At least the primaries are moving to states that will matter in November. The question of having states that will go Republican in November anoint a candidate needs to be looked at
It's the unions who drove the jobs out of the US. They drove themselves into near extinction.
Public sector unions should be illegal. They vote to elect the politician who'll give them the most stuff. Then they own him.
The proof of that is here in NYC. Charter schools are way outperforming public schools but our Mayor must keep quiet for fear of offending teacher's union.
Public sector unions should be illegal. They vote to elect the politician who'll give them the most stuff. Then they own him.
The proof of that is here in NYC. Charter schools are way outperforming public schools but our Mayor must keep quiet for fear of offending teacher's union.
7
What's so unbelievable is how many times Obama stabbed the unions in the back and still they keep supporting Hillary, who will be no better than Obama. TPP is prime example. If anyone believes that Hillary would veto TPP will be sorely disappointed. They will cover it a fig leaf of human rights nonsense as usual, and claim they fixed. These things will never be enforced. Democrats have lost credibility with labor, which is probably going to mean they will go for Trump should Hillary be nominated. No one believes her shift to the left. As soon as she gets into office she will pivot right back to center. Just as Obama's, her promises are worthless. She will keep shilling for Wall Street and the oligarchs.
9
My union is run like a fiefdom for a handful of gray-haired members. For years they have resisted any suggestion that promotes democracy and transparency. They run meetings that largely shut out memberships. They sit on a kitty of money that they pretend is a war-fund for a mythological strike. They belittle members who press issues like using online technology to open up meetings. They defend such excuses as necessary to protect information from management even as they work easily with management. If this is the case with my smaller union I can only imagine the situation with larger ones. I supposed unions are a necessary evil, but man, they could do a lot better with customer service.
11
The picture's caption, "Union members rallied for Hillary Clinton in New York in March," shows unity across racial lines, during a time when cultural diversity is under attack. Lets see more of the same, please, during the primaries and right through the election campaign. There is a crying need for more such affirmations of national ideals at work, in the absence of anything lincolnesque emanating from anyone in the party of Lincoln.
6
The simple answer to this question is no. There are multiple layers to this answer. I will give a couple of reasons. Unions like many Democratic or left leaning groups and funders just bonce from election to election, issue to issue and candidate to candidate. They DO NOT engage in very long term (25-50 years) strategic planning like the right does. They have been unwilling to put money into a progressive infrastructure to rival what the right has done for the past 30 years. So they must re-group every election. Until they are willing to do this they will always be outnumbered by the right. They are unwilling to develop a movement outside of the Democratic Party. As a result their return on investment in Democratic candidates has been nil for many years. The Democrats love to come to the unions for funding and organizing GOTV campaigns but then forget about them as soon as the election is over. As California state employee I can tell you that not a one of them stood up for us when we were being hammered by the press and Arnold Schwarzenneger in the early 2000's.
I haven't forgotten that one of the first actions President Obama took when he got into office was to jettison card check. To me that was a betrayal and left me unwilling to donate or campaign for Democrats. I will vote for them but that is all.
I haven't forgotten that one of the first actions President Obama took when he got into office was to jettison card check. To me that was a betrayal and left me unwilling to donate or campaign for Democrats. I will vote for them but that is all.
1
We are a global economy- It is the unions who force large corporations to pick up and leave for more profitable, foreign locations. U.S. Manufacturing plants are unable to modernize their facilities [which would eliminate head count] at the protest of unions. It's better to keep the factory here with less people- however unions are unwilling to layoff employees for the sake of modernization and ultimately force companies to search elsewhere. A recent example strike at the Port Authority in California. Port workers with little more than high school education earn over $180,000 per year did not want to pay an additional $10 co-pay for prescription medication. They also fought off the company's attempts to convert from a hand written, carbon copy receiving procedure to a paperless scanning system because it would eliminate jobs. Since the port itself can't relocate- the unions won that fight at a cost of $3.5 billion is lost revenue- but a shinning example the games they play.
3
Sadly, working men are much more likely to vote against their own interests than not these days. They have readily absorbed and now believe all the corporate sponsored anti-union hype for years now... simply not seeing that OF COURSE(!) companies will be anti-union! Trump is one of the most out of touch clueless American currently living - let alone running for President. He was born into huge wealth, and has never had a second in his life similar to the common man. Trump is the one who has most clearly said that he believes Americans make too mch and work too few hours. Yet, who is cheering him on the most? It's working men and women... who all believe Trump "speaks for them!"
You can't make his stuff up. Who would believe it? One of the most famous and obvious examples of self absorbed hubris, who has a vivid record of caring almost exclusively for only his own interests over any other persons... Is considered to have "the best interests of the people and the country in mind."
Trump has spent his life living off the fat of the land and exploiting others, now he feels the pain of the people he has walked over for almost 70 years...?
Sorry, like all other once powerful, organized voices for the common man, the "voice of labor" is dead. The members of the unions voted for the governor of Wisconsin, and then went out to cheer at a Trump rally.
We really will get the leadership we deserve.
You can't make his stuff up. Who would believe it? One of the most famous and obvious examples of self absorbed hubris, who has a vivid record of caring almost exclusively for only his own interests over any other persons... Is considered to have "the best interests of the people and the country in mind."
Trump has spent his life living off the fat of the land and exploiting others, now he feels the pain of the people he has walked over for almost 70 years...?
Sorry, like all other once powerful, organized voices for the common man, the "voice of labor" is dead. The members of the unions voted for the governor of Wisconsin, and then went out to cheer at a Trump rally.
We really will get the leadership we deserve.
2
"Those days are long gone. Today about 11 percent of American workers belong to unions, down from 31 percent in Kennedy’s day. And that powerful autoworkers union? Its membership has plummeted to 400,000 from a peak of 1.5 million in 1979. The declines have been particularly steep in former strongholds like Michigan, which holds its primary on Tuesday, as well as Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and other Rust Belt states that will hold primaries in the coming month."
Ahh yes. The true special interest benefits of outsourcing and automation; of Plutocratic animosity and contempt.
Ahh yes. The true special interest benefits of outsourcing and automation; of Plutocratic animosity and contempt.
5
I think not.
See Wisconsin for a recent example.
Americans seem to have turned their backs on the progressive reform movement of the last century in general and to the union movement specifically in recent years.
Americans seem to have put their trust in the oligarchy.
Good luck with that.
See Wisconsin for a recent example.
Americans seem to have turned their backs on the progressive reform movement of the last century in general and to the union movement specifically in recent years.
Americans seem to have put their trust in the oligarchy.
Good luck with that.
7
Speaking of turning out the vote, I'm curious about something. I understand that in Nevada Harry Reid called on the union bosses to get their people out and they did. To caucuses. So, to what degree do caucuses influence union workers to work for the union bosses' choices of candidates or the candidate endorsed by the union? Does that take away freedom to caucus for the candidate of one's choice over that endorsed candidate? Can there be blowback? Caucuses may be a nightmare if they do what I'm suggesting.
3
The Democratic Party has, ever since Bill Clinton's administration, been cutting its own throat by refusing to back its most loyal ally - organized labor - to the hilt. On the contrary, the Democratic party's first loyalty has been to corporate America. It is no accident that Bill Clinton went to the mat for NAFTA but would not even try to work for the card check option needed by his allies in Labor. Obama stood by and did nothing while Labor was emasculated by the GOP after the 2010 elections. How is Labor supposed to "turn out the vote" when many GOP-controlled states have only a small number of union members left because they have stripped public employees of their bargaining rights. Democrats, only fools stand by while their enemies destroy their best ally. Yet, that is exactly what corporate Democrats do.
4
The back story about unions and our politics in general is well documented in Thomas Franks book "The Wrecking Crew". I have never read such a well researched book complete with a plethora of footnotes and references.
America has been hoodwinked by a well planned assault against unions, our educations system, courts, and on and on. The plan was started years ago to ensure that the republican party be a majority parts for decades to come. This contentious election could be the sealer or the deal breaker of the plan. And part of the plan was to over the years cast the Clintons, especially Hillary of late, in the most negative light possible, impugning her character. They GOP has pretty much admitted this to their chagrin.
I don't care who runs on what side. The GOP is a bad brand and their 17th centuries ideas are just plain wrong. I am voting to save the court from extremists, from people who believe that good governance is no governance, whose approach to all policy is two pronged, let the free market fix it and YOYO (year are on your own).
America has been hoodwinked by a well planned assault against unions, our educations system, courts, and on and on. The plan was started years ago to ensure that the republican party be a majority parts for decades to come. This contentious election could be the sealer or the deal breaker of the plan. And part of the plan was to over the years cast the Clintons, especially Hillary of late, in the most negative light possible, impugning her character. They GOP has pretty much admitted this to their chagrin.
I don't care who runs on what side. The GOP is a bad brand and their 17th centuries ideas are just plain wrong. I am voting to save the court from extremists, from people who believe that good governance is no governance, whose approach to all policy is two pronged, let the free market fix it and YOYO (year are on your own).
5
Contrary to some comments, Labor did not turn their backs on the Democratic Party--the Democratic party turned its back on Labor. Reagan skillfully scooped up 10s of millions of white working class voters and the GOP still has a good grip on most of them, most of the time.
The Democrats number about 35% of the population. Ditto for Republicans and Independents. Forty years ago the Independents represented 10-15% of the voting populace. Now, the Democrats are just another minority party dependent on getting out the minority vote to have a chance. And good luck to Bernie should he secure the Democratic nomination. Poor man had the audacity to say: "All lives matter."
The Democrats number about 35% of the population. Ditto for Republicans and Independents. Forty years ago the Independents represented 10-15% of the voting populace. Now, the Democrats are just another minority party dependent on getting out the minority vote to have a chance. And good luck to Bernie should he secure the Democratic nomination. Poor man had the audacity to say: "All lives matter."
4
Understand that the NY times supports unions. Growing up in Detroit, one could barely work in any industry without forced membership in a union. And the big union - uaw -got extraordinary pay and benefits. Everyone working for the big 3 was happy then. Why not? Free healthcare, extraordinary pensions, sick time, overtime. And you could call in sick whenever you felt like it as you could not be fired.
The uaw was more powerful than government. They became corrupt to the core, but were able to extract great pay and benefits, so most looked the other way. Then came competition and the big 3 no longer held a monopoly on the us public. They continued to cut costs via low quality products and could not afford salaries of $90k for a hs graduate that barely worked.
That's what unions did to my hometown. We miss those days, as if they could've been sustained, not.
The uaw was more powerful than government. They became corrupt to the core, but were able to extract great pay and benefits, so most looked the other way. Then came competition and the big 3 no longer held a monopoly on the us public. They continued to cut costs via low quality products and could not afford salaries of $90k for a hs graduate that barely worked.
That's what unions did to my hometown. We miss those days, as if they could've been sustained, not.
4
The people who do the work deserve a fair share of the profits. Oddly, Republicans trying to prevent the workers from uniting to get fair wages & benefits are slowly creating the need for the socialism they despise.
3
Thomas Hanify is president of the Firefighters, long known in the labor movement as having a high number of Republican-voting members. They have no reason to care about trade imbalance or the exodus of manufacturing jobs that mainly affect members of the so-called trade unions.
One of these trade unions is the Steelworkers, who represent workers at the soon-to-close Carrier plant in Indianapolis (Local 1999). Wasn't Steelworkers president Leo Gerard available for an interview?
One of these trade unions is the Steelworkers, who represent workers at the soon-to-close Carrier plant in Indianapolis (Local 1999). Wasn't Steelworkers president Leo Gerard available for an interview?
3
And of course , by 'the vote', you mean the liberal vote. Liberal implied. Wonder why we seem so concerned about bias? I convinced a friend the other day that when every newspaper story or sit-com on network TV assumes that only liberals are level-headed, smart, active thinkers--especially when exactly the opposite is true--it is truly difficult for us to fight against the ensuing/resulting mind-set of post-teenagers who are so imbued with that (and add in the absolute communist bias of 99% of all of their high school and esp beyond professors).
Not complaining, exactly; yeah, guess I am. You see, we care. And we believe that it's really dangerous to have 90% of all new voters assuming that Archie Bunker is us.
Not complaining, exactly; yeah, guess I am. You see, we care. And we believe that it's really dangerous to have 90% of all new voters assuming that Archie Bunker is us.
1
The Achilles' heel of Labor continues to be government employee unions. The fundamental corruption of having government employees beholden to one political party while working for a monopoly and being immune from any serious performance expectations will never resonate with the general public.
3
I am not a Labor Leader; I do not want you to follow me or anyone else; if you are looking for a Moses to lead you out of this capitalist wilderness, you will stay right where you are. I would not lead you into the promised land if I could, because if I led you in, some one else would lead you out. You must use your heads as well as your hands, and get yourself out of your present condition.
--Eugene V. Debs
--Eugene V. Debs
4
Unfortunately unions became as corrupt as some of the business owners and management they had fought against. I was a member of 1199 back in the 80s. They did nothing to protect us against what one employer did to our contract. We had to threaten them with bad publicity before they did anything and even that wasn't enough. They were completely unresponsive to our requests or needs. Their attitude was unbearable in that they felt we should accept whatever they did without question. They treated themselves quite well while they allowed our employer to take advantage of us.
Had they been a good union and represented us we would have received the raises we were due. The jobs that were union jobs would have stayed union jobs. There would not have been an entire unit of people so disillusioned with 1199 that we were willing to sue them or withhold our dues. There wasn't even a satisfactory response from them when they made mistakes: we were supposed to accept it. Experiences like this, where the workers don't count, lead to disillusionment and a distinct lack of enthusiasm for unions. They shot themselves when they didn't represent us. Workers need representation. Unions that become corrupt don't represent us. If unions want to return (and we do need them) they must represent us and our interests.
Neither party is representing us any longer. Unions could step in and help us out. Voting for Trump or any other GOP candidate will not solve our problems.
Had they been a good union and represented us we would have received the raises we were due. The jobs that were union jobs would have stayed union jobs. There would not have been an entire unit of people so disillusioned with 1199 that we were willing to sue them or withhold our dues. There wasn't even a satisfactory response from them when they made mistakes: we were supposed to accept it. Experiences like this, where the workers don't count, lead to disillusionment and a distinct lack of enthusiasm for unions. They shot themselves when they didn't represent us. Workers need representation. Unions that become corrupt don't represent us. If unions want to return (and we do need them) they must represent us and our interests.
Neither party is representing us any longer. Unions could step in and help us out. Voting for Trump or any other GOP candidate will not solve our problems.
9
You are absolutely right. When the unions got fat and powerful like the management side, they lost their way and their support. They became vulnerable to the attacks from the right starting with Reagan. Unions also went overboard with their demands, which became unreasonable and unsustainable in some cases, and contributed to the bad name they later got.
But we DO need unions or else no one is left to stand up and be a strong voice for workers. The pendulum has swung too far, and we see awful people like Walker in Wisconsin winning his wars against labor. To lose collective brgaining is to cut the legs from under labor, and people who care at all about working conditions and pay fairness and pensions need to step up this year and win back some lost ground.
Some reform within the unions would help, too.
But we DO need unions or else no one is left to stand up and be a strong voice for workers. The pendulum has swung too far, and we see awful people like Walker in Wisconsin winning his wars against labor. To lose collective brgaining is to cut the legs from under labor, and people who care at all about working conditions and pay fairness and pensions need to step up this year and win back some lost ground.
Some reform within the unions would help, too.
4
@ hen3ry
Why didn't you vote them out?
Union Locals are only as good as their membership.
The Unions biggest sin was they got lazy, and so did their members.
Unions stopped educating new members about the struggles of Organized Labor. About the men and women who died in the streets of America during strikes because they had nothing left to lose but their lives.
