Clinton Remained Silent As Wal-Mart Fought Unions

[EV_Ares]

In six years as a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors, between 1986 and 1992, Hillary Clinton remained silent as the world's largest retailer waged a major campaign against labor unions seeking to represent store workers.

Clinton Was Silent as Wal-Mart Fought UnionsClinton has been endorsed for president by more than a dozen unions, according to her campaign Web site, which omits any reference to her role at Wal-Mart in its detailed biography of her.

Wal-Mart's anti-union efforts were headed by one of Clinton's fellow board members, John Tate, a Wal-Mart executive vice president who also served on the board with Clinton for four of her six years.

Tate was fond of repeating, as he did at a managers meeting in 2004 after his retirement, what he said was his favorite phrase, "Labor unions are nothing but blood-sucking parasites living off the productive labor of people who work for a living."

Wal-Mart says Tate's comments "were his own and do not reflect Wal-Mart's views."

But Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and other company officials often recounted how they relied on Tate to lead the company's successful anti-union efforts.

Link to entire article: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4218509&page=1

[Virginia Dare]

1. It boggles the mind why she is getting all these union endorsements..

but, maybe like she says, she's changed...:shrug:

[Gman]

6. Maybe because Bill's Dept of Labor was a godsend

after the Reagan/Bush years. Unions progressed and the deck was not stacked against them. NRLB decisions were fair. With Hillary, labor knows what they're getting and endorsing her is the right thing to do.

People that are ignorant of organized labor issues don't realize how important it is to get Hillary elected.

[Virginia Dare]

10. I'm far from ignorant on organized labor issues..

I've been involved in it for 20 years. The Clintons were not a "godsend" to American Labor. They were better than the republicans by a wide margin, but I think all in all, it was a pretty disappointing eight years.

[Gman]

11. If you think it was a disappointing eight years, you really don't have a clue

Have you ever been involved in a Department of Labor audit?

If not, you really don't know.

[Virginia Dare]

12. Yes, I have...

and I know exactly what you're talking about. I fully agree, the Bush Administration screwed labor on that. If Hillary wins, I'm sure she will roll those draconian measures back, which will definitely be progress.

Do I think she's the most labor friendly candidate? No.

[Gman]

14. Bill was not the most labor friendly candidate either

I remember going to a state AFL-CIO convention in 1992 and being handed a flyer from the Arkansas AFL-CIO that blasted Clinton. Their complaint was that while Bill was gov, Arkansas did this brochure that sold Arkansas as a low wage state. The Arkansas AFL-CIO complained and Bill's campaign at the time argued that they did pull the brochure. But it wasn't pulled like for (I believe) 6 years. I wouldn't support him in the primaries because of that. However, after Bill got the nomination, he "got right" with the international presidents of the unions as well as the national AFL-CIO. Bill's Department of Labor and NLRB turned out to be everything everybody wanted. The DOL and NLRB were not anti-business. They were fair and, if there was a benefit of a doubt to be had, labor got it.

And, the Clinton administration actively worked to facilitate good relations between labor and business. There were very few strikes in Clinton's 8 years and no strikes where workers were replaced. Many contracts were settled with excellent improvements in wages and benefits (and I say this in spite of the rank and file that will complain no matter how good the contract). The first contract we settled after Bill took office was the absolute best in wages and benefits since the Carter administration.

Furthermore, Bill's administration worked out an excellent way of providing tax credits that gave incentives to business to keep jobs here in the US and to discourage offshoring. Business got a tax break when they did something to deserve it.

No viable candidate will be pro-labor at the expense of business. That's not good for anybody in the long run. All labor has ever asked for was a level playing field instead of their end of the field being severely downhill from where they want to be.

[Virginia Dare]

16. I will never argue that things weren't much better for labor under Clinton

than under Reagan or either of the Bush's. I just think we could have and should have done better. NAFTA was a bitter pill to swallow.

[Gman]

17. And no one in labor argues that NAFTA was a good thing

it really strained relations with Clinton. The problem was, just what was labor going to do, and Bill knew it.

