatest campaign ad or the most magnanimous gesture by the Anointed One isn't going to rewrite history.

[SheenaR]

19. If true, very unfortunate... But...

Emilia Pablo, Sanders's state communications director, told CNN on Thursday that no one from the campaign is misrepresenting who they are in casinos, but that they are wearing Culinary union buttons. What's more, Pablo said she was surprised the union came out so strongly against their campaign.

"It is surprising because we have been building a positive relationship with them from the moment that we go to the ground," Pablo said. "We have always thought we have had a positive relationship with them and for them to come out so strongly against us and to go to the press first, that surprises me."


Sean Sabatini, a 57-year-old shop steward at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and member of the Culinary union, told CNN that he has not seen Sanders' staffers misrepresent themselves inside Caesars.

"Yes, that would offend me if that happened," said the 33-year member of the union. "It didn't happen in my casino."

*Sabatini is a Sanders supporter

[SunSeeker]

36. Yeah, the union was rude to tell the press; Sanders campaign transgressions must be kept secret!

[SheenaR]

67. I was simply balancing the scales

with other quotes that have come out. If there was wrongdoing or subterfuge, I would hope the campaign disciplines said parties and removes them from the ground game. No matter what candidate it was, (even if it were HRC) I don't think they can be held accountable for every supporter. Like I said though, if true it stinks.

[hrmjustin]

20. Foolish!

This did not help Sanders.

[Alfresco]

22. Uh Oh, not good.

[MineralMan]

28. Employee dining rooms are for employees.

In Vegas, if you work for a hotel, you are a union member at most properties. So, if someone puts on a union button and comes into an employee dining room, but is not an employee at that property, it is deception.

I have no doubt that Bernie Sanders would condemn such actions. It is almost certainly not Bernie's fault that people who support him are doing things that are unethical, and such behavior should not reflect on the candidates at all. However, if paid or volunteer staffers are doing this, it will hurt his campaign in Las Vegas, a strong union city.

Some months ago, I switched my support from Sanders to Clinton. When I did, I posted here and explained that it was not Bernie Sanders that caused me to switch, but some of his supporters. I felt that their actions, both in person and online, were detrimental to his campaign. Because of that, and because ensuring that a Democrat wins the election for the presidency is my highest priority, I could no longer align myself with the Sanders campaign.

I maintain my respect for Bernie Sanders and will support him if he is the nominee, but I cannot support him in the primaries, because I believe those who claim to support him are damaging his chances of election irreparably.

This is one more example of that. Piss off union members at your peril, Sanders supporters. Not a good idea.

[kristopher]

99. No one is pissing off union MEMBERS except Team Hillary

Union Members: $15 minimum wage!

Team Hillary: No We Can't!!!


It would be amazing that Team Hillary thinks this repurposed union busting rhetoric is going to resonate with Union Members except for the fact that Team Hillary has repeatedly demonstrated that their "support" for unions is 100% for show.

Go Walmart and Team Hillary!

[Half-Century Man]

152. If you are actually impersonating an employee and enter a restricted space

That is trespassing clean and clear.
I know of no casino who wouldn't have the trespassers arrested.
I know of no employee unionized or otherwise, who would publicly break the company rules and not report trespassers.

Is there an arrest record? I can't find one.


FWIW; I have wore buttons in support of unions I don't belong to. As has my wife, children, friends, and people I gave buttons UAW buttons to when we were trying to get UAW into Alcoa in Beloit.


I'm not claiming nothing happened, I'm just advocating waiting until more information comes in.

[CorkySt.Clair]

29. ...

[Cali_Democrat]

42. LOL!

[DanTex]

65. LOL.

[Beacool]

134. That's going to require, as Trump would say, a YUGE bus.

It's a large union.

[Nanjeanne]

31. Disappointing

I'm surprised they didn't learn from Clinton's 2008 mistake when she did the same thing . . . only AFTER the union had endorsed someone else.