Just paying monthly dues isn't enough. You have to participate............
Why didn't you vote them out?
Union Locals are only as good as their membership.
The Unions biggest sin was they got lazy, and so did their members.
Unions stopped educating new members about the struggles of Organized Labor. About the men and women who died in the streets of America during strikes because they had nothing left to lose but their lives.
Just paying monthly dues isn't enough. You have to participate............
6
Was a member 20 years, 20 years. When the dew hit the fan, I found myself standing there, all alone soaking wet.
3
Unions can still be tremendously influential.
I would hope that unions would support Democratic candidates at the local, state and federal levels. It would be good political practice if unions allowed their members to determine whom to support at the primary level, with ultimate support to go to the Democratic nominee.
I would hope that unions would support Democratic candidates at the local, state and federal levels. It would be good political practice if unions allowed their members to determine whom to support at the primary level, with ultimate support to go to the Democratic nominee.
10
The photo with the article, of 1199SEIU workers, depicts the same lack of enthusiasm and commitment on their faces as I see in photos of Mrs. Clinton's events. One wonders if these union workers were paid to show up.....very different than what one sees on the faces of those who attend Bernie's events.
Go Bernie!
Go Bernie!
21
No, they aren't paid EL. They're mad and they know Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the WOMAN to be the next President of the United States and clean up the mess the boys have made of America.
9
I don't know, EL. The photo I'm looking at shows a lot of smiling faces holding up signs. Why do the supporters of Senator Sanders imagine a conspiracy behind anything done by or on behalf of Mrs. Clinton? You might as well sign up for Donald Trump right now and be done with it.
even clinton supporters have an - o, god, not her again - attitude
bernie represents something new, which america sorely needs at this point
hrc is more of th same which hasnt worked th last 30 years
bernie represents something new, which america sorely needs at this point
hrc is more of th same which hasnt worked th last 30 years
2
Only in the upside down world that currently passes for America can we see working stiffs trying to tear down unions so the union workers will have to accept less wages. Instead of joining the union, themselves, and getting themselves a better paying job.
The power of fox not news, and the rest of the right wing propaganda machine is really something to behold.
Of course, so is a train wreck something to behold.
The power of fox not news, and the rest of the right wing propaganda machine is really something to behold.
Of course, so is a train wreck something to behold.
18
You don't seem to realize that unions are not representing workers any longer. Their management is as disconnected from workplace and worker reality as our politicians are. They are wined and dined, hang out with other rich people and forget that many of us are one paycheck away from losing everything. Even those who have saved money can lose everything because they lose a job and can't find another. It's not enough to be in a union: unions have to support our rights to work, to receive decent pay for our hard work, to have our jobs protected the way other countries protect the jobs of their citizens. Simple slogans about pay and union power will not have much influence on businesses that outsource the jobs the middle and working classes used to do. The power of unions used to be for the workers. In America, because of the adversarial relationships that exist everywhere, unions were wiped out. Here the generations that benefitted from unions didn't understand what they lost when they voted against them. Our parents would understand because they saw the benefits. We listened to Reagan, to Bush, to others who didn't like unions. We had courts rule against them. Now what we have is a train wreck with no real solutions to pick up the pieces. In short, we've returned to what our parents and grandparents came from. So, yes, we need unions but they need to work for us, not themselves.
13
The demise of unions is more a symptom than a cause of the hallowing-out of the middle class. People with or without good paying jobs are addicted to the lower prices free trade has produced, the cheap energy which produced climate change and the abundance of food government subsidies have created. (These all intersect with the following statistic: If food waste were a nation it would be the 3rd largest carbon dioxide producer in the world!)
Maybe one day there will be enough well-paying jobs for all, but the trajectory is going in the opposite direction.
So until that trajectory changes, if ever, the only model that brings back a semblance of the middle class is one in which the haves give to the have-nots, not just via social security and health care, but via the Scandinavian model. No one in either party will talk about this because it is political suicide. So instead, the have-nots supporting Trump go the traditional way right-wing movements go in time of stress: to the strong man who scapegoats those who had nothing to do with the current mess: immigrants. And scapegoating corporations is not the answer either. Corporations went overseas because of the appetite of those with money for cheap consumer goods. And those corporations pay less taxes because they can’t otherwise compete with multi-nationals from elsewhere if they don’t. That their profits have gone only to the 1% is also a symptom--as unfair as it is--not a cause of the dilemma.
Maybe one day there will be enough well-paying jobs for all, but the trajectory is going in the opposite direction.
So until that trajectory changes, if ever, the only model that brings back a semblance of the middle class is one in which the haves give to the have-nots, not just via social security and health care, but via the Scandinavian model. No one in either party will talk about this because it is political suicide. So instead, the have-nots supporting Trump go the traditional way right-wing movements go in time of stress: to the strong man who scapegoats those who had nothing to do with the current mess: immigrants. And scapegoating corporations is not the answer either. Corporations went overseas because of the appetite of those with money for cheap consumer goods. And those corporations pay less taxes because they can’t otherwise compete with multi-nationals from elsewhere if they don’t. That their profits have gone only to the 1% is also a symptom--as unfair as it is--not a cause of the dilemma.
6
WE can no longer rely on "organized" anything to fight battles for the majority of Americans - the average workers, parents and people just trying to get by fairly well in a rigged system. WE must EACH take it as OUR personal responsibility to take action against politics we disagree with and to get out the vote for a better America. All systems can be corrupted and most systems in America have been corrupted in the last 40+ years by the ALEC/Wall Street/Koch brothers/u s chamber of commerce/radical religious right/nra/major media democracy-destroying Corporate Conglomerate. President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr and Bobby Kennedy were all brutally murdered when they championed civil rights for all and we have been going downhill since. America is in danger of failing as a true democracy and only WE citizens who care can create change with OUR votes and OUR grassroots synergy.
10
Had Bill Clinton done the right thing and resigned, (right wing conspiracy or not), Al Gore would have been president and probably have won the election in 2000. One can only imagine how different the country might be now had we been spared eight years of George W. Bush. When the house of cards collapsed in 2008, there were still a handful of Democrats who thought they could restore our democracy, people like Barney Frank and Elizabeth Warren, with Bernie Sanders trying to help with his speeches from the floor of the Senate. The theft of the 2000 election, which robbed the candidate with the greatest number of popular votes, (and it is now clear, electoral votes, with thanks to the now beatified Antonin Scalia), gave us a president who brought the country to the brink of ruin. Democrats then played the weapon of mass distraction card embodied in the messianic campaign of Barack Obama who turned out to be the anti-FDR even though he had been served up on a silver platter the ammunition to apply a coup de grace to neoliberal economics and neoconservative foreign policy. Once again the Democratic Party shied away from taking on those two constituencies. Instead, Dixiecrats in the South and austerity budget sages like Chris Christie and Scott Walker in the North were allowed to bang the anti-government, anti-union drums. Congressmen from the poorest, most backward states in the country joined the battle to prevent reform, screaming "Gridlock!" And we wonder why Trump?
8
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Doesn't cut it, Vincent. It is what it is and it stinks to high heaven. Blame it on the corporate conglomerate that has been trying to break unions since FDR and corrupt union officials who went along.
8
And now those same corrupt union officials are encouraging a frightened rank and file to give their hearty support to Hillary Clinton. Should she be elected, she will prove as efficient as her husband was at selling out the working class to the (now teetering-with-debt globalization crowd, or perhaps using the same excuse as the Obama administration, that it is a pitiful, helpless giant confronted by gridlock. Capitalism is in crisis everywhere. The danger in repressing the truth is, as we are now seeing writ large, an invitation to demagoguery. It can happen here.
1
i have full confidence that al gore would have clutched defeat from th maw of victory regardless of th circumstances
like kerry
two men w all th electric speaking style of fresh zombies
and as disastrous as it was, who knows if gore would have been better, as bad, or worse than gw
like kerry
two men w all th electric speaking style of fresh zombies
and as disastrous as it was, who knows if gore would have been better, as bad, or worse than gw
The best thing for unions is to engage with Trump. That would send a compelling message to democrats that their votes are not to be taken for granted.
This way, when Hillary pivots her pandering from blacks (who chose to send a message of loyalty) to unions, she will have to negotiate harder for their support.
This way, when Hillary pivots her pandering from blacks (who chose to send a message of loyalty) to unions, she will have to negotiate harder for their support.
14
Only REALLY stupid people will vote for DT. REALLY stupid. As REALLY stupid as he is REALLY rich and REALLY beloved and all the other garbage he spews.
9
No one smart, njglea, would write a comment like yours.
1
Call them stupid, call them racist; it only makes them love him more.
1
Labor can certainly still turn out the vote. However, the fundamental question is how many labor led and inspired voters will turn out and for which reasons and for which candidates. Trump troubles the Democratic base labor class voters nearly as much as Reagan did. Colored racial caste triumphing over socioeconomic class. While Hillary Clinton has won the black vote in numbers comparable to Barack Obama, the black turn out has been down about 30%. The Republicans are as fired up in 2016 as the Democrats were in 2008 and 2012.
5
This article about who labor should support for the Democratic presidential nomination reads:
"Labor’s task has also been complicated by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose passionate attacks on income inequality, wage stagnation and trade deals have won over many union members.
Union leaders, on the other hand, lean heavily toward Hillary Clinton, partly because they see her as a safer bet to win in November."
There is no doubt that Bernie Sanders speaks the truth. The question is whether Hillary Clinton is telling the truth. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, she pushed herself into the elite 1% category of personal wealth by making well over $10 million in speaking fees for speeches made to the Capitalists of Wall Street, Pharmaceuticals, and Insurance.
What did she tell these capitalists that they considered to be worth over $10 million for them to hear? Hillary Clinton absolutely refuses to say. Reportedly, her standard speech contract has a provision therein which states that she has 100% ownership of these speech transcripts: “The sponsor shall not have ownership rights of any kind.”
In the last reporting quarter, Priorities USA Action, the “super PAC” that is supporting Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, raised $25 million, including $15 million from Wall Street.
Labor, it’s time to place your bets on who you should support for the Democratic presidential nomination!
"Labor’s task has also been complicated by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose passionate attacks on income inequality, wage stagnation and trade deals have won over many union members.
Union leaders, on the other hand, lean heavily toward Hillary Clinton, partly because they see her as a safer bet to win in November."
There is no doubt that Bernie Sanders speaks the truth. The question is whether Hillary Clinton is telling the truth. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, she pushed herself into the elite 1% category of personal wealth by making well over $10 million in speaking fees for speeches made to the Capitalists of Wall Street, Pharmaceuticals, and Insurance.
What did she tell these capitalists that they considered to be worth over $10 million for them to hear? Hillary Clinton absolutely refuses to say. Reportedly, her standard speech contract has a provision therein which states that she has 100% ownership of these speech transcripts: “The sponsor shall not have ownership rights of any kind.”
In the last reporting quarter, Priorities USA Action, the “super PAC” that is supporting Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, raised $25 million, including $15 million from Wall Street.
Labor, it’s time to place your bets on who you should support for the Democratic presidential nomination!
14
It all depends on whether the Labor brass is truly representing their rank and file or themselves and their appendage to the Democratic political machine and its candidate, Hillary Clinton.
Real wages should be the defining factor. How are union workers doing on take-home compensation minus costly health care benefits?
According to this chart, real wages still have not returned to the peak year of 1974.
Are unions doing any better on this and do their members know this?
1964-2004
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage#mediaviewer/File:US_Real_Wages_1964-2...
2007-2015
http://www.epi.org/blog/dont-be-fooled-by-the-rise-in-real-wages-in-janu...
Real wages should be the defining factor. How are union workers doing on take-home compensation minus costly health care benefits?
According to this chart, real wages still have not returned to the peak year of 1974.
Are unions doing any better on this and do their members know this?
1964-2004
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage#mediaviewer/File:US_Real_Wages_1964-2...
2007-2015
http://www.epi.org/blog/dont-be-fooled-by-the-rise-in-real-wages-in-janu...
5
To those Union members who will only support Sanders and not vote for Clinton when she is nominated...don't complain when President Trump or Cruz decide you have no rights as ordinary workers. Don't complain when your salaries are cut and your health care is taken away. Don't complain when you find that you have no money for retirement.
Vote for whichever Democrat wins the nomination. You will always be better off with a Democratic President than with a Republican one.
Vote for whichever Democrat wins the nomination. You will always be better off with a Democratic President than with a Republican one.
7
Male or female, never met a labor union member who could easily slip into into a size large t-shirt after the first washing.
3
Most of my teacher friends, in unions, are for Bernie. They see Mrs. Clinton for what she is....someone else here referred to her ability to "pivot", another word for changing her views depending on which way the wind is blowing.
19
I have no objection to people supporting Bernie Sanders at this point in the campaign. He is giving umpf to the more liberal side of the Democratic Party. I like his vision. But unfortunately, his actual policies are unrealistic for our time. Our country is not ready for a leftward revolution yet. We should be more concerned about combating a push towards authoritarianism a la Donald Trump. When Hillary Clinton wins the nomination, it is very important, nay absolutely necessary, that Sanders supporters get behind her 100%, whatever their reservations about her may be. To elect Donald Trump to the White House would be a disaster for our nation and the world.
5
Dear El:
I'm not a Union member, long retired, but I am a longtime Hillary supporter. Voted for her in 2000, '06, again in '08, against Senator Obama. Her list of accomplishments far outweighs that of Senator Sanders.
I've known Sanders since he was mayor of Burlington, then as a member of the House, and now the Senate. Being the junior Senator and a registered Independent, he needs to caucus with the Dems to have any influence. His bills need co-sponsorship by fellow Dems. Those included the longest tenured Senator, the senior Democratic Senator from Vermont, someone so well-recognized I'll refrain from naming him since I imagine you and your colleagues are very familiar with him, correct? Hillary has also sponsored bills by Senator Sanders.
For all his charm, the Green Mountain democratic socialist is not very sociable. His independent streak is to be admired. He's disarming, but not very effective. He gives a good speech however. The kids seem to adore him and love feeling the Bern. For now.
Come April 19th, I'll be casting my vote for Hillary, the pragmatist. Senator Sanders is an idealist to be sure. But when it comes to getting things done? Well, for instance, are your friends aware a recent proposal to institute single payer health care in Vermont failed? I'd ask your friends to query Senator Sanders on how such a small state could not get single payer passed. And how he plans to do so in a Republican-controlled Congress?
DD
Manhattan
I'm not a Union member, long retired, but I am a longtime Hillary supporter. Voted for her in 2000, '06, again in '08, against Senator Obama. Her list of accomplishments far outweighs that of Senator Sanders.
I've known Sanders since he was mayor of Burlington, then as a member of the House, and now the Senate. Being the junior Senator and a registered Independent, he needs to caucus with the Dems to have any influence. His bills need co-sponsorship by fellow Dems. Those included the longest tenured Senator, the senior Democratic Senator from Vermont, someone so well-recognized I'll refrain from naming him since I imagine you and your colleagues are very familiar with him, correct? Hillary has also sponsored bills by Senator Sanders.
For all his charm, the Green Mountain democratic socialist is not very sociable. His independent streak is to be admired. He's disarming, but not very effective. He gives a good speech however. The kids seem to adore him and love feeling the Bern. For now.
Come April 19th, I'll be casting my vote for Hillary, the pragmatist. Senator Sanders is an idealist to be sure. But when it comes to getting things done? Well, for instance, are your friends aware a recent proposal to institute single payer health care in Vermont failed? I'd ask your friends to query Senator Sanders on how such a small state could not get single payer passed. And how he plans to do so in a Republican-controlled Congress?
DD
Manhattan
6
Senator Sanders isn't really increasing the number of democratic/independent voters, Jeff. It's going to be up to people like you and I to turn them out.