[neutron]

19. the Union is defending her now

they certainly aren't being forced to.

[Virginia Dare]

24. There are lots of unions..

and you're right.

[neutron]

18. self delete

self delete

[neutron]

21. THE LABOR UNION JUST RESPONDED TO THIS BS

“Some politicians only stand up for labor at election time, but we know from
experience that Hillary will be there for workers and their unions long after
the ballots are counted.”

[Zueda]

2. What's the matter with Kansas?

http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Matter-Kansas-Conservatives-America/dp/0805073396

[Apollo11]

3. It's worth reading the entire article.

An ABC News analysis of the videotapes of at least four stockholder meetings where Clinton appeared shows she never once rose to defend the role of American labor unions.

The tapes, broadcast this morning on "Good Morning America," were provided to ABC News from the archives of Flagler Productions, a Lenexa, Kan., company hired by Wal-Mart to record its meetings and events.

A former board member told ABCNews.com that he had no recollection of Clinton defending unions during more than 20 board meetings held in private.

The tapes show Clinton in the role of a loyal company woman. "I'm always proud of Wal-Mart and what we do and the way we do it better than anybody else," she said at a June 1990 stockholders meeting.

Clinton would not agree to be interviewed on the subject but now says she no longer shares Wal-Mart's values and believes unions "have been essential to our nation's success."


So in other words, she was a young and naive 42 year-old corporate lawyer?

[Araxen]

4. More ammo for the debate tonight

[shenmue]

5. "Was silent"? Could you use a picture *and a story* that's from *after 1986*?

Where were you when she stood up for the teacher's unions in the last few years, as the Republicans vilified the teachers and vilified Clinton? What is this silly, tabloid, loaded question bullshit? "Did you stop beating your wife"?

Talk about things from when she was in the Senate. Don't talk about shit from before she was elected.

Once she was elected, she has worked her ass off to support working people. I guess those industrial workers, teachers and public service workers just pulled their reasons to support her out of their butts, huh?

Why don't you talk to actual workers and *why don't you use a story from this decade*? I don't remember her being in the Senate in the late 1980s. What legislation was she supposed to "have passed"? This is a democracy, not a monarchy. She doesn't pass legislation by fiat. And the one time she came up with an idea for legislation, the eminently sensible national health care, she was dragged through the mud. What is your problem?

Really. Obama supporters sound pretty desperate if that's all you can come up with. You post a picture *and a story* over 20 years old.

Not only is this incredibly misleading, it's also inaccurate. It's just basically an insult. "Was silent"? I bet she didn't talk much about particle physics, either. People don't talk about things unless *you ask them.* When you ask her about unions, she can name a bucketload she's supported.

All you can point to is whining, hectoring, confusing language and, finally, lies.

[EV_Ares]

8. You say:

"All you can point to is whining, hectoring, confusing language and, finally, lies."

Appears that is coming from you and finally, explain where the lies are. Also, if you want to accuse someone of lies, that is ok but you should back it up and show us where the lies are and why they are lies.

The picture and article is relevant which is why she refuses to comment and it doesn't go all the way back to kindergarten.

[Virginia Dare]

13. Labor unions are nothing but blood-sucking parasites living off the productive labor of people who w

she just sat there and listened to that. Does that mean she agreed with it? Did she ever agree with it? Or was she afraid to speak up? I think this is a significant question that needs to be asked.

[neutron]

22. Good old Hate Mongering

Amazing to see the kids fall for the oldest form of crap politics.

[Virginia Dare]

23. I'm not a kid or a hater..

but Hillary Clinton needs to answer for this IMO.

[KittyWampus]

7. Walmart owner Mary Walton Gave Millions To The Clinton Library

[ShortnFiery]

9. Gee, I wonder why?

:eyes:

[killbotfactory]

15. Opening up trade with China helped Walmart tremendously

So did NAFTA.

Keep fighting the good fight, Clinton!

[rinsd]

20. Union says that is a bunch of bullshit

http://www.observer.com/2008/union-defends-clinton-wal-mart-attack

[EV_Ares]

25. Bad Link To Union Leader -- Deleted