Unions Bash Democrats, Warn of Political Fallout

[Better Believe It]

Unions Bash Democrats, Warn of Political Fallout
by James Hohmann
February 11, 2010

Labor groups are furious with the Democrats they helped put in office - and are threatening to stay home this fall when Democratic incumbents will need their help fending off Republican challengers.

The Senate's failure to confirm labor lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board was just the latest blow, but the frustrations have been building for months.

"Here's labor getting thrown under the bus again," said John Gage, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 600,000 workers. "It's really frustrating for labor, and a lot of union people are thinking: We put out big time in money and volunteers and support. And it seems like the little things that could have been aren't being done."

The 52-33 vote on Becker - who needed 60 to be confirmed - really set labor unions on edge, but the list of setbacks is growing.

The so-called "card check" bill that would make it easier to unionize employees has gone nowhere. A pro-union Transportation Security Administration nominee quit before he even got a confirmation vote. And even though unions got a sweetheart deal to keep their health plans tax-free under the Senate health care bill, that bill has collapsed, leaving unions exposed again.

"You're just not going to be able to go to our membership in the November elections and say, 'Come on, let's do it again. Look at what the Democratic administration has done for us!'" Gage said. "People are going to say, 'Huh? What have the Democrats done for us?'"

Gage warned that Democrats will struggle to energize blue-collar voters if they don't score a few victories soon. Union leaders say they will closely watch as a new "jobs bill" emerges to see if it includes more labor-friendly provisions or tax cuts for small businesses.

Obama said he would push for greater unionization at the Transportation Security Administration, but it hasn't happened. Obama has pushed for education programs that have long been unpopular with teachers' unions. And then, in his State of the Union address, the president called for Congress to strengthen trade relationships with South Korea, Panama and Columbia.

The support for those trade agreements irked Gerard, the leader of the steelworkers union, who praises Speaker Nancy Pelosi but blames the upper chamber.

"Our problem is the Senate," Gerard said. "The only thing they can pass is the washroom. I don't want to tar Democrats. Not all Democrats in the Senate are problems."

"I think you see how working people feel by how they voted in Massachusetts," Gerard said. "In Massachusetts, it wasn't an anger that the government had done too much. It was an anger that there hadn't been enough change."

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/02/11

[Mari333]

1. WAKE UP DEMS GET A SPINE

[RKP5637]

2. DITTO!!! n/t

[Go2Peace]

20. Yep, this one is playing with fire. Time to pass the "choice" act

[LWolf]

3. K & R

[donco]

4. kicking for the Central States Teamsters nt

[Kingofalldems]

5. Kick and rec

[Touchdown]

6. Bravo!

k & R

[Sebastian Doyle]

7. Fucking union retards!

...said an angry dwarf.

:sarcasm:


If "Democrats" shit on the unions, what do they think they're going to get in return?

[Jim Sagle]

8. 1) More corporate $ and 2) fat corporate gigs upon retirement.

They view their government jobs as unpaid internships (hat tip to Corretewire).

[hughee99]

11. For years, Dems have been coming up short

with respect to union issues. Up until last year, they've had an excuse why they couldn't do certain things (we don't control the House/Senate/WH). Now what's the reason? I think they've taken Union support for granted for far to long.

[Better Believe It]

19. One of President Obama's favorite CEO's is the CEO of FedEx, a prominent right-wing union buster

What Does the Prez Stand for? You Are Going to Be Shocked When You Learn the Name of Obama's Favorite CEO
By Kevin Connor
February 13, 2010

During his now-infamous Oval Office interview with Bloomberg, Obama named FedEx CEO Frederick Smith as one of his favorite business executives. Smith is an unlikely choice to say the least. He raised more than $100,000 for the McCain campaign and was co-chair of his finance committee. He is also “fiendishly anti-union,” in the words of Doug Henwood; he has been engaged in a long-running battle with the labor movement over allowing the company’s workers to unionize. Unions were key allies of Obama during his presidential campaign.

If Obama actually owned the labor-friendly agenda that is attributed to him -- rather than merely acting the part -- he would have found it hard to speak so highly of Mr. Smith. This year, FedEx fought labor reform and EFCA with the most expensive lobbying effort in its history by far, spending $17 million -- almost double its 2008 total, and five times its 2006 total. FedEx's business model is premised on extremely low labor costs, which it maintains by classifying its employees as independent contractors. Labor costs account for nearly two-thirds of unionized rival UPS's operating expenses, as opposed to just over a third for FedEx.

http://www.alternet.org/news/145664/what_does_the_prez_stand_for_you_are_going_to_be_shocked_when_you_learn_the_name_of_obama%27s_favorite_ceo_

[demosincebirth]

9. We should target those democratic senators that vote and hold up

the enactment of good labor laws.

[Catshrink]

10. No mention of teachers' unions

we're pretty pissed off, too.

[Bozita]

13. Corporate charter schools sure as hell ain't the answer!

Teachers ought to be pissed. Really pissed!