1
I was surprised to learn from an article in the Times recently that the minimum wage in the US in 1950 was 40 cents an hour and that President Truman was revolted by that number so he raised it to 75 cents an hour.
In 1954, at the end of my first year in college, a summer job earning 75 cents an hour would not have enabled me to return to college. Because Henry Ford believed that sharing corporate profits would benefit his employees and enable his workers to also buy his products, I was able to land a job at the local Ford plant where I could earn 5 dollars an hour. It was hard work but it earned me a ticket back to college.
The public sector's idea of a fair minimum wage hasn't changed much up until the present. We were thankful for industry leaders like Ford who shared their profits with the workers.
Where have the Henry Fords gone in this greed driven country where the job creators have strangled wages for the worker to a point where they are no longer livable wages?
Bernie Sanders is right: we need a revolution to throw the greedy plutocrats out before they corrupt every facet of our lives with their money.
Take FDR's advice: If the job creators don't want to pay a decent living wage, let them take their companies out of the United States and never return, even with their products. Let them sell their products exclusively in the low-tax countries where they now legally reside. Let's see how that works out for them.
In 1954, at the end of my first year in college, a summer job earning 75 cents an hour would not have enabled me to return to college. Because Henry Ford believed that sharing corporate profits would benefit his employees and enable his workers to also buy his products, I was able to land a job at the local Ford plant where I could earn 5 dollars an hour. It was hard work but it earned me a ticket back to college.
The public sector's idea of a fair minimum wage hasn't changed much up until the present. We were thankful for industry leaders like Ford who shared their profits with the workers.
Where have the Henry Fords gone in this greed driven country where the job creators have strangled wages for the worker to a point where they are no longer livable wages?
Bernie Sanders is right: we need a revolution to throw the greedy plutocrats out before they corrupt every facet of our lives with their money.
Take FDR's advice: If the job creators don't want to pay a decent living wage, let them take their companies out of the United States and never return, even with their products. Let them sell their products exclusively in the low-tax countries where they now legally reside. Let's see how that works out for them.
13
Donald,
You might want to temper your enthusiasm for Henry Ford. Yes, he paid well. And Mussolini made the trains run on time. But Henry Ford also wrote "The International Jew", and was decorated for it by Adolf Hitler.
You might want to temper your enthusiasm for Henry Ford. Yes, he paid well. And Mussolini made the trains run on time. But Henry Ford also wrote "The International Jew", and was decorated for it by Adolf Hitler.
7
Thanks for that info, Tom. What you say about Henry Ford just goes to show us AGAIN that all people with business sense and money are not that smart.
2
ford was sued by a rabbi for th rabid antisemitic paper ford put out, and won
ford had to stop publishing th paper and issue a public repudiation of his antisemitism, but close acquaintances said ford remained a bigot to th end
ford was an interesting man, a marvel at engineering, but bereft of most other knowledge most people would consider common
ford had to stop publishing th paper and issue a public repudiation of his antisemitism, but close acquaintances said ford remained a bigot to th end
ford was an interesting man, a marvel at engineering, but bereft of most other knowledge most people would consider common
When I heard that the AFL-CIO wasn't endorsing, my first thought was that it was afraid of how much support Trump might have, not just Sanders.
Trump has succeeded because neither party gives a darn about white working class people. Members of the WWC do not want to be taken care of - a good thing because the so-called safety net is increasingly frayed as we import poverty wholesale. They want decent jobs & decent pay. What they have been given is a combination of massive immigration, outsourcing, and mechanization, driving wages so low that they no longer can support a person, let alone a family.
The WWC is then expected to tolerate cheerfully new poverty, unaffordable housing, lousy schools, and destroyed neighborhoods that the elites of both parties can avoid while placing the wants/needs of the rest of the world above those who have lived here for decades. If they are insufficiently cheerful, they are called xenophobic racists.
I have no love for DT and find it unfortunate that it took him to allow the issue of massive immigration - legal & illegal - to even be discussed. Sanders, with whom I agree on many issues, would no more have broached this subject than Hillary would have so I don't 'feel the Bern'.
The elites look at their computer models - you know, the ones that missed the housing bubble - and tell the rest of us what is happening. WWC people look at what is actually happening in their lives and see an entirely different scene and they are right & angry.
Trump has succeeded because neither party gives a darn about white working class people. Members of the WWC do not want to be taken care of - a good thing because the so-called safety net is increasingly frayed as we import poverty wholesale. They want decent jobs & decent pay. What they have been given is a combination of massive immigration, outsourcing, and mechanization, driving wages so low that they no longer can support a person, let alone a family.
The WWC is then expected to tolerate cheerfully new poverty, unaffordable housing, lousy schools, and destroyed neighborhoods that the elites of both parties can avoid while placing the wants/needs of the rest of the world above those who have lived here for decades. If they are insufficiently cheerful, they are called xenophobic racists.
I have no love for DT and find it unfortunate that it took him to allow the issue of massive immigration - legal & illegal - to even be discussed. Sanders, with whom I agree on many issues, would no more have broached this subject than Hillary would have so I don't 'feel the Bern'.
The elites look at their computer models - you know, the ones that missed the housing bubble - and tell the rest of us what is happening. WWC people look at what is actually happening in their lives and see an entirely different scene and they are right & angry.
18
The head of the AFL-CIO is drunk with his supposed power. Just another BIG money schill.
2
always remember the do called Reganomigics killed the Unions and this Countries Economy . He does not deserve the acclaim he is given he started the downward spiral of our Country . Our infer structure is the worse ever because of him. He is to blame...... Eisenhower economics and motions helped make this Country Great all to be lost to a second hand chimp bong
5
They came after the Communists, but I didn't care, because I wasn't a Communist. http://isreview.org/issue/80/different-kind-teachers-union
Then they came after the socialists, but I didn't care, because I wasn't a socialist.
Then they came after the union members ...
Then they came after the socialists, but I didn't care, because I wasn't a socialist.
Then they came after the union members ...
4
I can not figure out this blue collar support for the Republican agenda. A Republican laborer is like a Jewish Nazi. Nothing is keeping you from being that thing...except common sense.
3
unions were a good idea that went horribly wrong with time and the natrual
prediliction of humans to greed and corruption.
they are now a mere shadow of what they were and what they should be.
they have been exposed many, many times in the press and court of public opinion to be what they are........fat cats with stolen money in 1 hand and a '
billy club in the other.
just at trump is trying to cleanse the repub party of the flotsam and jetsom that IS the party now..........unions on a grass roots level must take their unions back and recreate what they are and what they will be.
the terror the establishment repubs are experiencing now due to trump is only because the estab repubs are threatened because it WONT be biz as usual for
the head repubs. Change is always scary but in THIS case the establisihment is afraid for their pocketbooks. The union heads are the same.
change is in the wind......G-d willing it WILL be a cleansing of the repub party, the govt in general and the presidency in particular.
.
prediliction of humans to greed and corruption.
they are now a mere shadow of what they were and what they should be.
they have been exposed many, many times in the press and court of public opinion to be what they are........fat cats with stolen money in 1 hand and a '
billy club in the other.
just at trump is trying to cleanse the repub party of the flotsam and jetsom that IS the party now..........unions on a grass roots level must take their unions back and recreate what they are and what they will be.
the terror the establishment repubs are experiencing now due to trump is only because the estab repubs are threatened because it WONT be biz as usual for
the head repubs. Change is always scary but in THIS case the establisihment is afraid for their pocketbooks. The union heads are the same.
change is in the wind......G-d willing it WILL be a cleansing of the repub party, the govt in general and the presidency in particular.
.
3
You can't turn 'em out if they don't believe in the candidate.
Like with other Democratic and Democratic-leaning institutions, the leadership of most unions has been coopted by the Clinton campaign, even though much of the union rank-and-file are against corporate policies and want more-substantive change like Bernie Sanders is proposing.
So it comes down to who is the nominee. If it's Bernie, they will come. Clinton? Welcome Reichsfuhrer Trump.
BERNIE IN '16
Like with other Democratic and Democratic-leaning institutions, the leadership of most unions has been coopted by the Clinton campaign, even though much of the union rank-and-file are against corporate policies and want more-substantive change like Bernie Sanders is proposing.
So it comes down to who is the nominee. If it's Bernie, they will come. Clinton? Welcome Reichsfuhrer Trump.
BERNIE IN '16
14
Labor better be ready to pounce. It's opportunity city in the hustings.
To wit:
Where’s Mitch McConnell on all this?
Tossin’ more dung on the fire, and likely costin’ buddy Chuck Grassley his senate seat and the GOP its majority for refusing to allow President Obama to exercise his Constitutional prerogative to propose a candidate for a Supreme Court vacancy.
The beneficiary of said ploy?
The Democratic party.
Hold that political gun to your temple and threaten to pull the trigger just a few more months, Mitch baby! I’m sure someone will thank you…but it won’t be the GOP.
Meanwhile, back at the Mar-a-Lago, all are breathlessly waiting for that little golden toothbrush of as mustache to make its appearance beneath the rakishly-tilted nose of Drumpf.
Here-z-z-z d’Hair furor:
Das Donald!
To wit:
Where’s Mitch McConnell on all this?
Tossin’ more dung on the fire, and likely costin’ buddy Chuck Grassley his senate seat and the GOP its majority for refusing to allow President Obama to exercise his Constitutional prerogative to propose a candidate for a Supreme Court vacancy.
The beneficiary of said ploy?
The Democratic party.
Hold that political gun to your temple and threaten to pull the trigger just a few more months, Mitch baby! I’m sure someone will thank you…but it won’t be the GOP.
Meanwhile, back at the Mar-a-Lago, all are breathlessly waiting for that little golden toothbrush of as mustache to make its appearance beneath the rakishly-tilted nose of Drumpf.
Here-z-z-z d’Hair furor:
Das Donald!
1
It would make my year to see the Senate return to the Dems. To see it happen at Grassley's expense, would be Nirvana.
4
"Union leaders, on the other hand, lean heavily toward Hillary Clinton"
we all know that the "leaders" are a continuation of the Clinton Criminal Organization.
If it is not Bernie, the rank and file will ALL switch to Trump. So called Leaders have no effect. They sold out a long long time ago.
The Neo-Con Republican Party is being remade as we speak - whatever image is in your head - it no longer exists. Come on Over!
All that remains is clearing out the garbage can in Washington DC - The House / The Senate / The White House / The Regulators of every description / Judiciary and DOJ - ALL CRIMINALS!
After The Clintons lose we go back and clear out ALL the Neo-Liberal Democrats next.
It is all for the taking - today / now - never stop, never give in!
we all know that the "leaders" are a continuation of the Clinton Criminal Organization.
If it is not Bernie, the rank and file will ALL switch to Trump. So called Leaders have no effect. They sold out a long long time ago.
The Neo-Con Republican Party is being remade as we speak - whatever image is in your head - it no longer exists. Come on Over!
All that remains is clearing out the garbage can in Washington DC - The House / The Senate / The White House / The Regulators of every description / Judiciary and DOJ - ALL CRIMINALS!
After The Clintons lose we go back and clear out ALL the Neo-Liberal Democrats next.
It is all for the taking - today / now - never stop, never give in!
13
Sorry, Parrot, you have your families confused. It is the BUSH family and their top 1% global financial elite Ethernet who commit crimes against average American and other average people around the world.
2
As the writer knows {but curiously chooses to omit}, Unions spent 1.7 billion in the 2012 cycle, almost 4 times what the Koch team spent. The unions are the biggest part of the establishment.
4
WRONG!! The unions spent$153,473,251,about $1.2 biilion short of what you said compared to the Koch Brothers who spent $412,670,66 on the 2012 election and that's over twice as much as the top ten unions combined. The unions don't have anywhere near 1.7 billion to spend!
11
Unfair! First, the Kochs, pere et fils, have been bashing unions since the 1920s. They are responsible for right-to-work and anti-labor laws in statehouses and in Congress.
Second, union dues do not fund political efforts; PACs do. So the money is donated for the purpose.
Finally, "the establishment" is no ancien regime, but the constitutional republic for which this nation stands. It is not discardable.
Second, union dues do not fund political efforts; PACs do. So the money is donated for the purpose.
Finally, "the establishment" is no ancien regime, but the constitutional republic for which this nation stands. It is not discardable.
7
Dear sf:
In 2012 you state Unions spent 1.7 billion, correct? Curiously you choose to omit how many members these Unions represent. Numbers, please?
The Koch "team", as you refer to them, spent only one quarter of 1.7 billion. So that would be approximately, say, round figures...400 hundred million?
By the Koch "team" I guess you mean brothers David and Charles? So. let's see, each bro/member of the Koch "team' contributed 200 million? Yes, I see what you mean. I guess the way you figure it the Koch boys sure have a lot less clout than the Unions?? Yes, curious indeed.
Oh, and great statistical math skills by the way. How's that old saw go? Figures never lie, only liars...figure?
DD
Manhattan
In 2012 you state Unions spent 1.7 billion, correct? Curiously you choose to omit how many members these Unions represent. Numbers, please?
The Koch "team", as you refer to them, spent only one quarter of 1.7 billion. So that would be approximately, say, round figures...400 hundred million?
By the Koch "team" I guess you mean brothers David and Charles? So. let's see, each bro/member of the Koch "team' contributed 200 million? Yes, I see what you mean. I guess the way you figure it the Koch boys sure have a lot less clout than the Unions?? Yes, curious indeed.
Oh, and great statistical math skills by the way. How's that old saw go? Figures never lie, only liars...figure?
DD
Manhattan
2
In my opinion, if you don't get out and vote, you are not truly a Democrat, you are just a lazy arm chair quarterback. Democrats care about people, about each other, and take action to secure those things they hold dear. If you can't take a few hours, even a day, every two years, to cast your vote, then you don't really care.
12
Actually, Americans for the most part, are about people. Your statement is divisive, and the reason this country is in trouble. No one can convince me that democrats are great and Republicans are bad, or vise versa
What labor? The non Union Kia workers making $15 an hour?
2
The related Facebook post of this story shows a photo of, maybe 10 people sitting in in hall, looking pretty sad and lonely. This brings me to the conclusion that I no longer trust the NYC for honest reporting. You just lost my subscription. And you lost me. What is your objective?
8
Labor's money is down and was always harder to gather than just jetting to Denver to talk to people worth a total $150 million at an enviro-spasm. As a result, the Democratic Party totally abandoned the workers and counts on the union leaders scaring the members to vote the right way.
With the Dems also hankering for totally open borders, the workers' ONLY hope for a stable and rising wage has become the Republican Party, just like in 1980. The workers that STILL work are also smarter than they were a decade or two ago.
With the Dems also hankering for totally open borders, the workers' ONLY hope for a stable and rising wage has become the Republican Party, just like in 1980. The workers that STILL work are also smarter than they were a decade or two ago.
5
Union member or not people should vote for someone with their interests in mind, for Wall Street and the war.machine their candidate that will deliver is Hillary, they know it, that's why they have paid her millions. Any Union that would back Hillary is clearly being led down the primrose path (usually for the benefit of the Union honchos, a very "you scratch my back I'll scratch yours hierarchy"), the last four decades should make it pretty clear that neither party has done anything for labor except steer their pension funds in questionable directions, usually loosing money and insuring a spot at a hedge fund and payoff for the pension fund mucky muck. Every thinking person of the working class knows that Bernie is the only one who for forty years has had their back, the only one who won't say one thing and then "pivot" at the first opportunity, his continued popularity( over eighty percent voted for him) in his Blue home state of Vermont should speak volumes, they know he keeps his word. The opposite can be said for Hillary she is a pure political animal whose only interest is increasing her own power and adding to her already considerable wealth gained from serving her masters at Goldman Sachs and their ilk. If you want more of the same, that would include the one percent and neo con Israeli supporters, Hillary's for you. If you want what's good for America and the remnants of the middle class vote for Bernie, he won't "pivot"(a nice way to say stab you in the back).