[Dawson Leery]

32. Between the data theft and this,

Bernie is showing he is no slouch at campaigning.

[workinclasszero]

33. Yeah

How about that?

Sure looks like his campaign is playing fast and loose with the rules to me.
His propaganda arm on DU and other democratic sites will have to step up the spin after this black ops escapade, damn.

[Alfresco]

34. MSNBC picked up the story.

[MineralMan]

40. So did CNN. This may have legs.

Too bad. Stupid staffers!

[MineralMan]

37. Here is a statement from that culinary union local itself on their website.

http://www.culinaryunion226.org/news/press/culinary-union-statement-re-sanders-campaign-staff-in-employee-dining-rooms

[winter is coming]

38. Fucked rats for dinner again?

I don't for a minute believe the Sanders people misrepresented themselves. It's far more likely that this is yet another slime attempt coming from Clinton surrogates.

[Cali_Democrat]

53. So these were Clinton people entering the hotels and trying to get union members to vote for Bernie?

[winter is coming]

61. No, those were Clinton people claiming that Bernie supporters were

misrepresenting themselves as union members.

[Cali_Democrat]

66. ...

[winter is coming]

69. That was substantive.

The Clinton campaign has stooped to worse than this. It has a lot of little tentacles that are all to eager to spread its lies.

[lunamagica]

39. Dishonest. eom

[Starry Messenger]

41. I'm wearing my totally not surprised face.

[DanTex]

44. Wow!

[revmclaren]

45. It looks like most of the major news outlets are doing stories on this...

ABC, CBS, MSNBC, Huffington Post, etc...

Amazing they thought they could get away with it. As a Union member, I'm appalled as should be ALL Union members and supporters!

[MineralMan]

46. There goes Nevada!

Sorry, Bernie...

[revmclaren]

51. Yup!

Nevada is a strong Union state. If you mess with Unions there you dont get Union support!

[Nanjeanne]

47. Just so I understand

Some people put on Local 226 buttons to gain access to a dining room where the union folks hang out - and they identified themselves as Sanders campaign and said basically - "we love you - vote for our guy" and hand out some leaflets.

They didn't pretend to be union workers and hang out for the day talking up Bernie - you know, from one union guy to another. They didn't use the buttons to try to gain access to union meetings and infiltrate in some undercover espionage movie.

The outrage is way bigger than the stupid thing they did.

I wasn't upset in 2008 when Hillary's team did it - and I'm certainly not upset now that these people did it.

I'm way more upset about endless wars, the disappearing middle-class, the price of drugs in this country, that private prisons exist, that we have a death penalty, that Congress works to take rights away from women and on and on and on we go.

This? It's the circus the media wants and this will play right into it. Why should we have discussions about important things.

[ms liberty]

110. Well said.

[NurseJackie]

49. "Disappointed. Offended. Inappropriate. Mislead. Strongly condemn. Falsifying their affiliation."

Just a few of the choice words and phrases that the culinary union used in their statement regarding Sanders campaign staff gaining unauthorized access to restricted (employee-only) areas within four unionized hotels.

It appears that they are very very angry. The sense of betrayal is clear. Nobody likes to be deceived. This will not turn out well for the Sanders campaign.


http://www.culinaryunion226.org/news/press/culinary-union-statement-re-sanders-campaign-staff-in-employee-dining-rooms

We can confirm multiple reports of Bernie Sanders’ campaign staffers attempting and gaining access to Employee Dining Rooms at Las Vegas Strip properties where over 57,000 members that we represent work.

We are disappointed and offended. It's completely inappropriate for any campaign to attempt to mislead Culinary Union members, especially at their place of work.

The Culinary Union button that hundreds of thousands of union members have proudly worn to work every day represents 80 years of struggle and fighting for justice. We strongly condemn anyone falsifying their affiliation with the Culinary Union in order to gain access to properties and we will cooperate with casinos and hotels so that this matter is fully resolved.