[Catshrink]

16. I assure you, we are!

[LWolf]

31. I don't think the NEA is pissed off enough.

Not nearly as pissed as I, a paying member, am, anyway.

With the blatant war on public education embedded in "Race To The Top," I would expect the NEA and AFT to come out with guns blazing.

Instead, OEA has rolled over at the state level to agree to using test scores to evaluate teachers.

[WillyT]

12. Yep... K & R !!!

:mad:

:kick:

[Omaha Steve]

14. K & +R!

[bread_and_roses]

15. K & R (n/t)

[Better Believe It]

17. AFL-CIO urges supporters to challenge White House about NLRB

AFL-CIO urges supporters to challenge White House about NLRB
By Alec MacGillis
February 13, 2010

In a clear indication that labor unions are running out of patience with the Obama administration, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka sent out a sharply worded action alert to its entire e-mail list Friday evening, urging phone calls to the White House to protest its inaction on two nominees to the National Labor Relations Board.

Republicans have called one nominee, Craig Becker, a controversial choice for the board. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he was "the first person nominated" for the NLRB "who comes directly from a labor organization." Becker is the associate general counsel for the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union.

After the GOP threatened to filibuster the nomination, senators refused Tuesday to move to a vote on Becker, killing his confirmation. The White House has since indicated that President Obama will not appoint Becker to the position during Congress' recess next week.

That latest news prompted Trumka's e-mail, in which he also objects to the languishing nomination of labor trial lawyer Mark Pearce to the board.

The text of the alert follows:

--------------------------------------

Dear xxxx,

We've just learned that the Senate and the White House cut a last-minute deal with obstructionist Republicans to approve some of President Obama's nominees. But guess who was left out of the deal? Yup, that's right: working people.

Craig Becker and Mark Pearce, highly respected labor lawyers whom President Obama nominated for seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), weren't included in the deal. Meanwhile, the NLRB, tasked with protecting American workers' rights, has been handicapped with vacancies for the past two years.

Enough is enough. Call the White House switchboard today and demand that President Obama fight Republican obstructionism and use his executive power to appoint Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the NLRB during the Presidents Day recess.

Call the White House Switchboard NOW: 202-456-1111 OR 202-456-1414.

Becker already has received majority backing in the Senate and both won committee support, but the Republican minority has continually blocked their appointments. America's working people are getting short shrift and it's past time to do something about it. Workers need an NLRB that can enforce the National Labor Relations Act and protect workers' rights--not an NLRB handicapped by vacancies.

In solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
AFL-CIO President

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/02/afl-cio-urges-supporters-to-co.html?wprss=44

[Better Believe It]

18. No Republicans Whined When Bush Made 171 Recess Appointments

No Republicans Whined When Bush Made 171 Recess Appointments
by Mike Hall
February 12, 2010

President George W. Bush not only made 171 recess appointments—Obama has not made any—Bush’s very first recess appointment was to the NLRB. On Aug. 31, 2001, he appointed Peter J. Hurtgen to be chairman of the NLRB.

That was just the start of his attempt to pack the board. He named seven other nominees to the NLRB via recess appointments. No one seems to recall any Republican hue and cry over those recess appointments.

The major difference is Bush’s picks were demonstrably pro-corporate and Chamber of Commerce approved. Becker scares Republicans and their big business buddies because of his background as labor lawyer and advocate for workers.

http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/02/12/no-republicans-whined-when-bush-made-171-recess-appointments/#more-25698

[tritsofme]

21. Well I'm sure Speaker Boehner will be much more endearing to Labor's agenda.

[mitchtv]

22. that kind of shit ain't gonna work anymore

What good is putting Dems in office if they do nothing? They MUST be held accountable.

[Touchdown]

24. Come up with something new.

We're done with that "not as bad" bullshit.

[walldude]

25. Well maybe they think it's better to know you are going to get fucked over

and be prepared than to go in thinking you are going to get support and get fucked over.


This whole "you'd rather have the republican" thing is a joke, that's the best thing you can come up with? Not "the dems need to do a better job, or the dems better get behind labor" but "Labor better get in line and take what we give them"? Yeah thats a great way to get votes. :eyes:

[Better Believe It]

26. Why do you think that? I'm sure he'll be just as bad and won't do a fricken thing for labor.

Except he won't screw labor with a smile on his face like our "friends".

[Tesha]

30. You know, if Democrats don't deliver, it really isn't any worse when Republican don't deliver.

AND MAYBE DEMOCRATS WILL FINALLY GET THE MESSAGE THAT THEY
OUGHT TO DANCE WITH THEM THAT BRUNG THEM, and not their
corporate paymasters!!!!

Tesha

[mitchtv]

23. K&R for CWA

[RKP5637]

27. Makes you wonder who calls the shots in this so called democracy. The democrats

act like someone else is telling them what to do. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but damn, the talk of a shadow government certainly seems real at times. We have the Democrats now (although the DLC) and the same shit goes on...

[Wilms]

28. k&r n/t

[Better Believe It]

29. For Sunday DU'ers