12
Well now, Larry Cohen speaks of the lack of enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton. Shouldn't we then pose the question as to why Mr. Sanders has not been able to motivate enough people to show up for him? 4 states our of how many that have voted? One takes away the super delegates and still he is behind.
3
Who supported NAFTA and now pushes TPP? Which candidates favor free flow immigration and legalizing millions of illegal scabs who have lowered wages, and pushed American workers out of trade jobs?
Those are the crucial issues not some political calculation about overpaid organizers 'getting out the vote'.
Those are the crucial issues not some political calculation about overpaid organizers 'getting out the vote'.
14
Blacks support Hillary because she has promised to protect Obama's image. His policies have been pro-illegal immigration.* They are choosing race-based loyalty over their own economic interests. If they were white and doing this, they'd be called "racists".
* No he hasn't increased deportations. He has simply expanded the definition of "deportation" to include border turn aways, in which every other Administration engaged but did not count as a "deportation."
* No he hasn't increased deportations. He has simply expanded the definition of "deportation" to include border turn aways, in which every other Administration engaged but did not count as a "deportation."
5
The problem is those who support the Republicans have bought into the big lie.
http://www.lawlessdecade.net/intro1.htm
http://www.lawlessdecade.net/intro1.htm
3
The playbook..........designed by Rove, enacted symbolically by St. Ronnie, and relentlessly pursued by the the GOP/think tank/PAC complex is as follows:
1) eviscerate and neutralize unions
2) deport Hispanics
3) incarcerate African-Americans
4) deny ex-offenders the vote
5) enact voting laws which exclude/marginalize rather than encourage voting
6) gerrymander
A perfect recipe for thwarting votes for Democrats. The agenda Americans really support as shown repeatedly in polls--gun control, higher minimum wage, higher taxes on the 1% i.e. has no chance. Obama notwithstanding, they are winning this war.
1) eviscerate and neutralize unions
2) deport Hispanics
3) incarcerate African-Americans
4) deny ex-offenders the vote
5) enact voting laws which exclude/marginalize rather than encourage voting
6) gerrymander
A perfect recipe for thwarting votes for Democrats. The agenda Americans really support as shown repeatedly in polls--gun control, higher minimum wage, higher taxes on the 1% i.e. has no chance. Obama notwithstanding, they are winning this war.
6
States cannot afford unions because their insatiable demands are making them go bankrupt. They extort money from their members and unions should not be political but they are they endorse. George Soros is funding the democrats so I am tired of hearing about only the Koch Brothers. Manufacturing jobs were not brought back despite what Biden and Obama promised. Its the same old story from politicians and that is why Trump and Sanders look attractive; they are not political clones.
7
Manufacturing Unions have withered with the decline of manufacturing caused by trade pacts with low wage countries (NAFTA - Clinton, TPP - Obama) and the replacement of organized worker in service industries such as construction, with immigrants, legal and illegal willing to work for less.
Former Union members in those fields will not deliver votes to Democrats whose very politics, of international treaties and unlimited immigration has destroyed their jobs.
Public Service Unions, which are really public lobbying groups to the politicians that set their wages, however, can be counted on to deliver votes to Democrats.
Former Union members in those fields will not deliver votes to Democrats whose very politics, of international treaties and unlimited immigration has destroyed their jobs.
Public Service Unions, which are really public lobbying groups to the politicians that set their wages, however, can be counted on to deliver votes to Democrats.
4
It's less obvious but just as we're seeing the disintegration of the Republican Party, we're also seeing the disintegration of the Democratic Party. Hillary doesn't really represent the poor or Latinos and they are ready for something else.
8
Down here in lower Cochise County, Arizona, we have a group of retirees,veterans who are disconnected from the government system on which we operate. They are all registered Democrats, but getting the 9,000 of them to vote is like herding cats. Because of these lazy Democrats we lost a Democrat Congressional seat in 2014 by a measly 167 votes. What were these people thinking? They weren't. They have disengaged themselves from politics since they are too busy shopping, watching TV and consuming mountains of food and booze. They forget that the Democrats under Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson gave them the Social Security and Medicare that many of them survive on. Disgusting.
"They have the money, we have the people."
A half truth, at best.
In Wisconsin, for example, before Walker, the Unions could effectively neutralize the Brothers Koch and their cohorts. Not any more. In fact, the unions have lost 4 out of ten members to the blandishments of the anti-union forces. The consoling thought is that these rats who scurried away from the torpedoed ship would have voted Republican even if they had remained in the unions.
Antonin Scalia did not eviscerate democracy by accident. He knew then what the rest of us have seen hence, that the unions are never going to undo what the super-rich are constantly doing to prop up the forces of reaction.
RIP American democracy.
A half truth, at best.
In Wisconsin, for example, before Walker, the Unions could effectively neutralize the Brothers Koch and their cohorts. Not any more. In fact, the unions have lost 4 out of ten members to the blandishments of the anti-union forces. The consoling thought is that these rats who scurried away from the torpedoed ship would have voted Republican even if they had remained in the unions.
Antonin Scalia did not eviscerate democracy by accident. He knew then what the rest of us have seen hence, that the unions are never going to undo what the super-rich are constantly doing to prop up the forces of reaction.
RIP American democracy.
3
As a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, I can tell you that the leadership is too out of touch with the rank and file to deliver anything. I don't know a single brother or sister in the union who doesn't support Bernie Sanders. Not one. Mrs. Clinton's support for NAFTA and other anti-labor trade agreements, her board membership at Walmart (one of the most anti-labor companies in the world) and her close connection to the biggest Wall Street banks make her completely unacceptable to woking women and men. Yet our leadership, without polling the membership, endorsed her. Organized labor, like The New York Times (whose support for Mrs. Clinton has blinded them to the fact that she's only won primaries in red states and to the fact that her nomination is far from certain), has made itself irrelevant.
16
Had union leaders done what was good for both the company and the workers they would not be in the position they are in now. We needed unions and will need them again. Hopefully by then the leaders of the unions will realize that the corruption hurts the rank and file.
6
One of the reasons that labor unions have fewer members today -- beyond the fact that the traditional union strength is in heavy manufacturing, and America makes fewer big products today – has been the failure of labor leaders to deliver the votes of their rank-and-file members. That disconnect has made it tougher to elect statehouse Democrats to fight against tough right-to-work laws and against other anti-labor measures.
The slippage in unions’ having an ability to turn out the vote began when workers quietly went to the polls and voted their prejudices – anti-minority, anti-immigrant, anti-intellectual and anti-government – in response to Republican pseudo-populists. Reagan Democrats were the precursors to Trump Democrats, who now even have the temerity to be registered Republicans.
The best Hillary Clinton can hope for in the general election is the old expertise of labor leaders at the mechanics of a ground game in November. A significant number of workers, even approaching a majority, will succumb to the simplistic, nativist siren call of Donald Trump.
The slippage in unions’ having an ability to turn out the vote began when workers quietly went to the polls and voted their prejudices – anti-minority, anti-immigrant, anti-intellectual and anti-government – in response to Republican pseudo-populists. Reagan Democrats were the precursors to Trump Democrats, who now even have the temerity to be registered Republicans.
The best Hillary Clinton can hope for in the general election is the old expertise of labor leaders at the mechanics of a ground game in November. A significant number of workers, even approaching a majority, will succumb to the simplistic, nativist siren call of Donald Trump.
1
The leadership of SEIU endorsed Hillary Clinton without so much as a moment of discussion and debate among it's rank and file. I know several members of that union, some union workers actually, who feel a very strong attraction to the Sanders campaign. They will keep their feelings to themselves and do what they have been told by their leaders at least until they step into a voting booth. Maybe, the top down, anti-democratic culture that pervades some unions is a tiny factor in the general decline of organized labor in the US.
18
Talk about a "War on Voters". This appears highly coercive. Democrats are such hypocrites.
3
Americans rejected unions as a vestige of an earlier age. Images of dirty coal miners, factory workers, child laborers are seen as quaint and from a past left behind long ago as we've become more enlightened.
Yes Americans rejected unions and have been methodically and steadily betrayed for their decision.
It's about agency and leverage. American workers unwisely sacrificed both and their security , wages and standard of living have plummeted predictably and precipitously.
It's remarkably simple.
If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.
Yes Americans rejected unions and have been methodically and steadily betrayed for their decision.
It's about agency and leverage. American workers unwisely sacrificed both and their security , wages and standard of living have plummeted predictably and precipitously.
It's remarkably simple.
If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.
6
"Not so easy" is a realist assessment of the crossroads at which labor in America now stands. The task is not just delivering Senator Sander's supporters to the Cliinton side, but how to stop labor members from going over to the Trump side in spite of his smash politics and an inarticulated public policy. For that matter, thus far in the primary process, fewer Democates are turning out than in the last primary.
This fact is even more egregious to Clinton when you subtract Senator Sander's supporters who are not bound by traditional party loyalties.
For labor in America, it is not just traditional politics, but what will l labor's role be in the emergent "Forth Industrial Revolution" which is now racing down the assembly line?
This fact is even more egregious to Clinton when you subtract Senator Sander's supporters who are not bound by traditional party loyalties.
For labor in America, it is not just traditional politics, but what will l labor's role be in the emergent "Forth Industrial Revolution" which is now racing down the assembly line?
1
"Public" unions like the SEIU are a symptom of what has gone wrong in America. They will completely destroy this country if they are not stopped. They don't want or fight for "quality care and good jobs for all" as their signs read. They fight for "quality care and good jobs" for their own greedy little self interests, blackmailing the elected politicians, promising to knock them out of office if they fail to kowtow to the union.
Term limits are part of the answer. Entrenched career politicians are the most beholding to special interests like the government unions.
Term limits are part of the answer. Entrenched career politicians are the most beholding to special interests like the government unions.
4
Perhaps we should bring back child labor and sanction sweat shops, and pay people fifty cents an hour - just like the good ole days.
1
So why do unions have less members and less money? Well, the Republicans have been waging war on organized labor since Reagan, and the Democrats have largely abandoned labor in favor of the PAC and lobbyist money (they no labor has no alternative, so they just take the labor vote for granted). Plus we have a large segment of the public, raised on FOX and Limbaugh, who would rather spend their time preventing anyone from getting a descent living wage or a pension, rather than getting these benefits for themselves. And the NYT (and unions as foolish as Kansas Republicans) promotes Hillary, whose election would guarantee that the status quo, and continuing decline of labor power, will continue. Go Bernie. Or we will get Trump.
8
When people are allowed a choice to contribute union dues or not, many have chosen to opt out. If unions were so wonderful, their membership would be growing, not shrinking. No, peterowl, many of the unions have outlived their usefulness.
5
Unions are voted in by the majority in a given workforce. When you accept a job in a union shop , you know this and you'll be represented and protected from being an "at will" employee as part of your membership.
You'll have rights ( and responsibilities) made possible through collective bargaining , you'll have access to labor attorneys. Bargaining and administration costs money and dues ensure that the members have the proper support.
Union workers are paid more and receive better benefits than non union workers who, no matter how wonderful and deserving they may be, don't have the leverage and collective strength union members enjoy.
Right to Work isnt about empowering individual workers . It's about union busting and driving wages down .
Once you allow people to opt out of dues in a democratically elected union shop,you destroy any leverage and bargaining power needed to best represent the workers interests and we're all the poorer for it.
You'll have rights ( and responsibilities) made possible through collective bargaining , you'll have access to labor attorneys. Bargaining and administration costs money and dues ensure that the members have the proper support.
Union workers are paid more and receive better benefits than non union workers who, no matter how wonderful and deserving they may be, don't have the leverage and collective strength union members enjoy.
Right to Work isnt about empowering individual workers . It's about union busting and driving wages down .
Once you allow people to opt out of dues in a democratically elected union shop,you destroy any leverage and bargaining power needed to best represent the workers interests and we're all the poorer for it.
1
It would appear unions may no longer have absolute control of how their members vote and are getting nervous. In today's society, members probably will not be bullied and intimidated into voting as union bosses want. The left is experiencing an upheaval of it's base.
8
Always wondered why the unions had to bully and even attempt to control the voters. Their rank and file. If what they wanted was good for the people they shouldn't have had to do that.
4
We have already crossed the point where wage stagnation and working conditions have become a leading political issue, once again. The last time this happened was when modern unions were first born, from the late 1800's through the early 1900s. Technology, globalization, job virtualization and outsourcing have all conspired to drive a fresh wedge between CEOs and the 21st century workforce. Non-stop reorganization, downsizing and the 7x24 demands of the connected corporation have pushed workers to their collective edge. Minimum wages remain stuck near relative historic lows. Middle managers have even grown far less loyal to the executive suite than in the past, for the executive suite has been far less loyal to them. Benefits have been reduced, while non-union employees are often subjected to scheduling nightmares and pressured into working unpaid overtime. The rebirth of unions (or something like them) is growing more inevitable with each election cycle. Sanders and Trump are both, in their own way symbolic of massive worker unrest. Even those voters who aren't formally in a union, now sympathize far more with union issues. The rebirth of union power may only be a lagging indicator of economic discontent. Millennials may have a surprising new perspective on both labor and politics. Politicians and CEOs are both just beginning to find that out.
3
One of the assumptions running through this article is that the Democratic party actively supports unions. They don't.
Two and a half decades of democratic party support for job-killing trade pacts has taken a heavy toll on workers and unions. In 2009, when they held both chambers of congress, Democrats refused to bring the Employee Free Choice act to a vote. Labor was the force behind Walker's recall election in 2012, but Obama was too busy to come support them - instead he went to Madison a few months after the recall failed to campaign for re-election.
But the Democrats love to take the union's campaign donations, and out-of-touch union bosses like Mary Kay Henry of SEIU love to hobnob with Washington's elite, so workers hard earned union dues will continue to flow into the party that has lifted a finger on behalf of labor for decades. The previous SEIU president retired from the union with a $250K/yr pension and then accepted a lucrative position lobbying for big pharma.
We have one party that openly disdains labor, and the other party merely pays lip service to unions while graciously accepting their money.
Two and a half decades of democratic party support for job-killing trade pacts has taken a heavy toll on workers and unions. In 2009, when they held both chambers of congress, Democrats refused to bring the Employee Free Choice act to a vote. Labor was the force behind Walker's recall election in 2012, but Obama was too busy to come support them - instead he went to Madison a few months after the recall failed to campaign for re-election.
But the Democrats love to take the union's campaign donations, and out-of-touch union bosses like Mary Kay Henry of SEIU love to hobnob with Washington's elite, so workers hard earned union dues will continue to flow into the party that has lifted a finger on behalf of labor for decades. The previous SEIU president retired from the union with a $250K/yr pension and then accepted a lucrative position lobbying for big pharma.
We have one party that openly disdains labor, and the other party merely pays lip service to unions while graciously accepting their money.
14
Clinton and Unions share a common trait - contempt for their supporters.
She is in this for her own glorification and enrichment. She will say or do anything to make that happen. Unions are supporting her because they expect a very large quid pro quo if she is elected. They need it, because without federal protection and intervention, the union movement as it is presently done in the US is dead. That is why unions have not consulted their members, prior to their endorsement of Clinton, because their survival is at stake and because they could care less what their members think.
She is in this for her own glorification and enrichment. She will say or do anything to make that happen. Unions are supporting her because they expect a very large quid pro quo if she is elected. They need it, because without federal protection and intervention, the union movement as it is presently done in the US is dead. That is why unions have not consulted their members, prior to their endorsement of Clinton, because their survival is at stake and because they could care less what their members think.