The Culinary Union has not made an endorsement and is focused on a major citizenship and voter registration campaign while preparing for upcoming contract negotiations.

[oasis]

55. Unlawful entry by individuals acting in Bernie's behalf is huge.

Not as big as "Watergate" but it won't be going away soon.

[Nanjeanne]

60. OMG - not as big as WATERGATE?

They WORE BUTTONS!!!!!!!!!!!! They tried to gain access to a DINING ROOM to ask for people's vote for Bernie and to hand out leaflets.

The media will love it. It will be YUGE. It was for the short while in 2008 when Clinton's people did it. But it didn't last long. And it shouldn't now. Of course, the "media" is even worse now than it was in 2008 in their desire for a circus so who knows.

But come on . . . They wore buttons to hand out leaflets in an area where they weren't supposed to be. WATERGATE? Give me a break!

[m-lekktor]

68. THis thread is HYSTERICAL

I never saw a giddier bunch ! you'd have thought something earth shatteringly MAJOR happened!! LOL

[pangaia]

101. Like the Cubs winning the World Series.

[NastyRiffraff]

77. Buttons! Gaining access

to a private, employee dining room. I guess what the union itself said about this matter makes no difference. After all, all's fair when Bernie supporters do it. The union should just suck it up.

[Nanjeanne]

83. What?

You read what I said - it wasn't nice when Hillary did it and it's not nice now. But it's not freaking WATERGATE!!!!!

No money were stolen. No anthrax was planted. People wore buttons to gain access to a dining room that is for union members only. It was dumb but it sure wasn't earth shattering. Not in 2008 when Clinton did it. Not now.

Yes, the union should suck it up. They should say that they are disappointed that some campaign members violated the union only space and they would like it to not happen again. That union dining rooms are for union members only and not for politics.

But it's Thursday and Thursday was also when Culinary member and Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton endorsed Clinton - so I'm not surprised at the OUTRAGE!!!!!!!

[NurseJackie]

62. There's no amount of posturing, bluster, or threats of lawsuits ...

... that will help this incident to go away any faster. I suppose that they could pretend to be the victim of "rogue" staffers, but that's a double-edged sword that could also be used against the campaign when hiring and vetting practices are examined.

It's definitely unethical. Would the impersonation aspect (falsifying their association with the union) actually rise to the level of criminal fraud? Who knows?

Would improper access to restricted employee-only areas rise to the level of misdemeanor trespass? I can't be sure.

But what I can be sure of is that it's damaging to Bernie's campaign. Nobody likes to be fooled, and it's likely that the candidate will be made to suffer for the dishonest actions of his campaign staffers.

[oasis]

75. With Nevada caucuses on the immediate menu this is huge NOW.

The indictments for multiple infractions are sure to follow.

[NurseJackie]

89. Really? I wouldn't have expected that. They must take things seriously in Nevada.

I do think that it will keep popping up in the news from now until the Nevada caucuses. (Even it this "incident" drops out of national news, it's likely to continue to be the hot-buzz in Nevada.)

But whatever happens, it's not going to help Bernie.

[oasis]

91. Casino/ Union relations in Las Vegas are super sensitive. Casino

Directors continually caution subordinates on how to approach any issue having to do with union/team member access. Apparently this policy was known by the illegal operatives who took advantage of the existing situation.

I'm off to couple of errands I'll reply later to anything else.

[NurseJackie]

93. Bernie's fans giggle nervously ... but ...

... this is starting to look more and more serious than I'd first imagined.

[KingFlorez]

54. Disgusting

But not surprising.

[Vinca]

72. Apparently the union bosses support Hillary, but the rank and file support Bernie.

Not surprising.