8
Unions are helpful not just to working class people. All European and most developed Asuan countries have unions of professionals: doctors, senior university faculty, engineers. I know from first- hand experience how important these unions are to their members. However, unions should reflect the political convictions of the majority of their constituents. What if an engineers Union decided to support a libertarian candidate? The Democrats should not regard unions as being automatically on ther side.
4
Historically, it was easy for labor to identify their antagonist: look out the window at the boss's big house up in the hill. They pushed and pulled till an acceptable equilibrium was reached. Now, "the boss" is corporate money in general, and, thanks to Citizens United, anonymous until it surfaces with the likes of Scott Walker and Ted Cruz after being politically laundered. It is much harder to connect the dots for the individual, unionized or not, and the latter is now much more easily manipulated by the oligarchy with vague calls against "too much government" and for an insidious, deceptive libertarian vulnerability. Or a real favorite, 2nd amendment paranoia, heightened by Heller v DC. that makes it easy for veiled corporate interests to direct any and all anti-governmental anger against things like climate initiatives anathema to the likes of Big Carbon. (Take note that both cases were Scalia's signature accomplishments.)
If and when the working class, and ever more the middle class connect the dots between such books as "What's the Matter With Kansas?" and "Dark Money," labor will regain the clout it once had.
If and when the working class, and ever more the middle class connect the dots between such books as "What's the Matter With Kansas?" and "Dark Money," labor will regain the clout it once had.
1
When you look at the causes for the income inequality gap, one of the first places you should go is to the loss of membership in unions and the resulting loss of leverage of the American worker when it comes to their salary negotiations. However, more basic to the problem is the loss of our manufacturing base and the rise of a white collar economy where basically workers have no unions to represent them. Capitalists now have a stranglehold on this economy and they show no sign in relenting in the never ending pursuit to increase their equity. People like the Koch brothers are in the catbird seat and they will continue to apply the lash to the workers back and will use their fortune to challenge and weaken the union at every turn. Add to that the absolutely ignorant hatred of unions in the South and other rural areas of the country and you realize the baby is being thrown out with the bathwater.
4
The title "Labor" is no longer significant, in reference to unionized workers. The goals of certain portions of organized labor, are far removed from the goals of other sectiors. There is very little common ground left in the labor movement. There is a vast chassam between skilled and non-skilled Union membership. My local, Steamfitters Local 638 NYC, has nothing in common with the city, county, and state employees unions. Building trades unions nation wide have been abused for way too long by our " friends" in Washington. While I personally, am totally amblivient towards the Keystone Pipeline, Mr. Obama dangled that carrot in front of the Building Trades for 7 years, all the while filling the campaign coffers of his fellow Democrats with heavy contributions from Building Trades Unions. So, while Hillary and Bernnie, want to give everybody everything, this is one Union member that thinks Mr. Trump is looking mighty presidential.
The days of the unions" getting out the vote" is over, or radically changed.
Tom Franzson. Brevard NC
The days of the unions" getting out the vote" is over, or radically changed.
Tom Franzson. Brevard NC
4
Mr. Greenhouse forget to mention that while Governor Scott Walker defeated the union movement in Wisconsin, the union movement defeated Governor John Kasich. I voted against his ballot initiative to take away collective bargaining rights for union members employed in state government as a majority of my fellow Buckeyes. And the northeastern zone of Ohio remains very much liberal and pro-union which includes the Greater Celeveland Metro Area..
1
Amen, George Hoffman. Frankly, John Kasich's connection to Ohio only began when he moved from the Pittsburgh area to attend Ohio State. Listen to him talk, and you can tell he's from Western Pennsylvania. Kasich has been in politics, one way or another, since he arrived in Columbus. He has nothing in common with or interest in Northeastern Ohio.
Governor Kasich will do all right among Republicans, but the Democratic vote in the Cleveland-Akron area would be strongly against him in the general election. He won the governor's race against a lackluster incumbent who was an indifferent campaigner. Kasich won re-election against a young candidate embroiled in a sex scandal.
Governor Kasich will do all right among Republicans, but the Democratic vote in the Cleveland-Akron area would be strongly against him in the general election. He won the governor's race against a lackluster incumbent who was an indifferent campaigner. Kasich won re-election against a young candidate embroiled in a sex scandal.
Labor will do its level best to turn out the vote for Hillary in the Fall. Obviously, their impact is not as potent as it once was. Republicans have managed to convince a lot of gullible workers that Unions were good once but, but now are obsolete. If you believe that hogwash you probably vote Republican anyway. You're lost.
Union were and continue to be good for workers, from the professional class to the Unskilled. Corruption occurs. It does so in all fields, and Unions aren't exempt. But any worker who believes they're better off without Union representation is delusional. Workers who slave away for below a living wage are at the mercy of their employer. They have no bargaining power because they have nothing to bargain with.
Listening to comments about the Clinton's connection to the Unions, and worrying about their dues going to Democrats need to have their heads examined. Supporting Hillary or Sanders is infinitesimally a better choice for Union members, irregardless of how one feels about other issues which have little import to their jobs.
There isn't one Republican candidate who is a friend of Labor, Union or not. They are concerned with corporation's profit margin. The greater the margin the greater the redistribution of wealth, something hypocritical Republicans rail against, rises to the top.
Workers of the World Unite is an old saw from Eugene Debs days. It should apply with equal vigor today as it did yesterday.
DD
Manhattan
Union were and continue to be good for workers, from the professional class to the Unskilled. Corruption occurs. It does so in all fields, and Unions aren't exempt. But any worker who believes they're better off without Union representation is delusional. Workers who slave away for below a living wage are at the mercy of their employer. They have no bargaining power because they have nothing to bargain with.
Listening to comments about the Clinton's connection to the Unions, and worrying about their dues going to Democrats need to have their heads examined. Supporting Hillary or Sanders is infinitesimally a better choice for Union members, irregardless of how one feels about other issues which have little import to their jobs.
There isn't one Republican candidate who is a friend of Labor, Union or not. They are concerned with corporation's profit margin. The greater the margin the greater the redistribution of wealth, something hypocritical Republicans rail against, rises to the top.
Workers of the World Unite is an old saw from Eugene Debs days. It should apply with equal vigor today as it did yesterday.
DD
Manhattan
1
"Not so easy" is an understatement. Both labor and, yes, the Democratic Party is in trouble in this election. Not only does labor have to deliver membership to the Hillary side, but they need to prevent their membership from going to the Trump side.
This dual task is further exasperated when the number of Democratic primary voters has declined in this election. Most Senator Sanders supporters will not support Hillary. Overwhelmingly their loyalities are to him and not to the Democrates.
And labor has an even more complex task than this political task. What will be labor's role in the emergent, "Forth Industrial Revolution" which is now racing down the assembly line?
This dual task is further exasperated when the number of Democratic primary voters has declined in this election. Most Senator Sanders supporters will not support Hillary. Overwhelmingly their loyalities are to him and not to the Democrates.
And labor has an even more complex task than this political task. What will be labor's role in the emergent, "Forth Industrial Revolution" which is now racing down the assembly line?
1
All one has to do is look at the hard hats out at work today. So many such hats carry Trump stickers. Does anyone really believe that very many union men will identify with Hillary Clinton? Defections to Trump will be not be leaving the Democratic party as much as it will be gravitating to Trump as an individual. Trump spend almost no time emphasizing his Republican ties. Trump's inelegant use of the language fits many hard hats perfectly. He speaks their language. And check how many pickup trucks now carry Trump bumper stickers. Clinton needs to panic.
6
I disagree with Mr. Cohen's statement that "If Bernie is the candidate, then very few union members will back Trump." The Sanders campaign is dependent upon the younger generation for most of his campaign contributions. The campaign is also one of the largest users of Uber, which is anti union, anti workers rights and benefits, and anti consumer with price gouging and not serving disabled citizens. Not to mention they already break local laws all across the country. Why would a union member support Sanders to a larger extent than Clinton, when Sanders will have vast incentive not to regulate Tech companies like Uber to not alienate his voter and donor base. Tech will play a much larger role in reshaping and possibly reducing the middle class than the much more regulated financial services industry will.
In the early '50s I worked at a production job at United Airlines maintenance base in South San Francisco, great pay and benefits from the Machinist's Union. In the '60s I parked cars in several garages in San Francisco with the Teamsters Union and made more money than most of my friends who worked at career office jobs. In the '80s and '90s I worked production part-time at a weekly newspaper in New York, got full medical and sick-pay through to an adjunct of the United Auto Workers. Unions have been good to me and I always voted Democratic. It is sad to me that most of the well-paying, low-skilled Union Jobs have disappeared offshore and through automation; I'm afraid that world may be gone forever.
10
Why should a job that requires a low skill level (parking cars?) be well paying?
3
you want a guy getting paid minimum wage parking your $ 60,000 lexus ?
2
Why should any job, whatever the skill level, not pay enough to make rent and buy groceries?
3
The misconceptions about labor unions are fantastic. Big salaries and big perks? That relates more to a Mitt Romney and the fat cat CEO's who fly around in private jets. Labor leaders have been fighting for its rank file to have an increase in wages and health benefits since the republican saint, ronald reagan placed a direct assault on them. Much like the "strapping bucks on welfare" and the "welfare queens in cadillacs", the assault and innuendo has taken a severe toll on the working class. How many labor leaders are flying around in their corporate, private jets? None. Does anyone not like a 40 hour work week for living wages? Thank the unions. If the private sector unions hadn't been disemboweled by the right wing "free traders", there would be no discussion about raising the minimum wage above the poverty line. The head of a large international union recently endorsed Clinton.The next week he had over 10,000 signatures demanding a retraction of the endorsement. It wasn't retracted, but the fight is on. One word epitomizes the Clinton campaign - NAFTA. The rank and file smells a "bait and switch" with Clinton. Our local union of which I am a member refused to accept the endorsement of Clinton. Union made American goods are by far the best product available. Buying union made American goods kept the working class above the poverty level, brought the American dream to fruition, and kept dangerous chinese junk goods out of our markets. Clinton is not to be trusted.
9
Labor unions make their money by taking it out of workers' pockets, often by the coercion of the closed shop. Rarely do workers truly direct the union leadership democratically.
Public sector unions pose an even greater problem, as they "bargain" not with employees and their taxpayer employers, but with another class of public employees whose interests seldom align with those whom they serve.
Public sector unions pose an even greater problem, as they "bargain" not with employees and their taxpayer employers, but with another class of public employees whose interests seldom align with those whom they serve.
9
One key point that the article misses is that labor's relative, as opposed to absolute strength, may not have declined all that much. Yes labor is numerically much smaller than when JFK ran but so are a whole host of other institutions with whom Americans once identified...off the top of my head I would guess probably 30-35% of the population was Catholics who were in the pews every week when JFK ran...now I would be surprised if that is even 15% of the population.
In close, statewide elections in the blueish/purple states of the midwest and mid Atlantic, I would not be so quick to diminsh its power especially in a Presidential year. Just look at Pennsylvania, even Al Gore and John Kerry were able to come out of the City of Philadelphia with margins over 400,000 votes (Obama flirted with 500,000 in 2012). I attribute that huge turnout to the union ground game, particularly the public sector unions. 400,000 votes is a lot to make 3,000 and 4,000 votes at a time in the thinly populated GOP counties in the center of the state!
In close, statewide elections in the blueish/purple states of the midwest and mid Atlantic, I would not be so quick to diminsh its power especially in a Presidential year. Just look at Pennsylvania, even Al Gore and John Kerry were able to come out of the City of Philadelphia with margins over 400,000 votes (Obama flirted with 500,000 in 2012). I attribute that huge turnout to the union ground game, particularly the public sector unions. 400,000 votes is a lot to make 3,000 and 4,000 votes at a time in the thinly populated GOP counties in the center of the state!
At some point working class voters will come to realize that "Americans for Prosperity" does not represent their prosperity but that of only their employer.
The loss of union influence for the working class is part of what has depressed wages for all workers whether union or not.
The loss of union influence for the working class is part of what has depressed wages for all workers whether union or not.
10
The photos are misleading giving the impression no one is showing up for Sanders. Rank and file union members are for Sanders not Clinton. But the bosses are for Clinton, the corporate insider, just as they are the corporate insiders.
8
Unfortunately, big labor, with their big salaries and perks, is analogous to our political and big biz establishment, which our rank and file voters are finally rebelling against. Until now, those we've elected haven't done much for the rest of us.
All we've been given has been increasing inequality. Our politicos are primarily concerned with their own perks and becoming or maintaining their millionaire status while in, and after being in Congress. The last fifty years have proven that there is no such thing as trickle-down economics. It is a big biz myth.
DNC Chairman, Wasserman-Schultz has allowed the DNC to favor Clinton over Sanders. And the Friedrich union Supreme Court case is scheduled to be argued with a 4-4 split, due to Scalia's death.
Notwithstanding that, nothing is as bad, as what will happen if the candidates backed by the Koch Bros PACs and political establishment win. It will be the death knell. not only the unions, but also for all of us, and our children. This will be the most important election in our lifetime. It is time to vote for what is in our best interests, and that of our children.
All we've been given has been increasing inequality. Our politicos are primarily concerned with their own perks and becoming or maintaining their millionaire status while in, and after being in Congress. The last fifty years have proven that there is no such thing as trickle-down economics. It is a big biz myth.
DNC Chairman, Wasserman-Schultz has allowed the DNC to favor Clinton over Sanders. And the Friedrich union Supreme Court case is scheduled to be argued with a 4-4 split, due to Scalia's death.
Notwithstanding that, nothing is as bad, as what will happen if the candidates backed by the Koch Bros PACs and political establishment win. It will be the death knell. not only the unions, but also for all of us, and our children. This will be the most important election in our lifetime. It is time to vote for what is in our best interests, and that of our children.
30
As a former member of industrial union I must oppose the indiscriminate use by Mr. Greenhouse of the name Union for two very different kind of organizations
The Union shown in the photo heading the article, 1199 SEIU, is Public Employee Union. A Public Union is a very different beast from a traditional, industrial, Union,
A Public Unison negotiates salaries and benefits with politicians that Unions helped to elected. The he interest of a Public Union is to support politicians that promise the most benefits in return for votes and campaign contributions.
That is, the can and frequently do elect their own boss.
And the most common way for politicians to deliver the good is to hand out unsustainable pension benefits that are due after they leave office. Thus they are not responsible for the outcome , but can hand the problem to the next office holder. A chain of one hand washing the other with no accountability that let to the bankruptcy of Detroit.
A regular Labor Union, on the other hand is an organization of workers negotiating their salaries and benefits with a factory owners. An industrial Union has zero influence on the selection of its negotiation partner. That sets up and adversary system that balances the interest of labor and capital and thus plays a constructive role in the economy.
The Union shown in the photo heading the article, 1199 SEIU, is Public Employee Union. A Public Union is a very different beast from a traditional, industrial, Union,
A Public Unison negotiates salaries and benefits with politicians that Unions helped to elected. The he interest of a Public Union is to support politicians that promise the most benefits in return for votes and campaign contributions.
That is, the can and frequently do elect their own boss.
And the most common way for politicians to deliver the good is to hand out unsustainable pension benefits that are due after they leave office. Thus they are not responsible for the outcome , but can hand the problem to the next office holder. A chain of one hand washing the other with no accountability that let to the bankruptcy of Detroit.
A regular Labor Union, on the other hand is an organization of workers negotiating their salaries and benefits with a factory owners. An industrial Union has zero influence on the selection of its negotiation partner. That sets up and adversary system that balances the interest of labor and capital and thus plays a constructive role in the economy.
43
Thanks for throwing your fellow Public Union brothers and sisters under the bus. I personally work for a Public Union in NYC that has not had a contract for the past five years, that has seen its right to organize persistently diminished by the state and city government. We have not received a raise in 6 years, yet our work time has increased every single year.
As the example of Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, Illinois, and many other states demonstrate, most of us Public Union employees are locked in increasingly strident struggles with "management" over every single aspect of our existence. We are fighting, every day, for the ability to live, pay our rent, feed our children, pay our bills, as budgets are slashed across the United States.
We are also "organizations of workers negotiating [our] salaries and benefits with a factory owner." In our case, however, the "factory owner" is the state, which increasingly seeks to lengthen our hours, slash our pay, deny our rights to organize, break our unions, and replace us with non-unionized, cheaper labor. We work for wages. We provide vital services that keep your society functioning. And we demand respect and recognition as labor.
And the state is constituted, fundamentally, by the owners of capital. Which means we, as laborers of the state, are also in an adversarial relation.
It is a sad day when union members make their own case for recognition by denying the labor of others. Solidarity forever is still the only way forward.
As the example of Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, Illinois, and many other states demonstrate, most of us Public Union employees are locked in increasingly strident struggles with "management" over every single aspect of our existence. We are fighting, every day, for the ability to live, pay our rent, feed our children, pay our bills, as budgets are slashed across the United States.
We are also "organizations of workers negotiating [our] salaries and benefits with a factory owner." In our case, however, the "factory owner" is the state, which increasingly seeks to lengthen our hours, slash our pay, deny our rights to organize, break our unions, and replace us with non-unionized, cheaper labor. We work for wages. We provide vital services that keep your society functioning. And we demand respect and recognition as labor.
And the state is constituted, fundamentally, by the owners of capital. Which means we, as laborers of the state, are also in an adversarial relation.
It is a sad day when union members make their own case for recognition by denying the labor of others. Solidarity forever is still the only way forward.
Excellent. Well put. That distinction is rarely made, nor are solutions other to smash the public union put forward. Everyone should have the right to unionize, but we need reformed ground rules for public unions, not their elimination. And please note, in my post above/below? my point that the private, corporate power is now spread widely, and thanks to Citizens United, anonymous...also out of whack.
3
Your points are spot on but many fail to differentiate public unions and private sector unions. More unions in the private sector are needed and the unions in the public sector often have far to much power. As an example Wisconsin, I am no fan of Scott Walker but Wisconsin workers had collective bargaining over wages and benefits. This does not work. Some Wisconsin workers were paying nothing towards their pension or healthcare. This is crazy. In my state Connecticut, state workers have had collective bargaining for wages since 1979. Connecticut is currently broke. Two large tax increase in the past three years can't stop the red ink. State employees have it very good. Unfunded pension and healthcare benefits can never be paid. Our Democratic Gov. finally gets it and just told the University of Conn. that a 5 year contract that was negotiated with raises of 3 percent and 4.5 percent for the last four years is not acceptable. In Connecticut, the tied has turned. People seeing state workers pad pensions with OT are finally getting it.
3
The neoliberal-progressive rift we see within the Democratic party exists between union leadership and its rank and file, except for less than a handful of professional unions (like the engineers') whose members and leaders are more aligned with the neoliberal wing.
Many of the larger unions endorsed Hillary Clinton against the wishes of their memberships, and without taking it to a vote. This prompted many groups to start petitions in protest of the endorsements. This behavior mirrors the way the DNC has treated this primary, so far, doing absolutely everything it can to schedule debates and events when the fewest people will watch or attend. This hasn't stopped Sanders' momentum in blue collar/progressive circles, but it has dampened his exposure in the Deep South, especially.
We are about to have primaries in traditionally blue collar states and I expect Sanders to do well there. Those are also union states. We will see how much sway union leadership has over its rank and file. I suspect, it will be limited.
Clinton, in her speeches, speaks directly to the middle class and not the working class. Sanders speaks to the working and middle class. He also speaks to a new (under) class of Americans called the precariat. There are different kinds of precariat - all professionals, all highly educated, all barely subsisting. That explains Sanders' appeal to a battered former middle class.
---
What is the Precariat? http://www.rimaregas.com/?s=precariat
Many of the larger unions endorsed Hillary Clinton against the wishes of their memberships, and without taking it to a vote. This prompted many groups to start petitions in protest of the endorsements. This behavior mirrors the way the DNC has treated this primary, so far, doing absolutely everything it can to schedule debates and events when the fewest people will watch or attend. This hasn't stopped Sanders' momentum in blue collar/progressive circles, but it has dampened his exposure in the Deep South, especially.
We are about to have primaries in traditionally blue collar states and I expect Sanders to do well there. Those are also union states. We will see how much sway union leadership has over its rank and file. I suspect, it will be limited.
Clinton, in her speeches, speaks directly to the middle class and not the working class. Sanders speaks to the working and middle class. He also speaks to a new (under) class of Americans called the precariat. There are different kinds of precariat - all professionals, all highly educated, all barely subsisting. That explains Sanders' appeal to a battered former middle class.
---
What is the Precariat? http://www.rimaregas.com/?s=precariat
63
I need help fast, please. When things do not add up my world goes berserk.
Here's my problem. I have friends in a couple of European countries and I have seen how they live and work and eventually retire and fade away. When they are alive, they enjoy much better health and education benefits, vacations and working conditions in general than American workers. These countries are nowhere near as wealthy and powerful as we are. Yet all I hear is that we cannot afford even the most basic heath and educational opportunities and our meager social security checks.
???
Here's my problem. I have friends in a couple of European countries and I have seen how they live and work and eventually retire and fade away. When they are alive, they enjoy much better health and education benefits, vacations and working conditions in general than American workers. These countries are nowhere near as wealthy and powerful as we are. Yet all I hear is that we cannot afford even the most basic heath and educational opportunities and our meager social security checks.
???
1
Precariat is a new name for the class well known to classic Marxist theory as the intellectual proletariat. Members of this class and educated middle class professionals were persuaded by leaders of the Russian Revolution to throw in their lot with the working class. How well did it work out for them? I'm middle class and Sanders most definitely doesn't speak for me. Let him try to convince Trump voters if he can.
Those who observed the Clintons in the mid-1990's saw that Hillary was just as mindless as Bernie's promises are today. She, like Nixon, spent time healing political wounds talking to the big money people but I am sure she will pile up the debt as treasonously (his term) as Mr. Obama warned in 2007.
1
Candidates need to get their heads out of the sand! The union constituency is with the populist candidates this election and the American People are disenchanted (and disgusted) with the options being forced down their throats by both Parties... West Virginia (where we live part time) is lining up behind Bernie Sanders. The memory is deep there of when families joined the Union and aligned as socialists to fight the corruption of the company bosses. My people were coal miners and we remember...
69
Sadly, you are fighting the wrong enemy. The market grinds on, and coal will inevitably phase out. Hard to engage that battle.
We have wind turbines here that now feed the power grid and line the mountain ridges surrounding the coal plant and coal mines. An arts center occupies the old coal company headquarters in our town. We are not clinging to the past (despite the media narrative)... Bernie offers a vision of the future that makes sense out here. The biggest issues for folks are health care, jobs, and education. A lot of the jobs are govt provided already (big public works projects), so pundits screaming about the evils of "socialism" won't get much traction on that. All I'm saying is that people remember when it meant something different than the Cold War branding of the late 20th century.
1
SEIOU Only they would have a local 1199 translating into "Officer Down." It's hierarchy live the symbiotic thug life with democrat politicians.
http://camajorityreport.com/barack-obama-endorsed-by-california-seiu-mov...
http://camajorityreport.com/barack-obama-endorsed-by-california-seiu-mov...
8
i am a Dentist practicing in the NYC area.
the 1099 plan is the WORST of all the terrible union plans.
the lowest payment for treatment, resulting in poor union members
having to go to unsafe clinics to get their treatment, while the uppity ups of
the union live the high life.
the rank and file union members are FORCED to go to Dentists, who on
entering the treatment room, say..........." how you go? "
the 1099 plan is the WORST of all the terrible union plans.
the lowest payment for treatment, resulting in poor union members
having to go to unsafe clinics to get their treatment, while the uppity ups of
the union live the high life.
the rank and file union members are FORCED to go to Dentists, who on
entering the treatment room, say..........." how you go? "
2
This is a very good analysis of the situation for unions. I'm retired UAW, and darned happy with the benefits I have in retirement versus the benefits that most of the non-union people I know don't have. I was very fortunate to have worked in a unionized industry. It worries me that so many young people are having to work in low-paying jobs, and it's a shame they are from a generation that has been convinced that unions and collective bargaining is a bad thing. I suppose they have the choice of accepting their lot in life or doing something about it; certainly they hope that education and hard work will put them in the middle class. I hope so too, but I think they're going to need a boost, some sort of advocacy, to get there, because in the never-ending corporate race to higher productivity with lower wages and employment, they are Lucy in the Candy Shop, a term most of them won't understand today.
Smart leaders of unions are first and foremost going to have to get their members to the polls. That is game, set and match for union organizing and collective bargaining. Their members are going to have to vote for union-friendly initiatives that will roll back right-to-work. Unions need card check to balance against corporate interference in union organizing. Donald Trump talks trade policies and tariffs, but in the final analysis his initiatives favor low-wage right-to-work states. Union leadership needs to clearly explain what is at stake with SCOTUS.
Smart leaders of unions are first and foremost going to have to get their members to the polls. That is game, set and match for union organizing and collective bargaining. Their members are going to have to vote for union-friendly initiatives that will roll back right-to-work. Unions need card check to balance against corporate interference in union organizing. Donald Trump talks trade policies and tariffs, but in the final analysis his initiatives favor low-wage right-to-work states. Union leadership needs to clearly explain what is at stake with SCOTUS.
50
Unfortunately, the generous benefits you now enjoy in retirement were far too generous for companies to pay out now. A pyramid scheme that went bankrupt after one or two generations. Stinks for the rest of us..
4
Remember, Hillary was Bill Clinton's closest adviser and she isn't truly liberal, either socially or economically. As president Clinton:
--Passed Nafta.
--Lowered the capital gains (income from lounging around the pool) tax rate from 28% to 20%.
--Raised the estate tax exemption from $600,000 to $1 million.
--Passed the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (which repealed part of Glass-Steagall, the act that would have protected us from the economic meltdown!).
--Passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (which gave us those swell economy melting derivatives!).
--Passed the Small Business Job Protection Act (which partially led to the Enron scandal)
--Shredded the social safety net by implementing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (aka welfare reform).
Bill and Hillary Clinton are moderate Republicans. NOT pro-worker Democrats.
And remember, they were against gay marriage (before they were for it) long after everyone else accepted that it was time to allow gays to marry. And Bill passed Don't Ask/Don't Tell, which did far more damage to gays in the military, than helped them. Also, Hillary gave a speech where she talked about "bringing youthful offenders to heel"--a veiled, coded reference to young black men.
I don't get why the unions are backing Hillary. Unless? A lot of the union upper management have been promised administration jobs. Than I get it. Sigh...
--Passed Nafta.
--Lowered the capital gains (income from lounging around the pool) tax rate from 28% to 20%.
--Raised the estate tax exemption from $600,000 to $1 million.
--Passed the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (which repealed part of Glass-Steagall, the act that would have protected us from the economic meltdown!).
--Passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (which gave us those swell economy melting derivatives!).
--Passed the Small Business Job Protection Act (which partially led to the Enron scandal)
--Shredded the social safety net by implementing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (aka welfare reform).
Bill and Hillary Clinton are moderate Republicans. NOT pro-worker Democrats.
And remember, they were against gay marriage (before they were for it) long after everyone else accepted that it was time to allow gays to marry. And Bill passed Don't Ask/Don't Tell, which did far more damage to gays in the military, than helped them. Also, Hillary gave a speech where she talked about "bringing youthful offenders to heel"--a veiled, coded reference to young black men.
I don't get why the unions are backing Hillary. Unless? A lot of the union upper management have been promised administration jobs. Than I get it. Sigh...
3
Awfully tired of hearing about the poor sad unions and their decline. Big unions basically created the concept of PACS without even the most minimal regulation of how money was spent or how much went to things that actually benefit members. If people thought there was value in union membership there would be more members. Comparing poor, sad unions who are watching their membership decline to the Koch brothers is disingenuous - and I note that you forgot to mention Hillary's super PAC and money machine. I wonder what Randi Weingarten thinks she's getting for committing her union's dollars to HRC - a night in the Lincoln Bedroom? Somehow I think a little more will be involved than that.
12
nion bosses still turn out the rank and file by skimming membership dues to financially and without input do business with politicians. Politicians like Obama then turn out honest American taxpayers. In the end, it is labor that is turned out and not the voter.
2
Labor in Michigan may be fighting but it is about to run out of ammunition.
The labor leadership backing Hillary Clinton is a long way from Walter Reuther backing Jack Kennedy. Detroit was my hometown. My father was an autoworker at Fords. He was a member of UAW Local 600. As a young child, I remember two or three strikes. He picketed with the Flying Squad. Later in his life he changed. He lost his enthusiasm for the UAW. After he retired he became a Reagan Democrat. He refused to talk about the UAW and his reasons for supporting Reagan.
The trajectory of the UAW in Michigan has followed the decline of my father's union loyalty and has continued. Michigan is now a right-to-work state. I could never have predicted that result.
The UAW is no longer a force in Michigan politics.
The labor leadership backing Hillary Clinton is a long way from Walter Reuther backing Jack Kennedy. Detroit was my hometown. My father was an autoworker at Fords. He was a member of UAW Local 600. As a young child, I remember two or three strikes. He picketed with the Flying Squad. Later in his life he changed. He lost his enthusiasm for the UAW. After he retired he became a Reagan Democrat. He refused to talk about the UAW and his reasons for supporting Reagan.
The trajectory of the UAW in Michigan has followed the decline of my father's union loyalty and has continued. Michigan is now a right-to-work state. I could never have predicted that result.
The UAW is no longer a force in Michigan politics.
13
GOP governors in that area have targeted unions, yes?
"The UAW is no longer a force in Michigan politics."
It was enough of a force to get Obama to bail out GM and Chrysler (for a second time).
It was enough of a force to get Obama to bail out GM and Chrysler (for a second time).
2
Maybe it was the gigantic, ostentatious UAW headquarters building on Jefferson that turned his stomach. Built with membership fees when Detroit was reeling in debt and job lose pretty much ticked a lot of members off.
Trump appeals to private-sector union workers in manufacturing, mostly older men. These people can't stand Hillary, and understand enough about economics to be doubtful about Sanders. They are also dubious about high pay and fat pensions for government workers, which they will end up paying for.
The net result does not look very good for the Dems. They will sweep the government-worker vote, and pick up affluent professional women in the suburbs, but other than that it is up for grabs.
The net result does not look very good for the Dems. They will sweep the government-worker vote, and pick up affluent professional women in the suburbs, but other than that it is up for grabs.
12
If they knew more about Sanders they would support him. Single payer health care is far less expensive than for-profit health care which benefits, primarily, Big Insurance. Working people can no longer afford to send their children to college without their children incurring onerous high interest debt. Working people understand economics quite well. The profits go to the rich, not to the workers.
40
Health care and college education are both grossly overpriced compared to other goods.
The reason for this is straightforward. Through subsidies and tax deductions, the government has made it possible for these sectors to charge whatever they like, and it turns out that they like to charge high prices. Up until recently, people with health insurance didn't care what it cost, since their insurance was paying, and college students were willing to take out huge loans because they are callow teenagers who have no idea how much work it would take to pay them. Now everybody has wised up.
How to cut the amount we spend on college education and health care is an interesting question. I would not suppose for a minute that the medical and university establishment would willingly go along with drastic cuts in their revenues and incomes.