[Cali_Democrat]

76. They haven't endorsed anyone yet:

You should read the links before replying:

The Culinary Union has not made an endorsement and is focused on a major citizenship and voter registration campaign while preparing for upcoming contract negotiations.

http://www.culinaryunion226.org/news/press/culinary-union-statement-re-sanders-campaign-staff-in-employee-dining-rooms

[Vinca]

80. So you're telling me it would be an unusual event for a union to support a candidate without taking

a vote? It's happened over and over and over again this election season. The bosses really don't care what the underlings think. It's rather obvious that the bosses are the ones complaining about Bernie, not the rank and file.

[Sheepshank]

78. The "ethical" campaign strikes again

Bernie sure knows how to surround himself with upstanding decent human beings. At this point, no one can convince me he doesn't know about all of this crap his handlers are doing. Looks like they are borrowing from the James O'Keefe play book

[workinclasszero]

103. The "ethical" campaign strikes again

Either Bernie knows what his campaign people are doing....or...he is willfully ignorant.

Not to mention a piss poor judge of character.

[Bobbie Jo]

154. +1

Either way, this is a poor reflection.

[VulgarPoet]

81. ...This is the kind of thing that turns progressives into pure cynics.

eom

[Nanjeanne]

85. This is the kind of thing that turns thinking people away from the TV circus

[TheProgressive]

87. When a campaign makes a mountain out of a mole hill...

Poor desperate Clinton...

I mean really... Is it like voting for the Iraq war? Or taking Million$ from the banksters?

I had to laugh when I read all the establishment media and Clinton supporters are besides themselves because, if its true, that people supporting Sanders had the NERVE, the NERVE I tell ya, to go into a 'union dining room' wearing a PIP, a Union PIN I tell ya, and talking?

Clinton and Clinton supporters are so desperate...such dirty politics....

[Iliyah]

92. What?

[Recursion]

97. Every day I am more and more disappointed in this campaign (nt)

[Alfresco]

100. The Sanders Campaign Of Deception.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

104. I find this latest development disturbing./nt

[KittyWampus]

105. BUT HE'S A UNICORN! So rare. So different. That is so unbelievably slimy.

[Bleacher Creature]

112. This likely will be a very big deal.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the dynamics of this race have not changed. The mere fact that there's been some expected tightening in two of the three states where Bernie should be at his strongest (VT being the third) doesn't make him any less of a long shot. He still faces huge deficits in more diverse states and almost comical margins in terms of super delegates and endorsements. If anything, any changed narrative resulting from polls in IA and NH just illustrates how much undue influence those states have on the nomination process.

The bottom line is that Sanders has almost no margin for error. Any misstep in his part will be magnified by virtue of his current position. If people need a football analogy, an offensive holding penalty hurts a lot more when a team is down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter than in does a team leading by ten in the first quarter.

Make no mistake. This is a misstep and it will be a problem for him going forward.

[R B Garr]

113. Wow, it's one gimmick after another with this guy!

Look at the entitlement of these people. Unbelievably entitled creeps posing as Union members with their self-aggrandizing "revolution". "disappointed and offended' from the Culinary Union.

Wow!

[Beacool]

118. Well, that was bound to backfire.

Who in Sanders' campaign thought that this was a good idea?

[hrmjustin]

119. I do love watching Sanders supporters making excuses.

Always entertaining.

[Bleacher Creature]

121. Have they blamed DWS yet?

[hrmjustin]

125. No but give them a few hours.

[Bobbie Jo]

143. No, but they're already trying to blame HRC

See upthread.

Is this campaign accountable for anything?? Anything??

This was a stupid, stupid stunt.

[riversedge]

151. REC.

[Gothmog]

156. WOW

[ecstatic]

164. Has that union started receiving hate mail / tweets yet?

We all know it's coming...

[Cali_Democrat]

165. .

.

[oasis]

166. Kick 'cause this just ain't going to go away. ((eom)

[jfern]

167. Actually this total non story did go away

Feel free to keep beating a dead horse, though.

[oasis]

168. Thanx for the additional kick partner.

[fun n serious]

169. This is fraud! Nasty tactic.

No other way to explain it.