The reason for this is straightforward. Through subsidies and tax deductions, the government has made it possible for these sectors to charge whatever they like, and it turns out that they like to charge high prices. Up until recently, people with health insurance didn't care what it cost, since their insurance was paying, and college students were willing to take out huge loans because they are callow teenagers who have no idea how much work it would take to pay them. Now everybody has wised up.
How to cut the amount we spend on college education and health care is an interesting question. I would not suppose for a minute that the medical and university establishment would willingly go along with drastic cuts in their revenues and incomes.
11
We know enough about Sanders to know that he is an admitted Socialist. Why would any American support that? We know it doesn't work. That was proven when the Mayflower came over. Read your history and quit looking for a free ride.
5
Donald Trump has created more good union jobs than all the other candidates combined. The Keystone Pipeline will create thousands more construction jobs. The working man knows his friend and that is The Donald. Feel the Trump!
8
Actually, in New Jersey, a lot of hardworking builders lost their shirts on Trump projects. He paid them pennies on the dollar of what he originally agreed to pay, and when they complained, he said, "sue me then. I have better lawyers." Scratch the surface a little. Trump knows how to bully people with the threat of lawsuits. He doesn't believe in paying them even what he himself agreed to pay.
60
Donald Trump has created more good union jobs than all the other candidates combined.
this sounds like all th rest of th braggadocio that comes forth from Donalds gaping maw
id love to see a source on that, and then apologize to you if you are correct
though i doubt you are
this sounds like all th rest of th braggadocio that comes forth from Donalds gaping maw
id love to see a source on that, and then apologize to you if you are correct
though i doubt you are
11
Ray
Could you please read this article. Laboring under the notion a Keystone Pipeline will create thousands of construction jobs is an overblown fantasy and most construction work offered will be of a temporary nature... all this is about is a Canadian Energy conglomerate finding a fast cheap route to get their dirty oil to US owned refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. Much cheaper for them than building their own pipeline to the west coast and refineries on the Canadian coastline. And they don't have to do battle with Canadian activists and environmentalists to get a Canadian pipeline built. The big oil titans up north have our GOP and Neo-Dems lined up and selling this dubious project for them.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/energysource/2013/05/10/pipe-dreams-how-many...
Could you please read this article. Laboring under the notion a Keystone Pipeline will create thousands of construction jobs is an overblown fantasy and most construction work offered will be of a temporary nature... all this is about is a Canadian Energy conglomerate finding a fast cheap route to get their dirty oil to US owned refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. Much cheaper for them than building their own pipeline to the west coast and refineries on the Canadian coastline. And they don't have to do battle with Canadian activists and environmentalists to get a Canadian pipeline built. The big oil titans up north have our GOP and Neo-Dems lined up and selling this dubious project for them.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/energysource/2013/05/10/pipe-dreams-how-many...
1
Most unions in the US crossed over into the dark side years ago with many today supporting HRC despite the fact that she and her husband have led union workers down the dark paths of NAFTA, CAFTA, TPP and other anti-worker trade agreements. Good to see Trumka hold back on a AFL-CIO endorsment, at least for him, Clinton is not a given.
45
I hope that labor doesn't turn out the vote for your Queen Hillary.
I am retired and I can't afford for her to win. Medicare Part D needs a revolution.
I am in Chicago and will be voting for Bernie, as is our custom here, early and often.
I am retired and I can't afford for her to win. Medicare Part D needs a revolution.
I am in Chicago and will be voting for Bernie, as is our custom here, early and often.
56
Union leadership and union members are two different entities. Leadership is corrupt as the system.
6
C.C. Kegel PH.D: Exactly who do you think is going to pay Sanders bills when he puts in free college and free medical? Your PH.D isn't in economics.
3
Often? I hope you only vote once.
2
Someday, maybe 20 years from now, we're going to realize what Big Money power and their bought politicians have done, not only to destroy our working class through off-shoring, but to systematically erode our society from within. I am referring to the well-planned destruction of the labor unions, the demonization of school teachers and public employees, the destruction of the post office, starving of basic government functions, slashing funding for basic research, letting our roads and bridges crumble; I could go on. They want to kill things that are for the purpose of benefiting the many, especially if they use tax dollars. At the same time, everything for the benefit of private business and profits has flourished, including government subsidies and tax preferences. Big Money pushes for privatization of all government functions, then guts the money to deliver a corrupt, sub-standard job, and says government can't work.
Much of the above destruction of our social institutions gets accomplished by the tried-and-true method of whispered hate campaigns, setting us against each other. Just keep saying things often enough, and eventually the population will start repeating the lies. When are we going to wake up to this?
Much of the above destruction of our social institutions gets accomplished by the tried-and-true method of whispered hate campaigns, setting us against each other. Just keep saying things often enough, and eventually the population will start repeating the lies. When are we going to wake up to this?
54
And if you like all of the above, vote for Hillary, she is you candidate and will make sure this abuse will continue.
People are waking up finally, Madeline, but the revolution needs to be within the parameters of STRONG well-managed government - not it's destruction. American politics is wounded - not destroyed - and WE can fix it with Individual Citizen Action and OUR votes for only socially conscious democrat and independent political candidates in every election before and after November 8. Meantime, WE can stop federal legislation we do not agree with by individually telling lawmakers NO by phone, letter, e-mails, texts, tweets and every other means available. Take Charge America and stop waiting for a superman. Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the WOMAN FOR THE JOB OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
3
Middle class and working class voters want lower taxes, assurances of Medicare coverage and Social Security payments, affordable health care, decent jobs (even in environmentally unfriendly industries.) They are uninterested in government programs for the poor, digging into their meager savings to reverse climate change, raising the minimum wage if it costs them jobs, and attacks on the police, correction officers and other middle class law enforcement workere. Why in the world would they vote Democrat?
5
What they also don't like is paying enormous taxes to pay high salaries to government workers who can't be fired under any circumstances. They are beginning to realize that these workers have better pensions and medical insurance than private-sector workers can ever hope for, and the money is coming straight out of their paychecks.
6
The only candidate who will make a different in the lives of working people is Bernie Sanders.
41
They would vote for the Democrats if they pay attention to what the Democrats and Republicans actually do once they are in office.
You like Social Security and Medicare? These are programs created by Democrats over the objections of Republicans, who have been trying to destroy them ever since.
Republicans want to privatize Social Security ( so their investment banker friends get a cut of the money) and voucherize Medicare ( so they can make the vouchers smaller and smaller each year with budget cuts until the vouchers pay for so little care it is as if Meduicare never existed.
Of course, Republicans know they can't admit this to voters, so the claim they want to "save" the very programs they tried to destroy from day one. Then, once in office, they assume voters won't pay attention to their actual votes.
You like Social Security and Medicare? These are programs created by Democrats over the objections of Republicans, who have been trying to destroy them ever since.
Republicans want to privatize Social Security ( so their investment banker friends get a cut of the money) and voucherize Medicare ( so they can make the vouchers smaller and smaller each year with budget cuts until the vouchers pay for so little care it is as if Meduicare never existed.
Of course, Republicans know they can't admit this to voters, so the claim they want to "save" the very programs they tried to destroy from day one. Then, once in office, they assume voters won't pay attention to their actual votes.
1
The Republican war on unions has been as vicious as its war on women, minorities and gays. If union workers vote for Trump, that will do no good. He left workers stranded time and again with his various bankruptcies and his imported workers from abroad.
It is a tragedy since unions have been an enormous force for good in this country, helping to create the middle class, safer working conditions, and a counter to the exploitation of the work force by tycoons. Labor must support Democrats if they want any reversal of the bad Republican policies these last years. I think they have faced some of the worst opposition in their history, and it is Republican. Like minorities, they know who the enemy is these days.
It is a tragedy since unions have been an enormous force for good in this country, helping to create the middle class, safer working conditions, and a counter to the exploitation of the work force by tycoons. Labor must support Democrats if they want any reversal of the bad Republican policies these last years. I think they have faced some of the worst opposition in their history, and it is Republican. Like minorities, they know who the enemy is these days.
24
The article's author's prejudice and slant shows through time and time again, arguing that what the voters in Wisconsin enacted with right to work reform has hurt unions by allowing those not in the union to avoid paying dues. The previous mandate for essentially a closed shop has now been lifted, and the previously captive union members have dropped out, realizing that workplace safety and other concerns from a half a century ago no longer exist, with strong Federal laws such as OSHA's, giving better protection while allowing the worker to take home more of his or her paycheck.
And the sweet deal that the unions had with their work of collecting dues essentially being done by the employer with automatic payroll deduction and direct deposit into the union's bank account is also now gone.
Numerous school districts realized substantial reductions in their burden upon local citizen taxpayers by being freed from having to provide as the only choice the union backed and chosen health insurance.
But the tenor of the article goes on and on, while one would assume it would be a fair representation, for those of us who have cheered this move to right to work, it is not.
And the sweet deal that the unions had with their work of collecting dues essentially being done by the employer with automatic payroll deduction and direct deposit into the union's bank account is also now gone.
Numerous school districts realized substantial reductions in their burden upon local citizen taxpayers by being freed from having to provide as the only choice the union backed and chosen health insurance.
But the tenor of the article goes on and on, while one would assume it would be a fair representation, for those of us who have cheered this move to right to work, it is not.
4
Forgive my ignorance but aren't people still free to vote for who they want whether they belong to a union or not? I mean union leadership can endorse who they want but union workers aren't drones right? I was in a nurses Union for years and I'm sure they had their politics favorites but I know I never considered that when I voted.
17
And then there are those pesky emails.
Some critical information learned from Mrs. Clinton's emails are reported here: http://tinyurl.com/pesky-emails .
There are at least two major issues that should worry Democrats regarding Mrs. Clinton as the party's standard bearer, and they are her private speeches to Wall Street firms and those darn pesky emails. The details of the speeches will eventually be made known to the public and probably as part of an October Surprise. Those pesky emails are a legal wildcard.
As a reminder, Senator Bernard "Bernie" Sanders doesn't have any of these problems.
Aside: Senator Sanders should travel to Wall Street, with the press in tow, and give a public economic and financial policy speech to the bigwigs of Wall Street.
Some critical information learned from Mrs. Clinton's emails are reported here: http://tinyurl.com/pesky-emails .
There are at least two major issues that should worry Democrats regarding Mrs. Clinton as the party's standard bearer, and they are her private speeches to Wall Street firms and those darn pesky emails. The details of the speeches will eventually be made known to the public and probably as part of an October Surprise. Those pesky emails are a legal wildcard.
As a reminder, Senator Bernard "Bernie" Sanders doesn't have any of these problems.
Aside: Senator Sanders should travel to Wall Street, with the press in tow, and give a public economic and financial policy speech to the bigwigs of Wall Street.
46
Of the more than 30,000 emails released, not one was classified at the time. Of all the emails, none were hacked.
The double standard is glaring when the Bush administration deleted millions of emails with bare a notice, and Bush White House officials actually used the RNC's server for emails. Then there is the fact that Colin Powell and Condaleeza Rice used their private emails as well.
Her speeches don't matter. She is a former first lady as well as secretary of state. This has the flavor of the years-long snipe hung for President Obama's birth certificate release and his Harvard transcript release. Witch hunts forever for a highly qualified woman candidate.
And Sanders is losing, since his revolution is not appealing to most Democrats, minorities and white people, women, and other voters. His intentions are fine, but they are not anchored in reality.
The double standard is glaring when the Bush administration deleted millions of emails with bare a notice, and Bush White House officials actually used the RNC's server for emails. Then there is the fact that Colin Powell and Condaleeza Rice used their private emails as well.
Her speeches don't matter. She is a former first lady as well as secretary of state. This has the flavor of the years-long snipe hung for President Obama's birth certificate release and his Harvard transcript release. Witch hunts forever for a highly qualified woman candidate.
And Sanders is losing, since his revolution is not appealing to most Democrats, minorities and white people, women, and other voters. His intentions are fine, but they are not anchored in reality.
10
Clinton isn't going to do working people any favors. She never has, and she never will. NAFTA, TPP -- the death knell for working people in the USA.
14
Those speeches were boilerplate corporate feel good New Age uplifting homilies that I've suffered through dozens of times at luncheon after luncheon.
Sanders doesn't have any of the problems Clinton has because he hasn't done anything. And no one wants to pay to hear him.
Sanders doesn't have any of the problems Clinton has because he hasn't done anything. And no one wants to pay to hear him.
2
Interesting article. But it misses two key points:
1. Endorsements - Possibility that a number of private sector unions - Teamsters and CWA - may endorse Trump. It would be the first time that unions actually endorse a Republican for President (though it has happened recently in a number of gubernatorial contests). Obama Dems killing Keystone and backing the "Cadillac taxes' in Omahacare certainly hasn't helped their cause.
2. Private Sector vs Public Sector - There's an increasing schism between private sector unions and public sector unions. The former welcome the return of jobs from overseas, growth in manufacturing and other objectives that Republicans endorse. Even before Trump, as many as 40% of trade union members had voted for Repubs.
Public unions are a different story. They will likely be out in force - particularly the big teachers unions - NEA and AFT - who endorsed Hillary early. They fear for their very survival should a Republican President put a conservative on the Supreme Court that would provide the deciding vote in Friedrichs - a case that would allow those who wished to exit a union to do so without being forced to pay the union anyway.
The interesting thing is that the very point made in the article - that public unions can still be a strong political force - is exactly the point that the plaintiffs in cases like Friedrichs and Bain are making - that forcing members to pay for the unions politics violates their Freedom of Speech.
1. Endorsements - Possibility that a number of private sector unions - Teamsters and CWA - may endorse Trump. It would be the first time that unions actually endorse a Republican for President (though it has happened recently in a number of gubernatorial contests). Obama Dems killing Keystone and backing the "Cadillac taxes' in Omahacare certainly hasn't helped their cause.
2. Private Sector vs Public Sector - There's an increasing schism between private sector unions and public sector unions. The former welcome the return of jobs from overseas, growth in manufacturing and other objectives that Republicans endorse. Even before Trump, as many as 40% of trade union members had voted for Repubs.
Public unions are a different story. They will likely be out in force - particularly the big teachers unions - NEA and AFT - who endorsed Hillary early. They fear for their very survival should a Republican President put a conservative on the Supreme Court that would provide the deciding vote in Friedrichs - a case that would allow those who wished to exit a union to do so without being forced to pay the union anyway.
The interesting thing is that the very point made in the article - that public unions can still be a strong political force - is exactly the point that the plaintiffs in cases like Friedrichs and Bain are making - that forcing members to pay for the unions politics violates their Freedom of Speech.
27
The Teamsters endorsed Nixon for reelection in 1972.
5
Using that logic, isn't it also true that if I work for a corporation, and that corporation contributes to a politician or cause, and that politician or cause is something or someone I disagree with, that the corporation is in violation of my freedom of speech? For that matter, if the corporation is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, political and lobbying entity that it is, and I disagree with their issues and political spending, is that not a violation of my speech freedoms? The National Association of Manufacturers?
10
You don't pay dues to a corporation. A corporation is a for profit entity. Different rules apply to a non-profit entity and there are limits on what they can spend their member dues on.
It may be helpful if you went back and looked at the civics lessons you obviously slept through.
It may be helpful if you went back and looked at the civics lessons you obviously slept through.
1
I do not know, but we need more unions, stronger unions to represent workers.
The Republican party has nearly succeeded in making unions extinct.
The Republican party has nearly succeeded in making unions extinct.
57
america was never stronger and more prosperous than when unions were so
th german auto industry is th most heavily unionized auto industry in th world
and their sales and profits have never been higher , much better than america auto industry
perhaps thats what you get when you have happy, motivated workers, who have a voice in how things are run
th german auto industry is th most heavily unionized auto industry in th world
and their sales and profits have never been higher , much better than america auto industry
perhaps thats what you get when you have happy, motivated workers, who have a voice in how things are run
25
Much like many other democratic socialist nations, Germany just happens to value its workers considerably more than America, hence the differences you describe. It is also just a matter of how the government and the corporations themselves view their own social responsibility in the country which they obviously take quite seriously.
The opposite of that, of course, is the big money lobbyists in the U.S. especially the Koch Brothers and others of their ilk whom along with their massive monetary influence of politicians has been geared towards removing all regulation, eliminate the minimum wage and a whole series of other policies that ultimately, starting with the Reagan years, has led towards the gradual destruction of the middle class in America.
A pretty sad state of affairs and practically speaking, if anything can be done and frankly, I am not sure it can, there has to be complete reform and removal of the big money influence in the United States, otherwise it will be almost impossible to make the necessary changes. That is, of course, unless Bernie Sanders is elected President which would be a good start.
The opposite of that, of course, is the big money lobbyists in the U.S. especially the Koch Brothers and others of their ilk whom along with their massive monetary influence of politicians has been geared towards removing all regulation, eliminate the minimum wage and a whole series of other policies that ultimately, starting with the Reagan years, has led towards the gradual destruction of the middle class in America.
A pretty sad state of affairs and practically speaking, if anything can be done and frankly, I am not sure it can, there has to be complete reform and removal of the big money influence in the United States, otherwise it will be almost impossible to make the necessary changes. That is, of course, unless Bernie Sanders is elected President which would be a good start.
1
It also no accident that as union membership has decreased, wages have stagnated as well. For those that criticize unions yet watch their own wages remain virtually same for the last thirty years, there is a considerable amount of merit to the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats and union agreements did just that for most ALL wage earners even those that did not work in a union shop.
That is no longer happening and along with the right to work law, that just stagnates wages and even drives them down lower.
That is no longer happening and along with the right to work law, that just stagnates wages and even drives them down lower.
3
"Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, pushed through legislation that crippled most public-sector unions, membership has fallen 44 percent since 2008, to 223,000 from 396,000."
Who voted him in? I would wager it was many union and recent union workers who were more worried about guns, gays, and god. Obama's disastrous first term certainly didn't help him in 2010.
Well, they actually have a candidate this year that would finally start doing something for them (see article picture). Let's see what they do.
Who voted him in? I would wager it was many union and recent union workers who were more worried about guns, gays, and god. Obama's disastrous first term certainly didn't help him in 2010.
Well, they actually have a candidate this year that would finally start doing something for them (see article picture). Let's see what they do.
12
What was "disastrous" about Obama's first term? Let's see, we were bleeding millions of jobs in the last year of the Shrub Administration. After Obama the unemployment rate initially increased, then steadily decreased. People went back to work again, not in the numbers we wanted, but given that capitalist Republicans say that any job is a good job, people were finding work. Obamacare didn't get us where we need to be, but it was better than nothing.
Disastrous, no. Steady improvement given the worst recession in 80 years, yes.
Disastrous, no. Steady improvement given the worst recession in 80 years, yes.
19
I suspect we will see rank and file laborers voting for Sanders and Trump, not the establishment candidates.
96
america wont see a more pro union pres candidate than sanders in a long time, if ever
11
@Jsteveb,
Well, we'll find out won't we? I prefer Sanders. But, on the other end of the spectrum, if the other is Trump or even Cruz, for that matter, we are in BIG trouble.
3-4-16@10:55 pm
Well, we'll find out won't we? I prefer Sanders. But, on the other end of the spectrum, if the other is Trump or even Cruz, for that matter, we are in BIG trouble.
3-4-16@10:55 pm
1
Shouldn't the labor vote be about labor, and not about Democrats?
It's always been obvious that labor supports the left, but this article is acting like this is a Democrat union that occasionally might support labor. This attitude is one of the reasons that they may lose the pending Supreme Court case.
It's always been obvious that labor supports the left, but this article is acting like this is a Democrat union that occasionally might support labor. This attitude is one of the reasons that they may lose the pending Supreme Court case.
20
Yeah, those labor-loving Republicans... you know, the Taft-Hartley crowd, the right-to-work crowd? Yes, the GOP certainly does support labor, as long as it is cheap and non-union.
29
"Yeah, those labor-loving Republicans..."
The devil you know.
WJC (Arkansas-D) signed the repeal of Glass-Steagall, NAFTA (remember the debate with Ross Perot that Al Gore won on Larry King Live?) and normalized trade relations with China.
HRC speaks about clawbacks from US companies that are offshoring but she leaves out the other half of the equation - imports.
The devil you know.
WJC (Arkansas-D) signed the repeal of Glass-Steagall, NAFTA (remember the debate with Ross Perot that Al Gore won on Larry King Live?) and normalized trade relations with China.
HRC speaks about clawbacks from US companies that are offshoring but she leaves out the other half of the equation - imports.
1
I'm not in a union, but my family, and my spouse's, are rife with union members, both current and retired. I'm voting for Bernie in the upcoming primarary, and faced with the prospect of a Trump (or other Republican) president, I'll stifle my gag reflex and vote for Clinton.
But my family? They *hate* Hillary. They will vote for Trump.
I don't know what the unions were thinking! Sanders has been a champion of the working classes and the rank-and-file love him. Even the racist, white supremacist (in-law) can't find fault with him.
The union leadership is backing Clinton, not the rank and file. They shoved her down the workers throats.
We keep getting stuck with pro-corporate conservocrats that the party shoves down our throats. There is no way I will try, with a straight face, to sell Conservocrat Clinton to friends, family, or coworkers.
But, considering that, thankfully, the sane outnumber the Republican, she'll win. But voters will lose. And so will unions. Because Mrs. Nafta was NEVER a friend to workers.
But my family? They *hate* Hillary. They will vote for Trump.
I don't know what the unions were thinking! Sanders has been a champion of the working classes and the rank-and-file love him. Even the racist, white supremacist (in-law) can't find fault with him.
The union leadership is backing Clinton, not the rank and file. They shoved her down the workers throats.
We keep getting stuck with pro-corporate conservocrats that the party shoves down our throats. There is no way I will try, with a straight face, to sell Conservocrat Clinton to friends, family, or coworkers.
But, considering that, thankfully, the sane outnumber the Republican, she'll win. But voters will lose. And so will unions. Because Mrs. Nafta was NEVER a friend to workers.
101
The deal is that before you can lead, you have to win. HRC isn't my favorite either, but she can win. Most Americans won't vote for anyone with the socialist label, no how no way. I like Bernie, too, but for me half a loaf with Hillary is better than no loaf with Bernie. I suspect most unions feel that way too.
So, if you don't want half a loaf of Hillary, do you want a full loaf of right-to-work Republicans? And do you really think a rich businessman like Trump could be trusted for labor interests?
So, if you don't want half a loaf of Hillary, do you want a full loaf of right-to-work Republicans? And do you really think a rich businessman like Trump could be trusted for labor interests?
5
Americans love Social Security and Mediicare -- socialist programs. Every citizen in every major nation -- except the USA -- has the advantage of free health care and college education for their children. Why wouldn't Americans want this for themselves? Because the rich say it's no good.
3
Personally, I'm getting pretty tired of half loaves. When will Democrats start to be Democrats again, aligned with Labor instead of business?
6
A surprising number of Union members will be voting for Trump
One of the reasons is the Democratic Partys war on Unions and Union Members who are going to be Cadillac Taxed on their health care by the Obama and the Democrats just for being Union Members.
Another reason is Hillary Clintons devastating war on Unions that Hillary Clinton has been fighting since the 1970s when Hillary clinton attacked the Teachers Unions and then carried on when Hillary Clinton was a member of the Walmart Board where she fought unions and was against equal pay for women and minorities.
ANYONE can look this up.
Why would a Union Member vote for the very Democrats who have been attacking the Union Members pay. benefits and jobs since the 1970s?
Funny Trump seems to have a better record in supporting Unions than Hillary Clinton.
Last I checked a Union poll showed 1 in 4 Democrat Union Members who have decide who to vote for will vote for Trump NOT Hillary.
Why would a Union Member vote for the Hillary Clinton and the Democrats who outsourced Union jobs with NAFTA, GATT, WTO and attack Union Members Health care by taxing it and reducing benefits and who cut Union job pay at GM and other companies bailed out by Democrats/Obama while providing trillions to CEOs who bankrupted the companies?
Hillary Clinton spent her life attacking Unions, outsourcing Union jobs, taxing Union Health Care, lowering Union pay-why would a Union Member vote for more of that from Hillary Clinton and Democrats?
One of the reasons is the Democratic Partys war on Unions and Union Members who are going to be Cadillac Taxed on their health care by the Obama and the Democrats just for being Union Members.
Another reason is Hillary Clintons devastating war on Unions that Hillary Clinton has been fighting since the 1970s when Hillary clinton attacked the Teachers Unions and then carried on when Hillary Clinton was a member of the Walmart Board where she fought unions and was against equal pay for women and minorities.
ANYONE can look this up.
Why would a Union Member vote for the very Democrats who have been attacking the Union Members pay. benefits and jobs since the 1970s?
Funny Trump seems to have a better record in supporting Unions than Hillary Clinton.
Last I checked a Union poll showed 1 in 4 Democrat Union Members who have decide who to vote for will vote for Trump NOT Hillary.
Why would a Union Member vote for the Hillary Clinton and the Democrats who outsourced Union jobs with NAFTA, GATT, WTO and attack Union Members Health care by taxing it and reducing benefits and who cut Union job pay at GM and other companies bailed out by Democrats/Obama while providing trillions to CEOs who bankrupted the companies?
Hillary Clinton spent her life attacking Unions, outsourcing Union jobs, taxing Union Health Care, lowering Union pay-why would a Union Member vote for more of that from Hillary Clinton and Democrats?
72
2
so are repubs pro union ?
from their union breaking actions over th last 30-40 years it doesn't seem so
from their union breaking actions over th last 30-40 years it doesn't seem so
7
Republican, aren't you? At least a Trump guy. Okay, I'll take a stab at this... Yes, some union members and retirees are going to be "Cadillac taxed." Then again, as union members, we have great benefits that can be considered "Cadillac" unlike most of the population. I'm darned glad to pay any extra taxes on my "Cadillac." No, it's not just against union members, although we union members and retirees have been fortunate enough to have had collective bargaining and strength through numbers and solidarity in the past to get to this point.
Oh yes, NAFTA and trade agreements.... I too am unhappy with the Clinton involvement. Of course, it's not like Republicans didn't overwhelmingly support these agreements, is it?
As far as your paragraph about taxing union health benefits at GM, reducing benefits and cutting union job pay at GM, what are you talking about? As a UAW/GM retiree, tieing this to Hillary is the heighth of ridiculousness. I don't know where to start with this word salad of a comment and don't have enough characters to work with anyway. Suffice to say most of these issues were part and parcel of the bankruptcy that allowed GM to survive, not engineered by Hillary.
Goodness knows I'm no fan of CEOs, but I know of no CEO who made a trillion dollars off of any bankruptcies.
Your last paragraph... I'd like for you to notate each and every instance of what you accuse Hillary of.
Oh yes, NAFTA and trade agreements.... I too am unhappy with the Clinton involvement. Of course, it's not like Republicans didn't overwhelmingly support these agreements, is it?
As far as your paragraph about taxing union health benefits at GM, reducing benefits and cutting union job pay at GM, what are you talking about? As a UAW/GM retiree, tieing this to Hillary is the heighth of ridiculousness. I don't know where to start with this word salad of a comment and don't have enough characters to work with anyway. Suffice to say most of these issues were part and parcel of the bankruptcy that allowed GM to survive, not engineered by Hillary.
Goodness knows I'm no fan of CEOs, but I know of no CEO who made a trillion dollars off of any bankruptcies.
Your last paragraph... I'd like for you to notate each and every instance of what you accuse Hillary of.
7
>
Many of the common blue collar workers have bought the GOP's relentless song and dance....business people good, workers are the problem.......Workers owe their very being to the businessman........ But as Marx pointed out, "people wore coats long before there were coat factories"
So to answer your question the answer is no.
"If Globalisation means anything, it is the chaotic drift of new technologies. If is has any overall effect, it is not to spread ‘modern values’ but to consume them.”
John N. Gray
Many of the common blue collar workers have bought the GOP's relentless song and dance....business people good, workers are the problem.......Workers owe their very being to the businessman........ But as Marx pointed out, "people wore coats long before there were coat factories"
So to answer your question the answer is no.
"If Globalisation means anything, it is the chaotic drift of new technologies. If is has any overall effect, it is not to spread ‘modern values’ but to consume them.”
John N. Gray
14
The problem with a lot of white union workers (I know, I have many in my family) is that they are racist. And, sadly, their racism Trumps (pun intended) their need to succeed economically, and they end up voting against their economic interests and for Republicans.
3
The problem with Labor is the problem with the Democratic party. The Clinton machine effectively cajoled major unions, like everyone else, into early endorsements, trying to push members to vote for a candidate whose interests are directly opposed to the working class.
Take, for example, our home town, CUNY union debacle. The AFT, the parent union of PSC-CUNY, came out with a Clinton endorsement early, with little internal debate. And now, half a year later, the Governor Cuomo and Mayor De Blasio - both die hard Clinton supporters despite their differences - adamantly refuse to take back PSC-CUNY in our struggle for a fair contract. The governor has not only stalled at every step of the way, he has proposed slashing half a billion dollars from public universities in this state.
So why on earth should any union member support the Clinton machine? She and her cronies have made it blatantly clear that, rhetoric aside, they don't give a fig about the working class in this city, this state, and this country.
The only candidate who does also happens to be the only major politician to have spoken out for CUNY employees on the national stage - Senator Sanders. But every single day, the Clinton machine, with it's official organ - the New York Times - bang the drum and shout that Sanders is unelectable.
Democrats love to lambast Republican voters for voting against "their interests." Yet they are currently demanding union voters do the same.
My answer: No contract, no vote.
Take, for example, our home town, CUNY union debacle. The AFT, the parent union of PSC-CUNY, came out with a Clinton endorsement early, with little internal debate. And now, half a year later, the Governor Cuomo and Mayor De Blasio - both die hard Clinton supporters despite their differences - adamantly refuse to take back PSC-CUNY in our struggle for a fair contract. The governor has not only stalled at every step of the way, he has proposed slashing half a billion dollars from public universities in this state.
So why on earth should any union member support the Clinton machine? She and her cronies have made it blatantly clear that, rhetoric aside, they don't give a fig about the working class in this city, this state, and this country.
The only candidate who does also happens to be the only major politician to have spoken out for CUNY employees on the national stage - Senator Sanders. But every single day, the Clinton machine, with it's official organ - the New York Times - bang the drum and shout that Sanders is unelectable.
Democrats love to lambast Republican voters for voting against "their interests." Yet they are currently demanding union voters do the same.
My answer: No contract, no vote.
131
What does Hilary Clinton have to do with a local union contract? As a college professor, I'd think you could do a better job of connecting the dots for the reader.
2
@AS,
You said refused to take back PSC-CUNY. I know nothing of PSC-CUNY. Is it bad deal?
3-4-16@10:52 pm
You said refused to take back PSC-CUNY. I know nothing of PSC-CUNY. Is it bad deal?
3-4-16@10:52 pm
Couldn't agree more. SEIU steamrolled Clinton endorsement. I didn't like it when SEIU consolidated power in service industry, it weakened the influence of members in the political activities of the local union.
Retired New England Health Care Union1199 worker
Retired New England Health Care Union1199 worker
2