2013 Q3 FReepathon. Target: $85,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $45,313
53%  
Woo hoo!! And we're now over 53%!! Thank you all very much!!

Keyword: aflcio

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Union Leaders Prepare for Final Push on Immigration; Ignore Member Concerns

    08/12/2013 9:54:30 AM PDT · by jazusamo · 15 replies
    NLPC ^ | August 12, 2013 | Carl Horowitz
    "Comprehensive immigration reform," like virtually any initiative containing the magic word "comprehensive," looks good on the surface. But the details of the comprehensive immigration bill passed by the Senate in June by a 68-32 margin reveal a lot gone wrong underneath. Oblivious to this, top union leaders are gearing up for an all-out blitz this fall to secure passage of similar legislation in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Led by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (in photo), they are obsessed with providing 11 million or more persons living illegally in this country with amnesty and eventual citizenship, and with enabling millions...
  • Trumka (AFL-CIO) Wants To Offset Drops In ... Membership By Signing Up NAACP and Social Groups

    08/10/2013 11:20:37 AM PDT · by Uncle Chip · 10 replies
    The Conservative Treehouse ^ | August 9, 2013 | Sundance
    WASHINGTON — Calling the labor movement in crisis, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says he will push far-reaching changes at the federation’s convention next month, including forging closer partnerships and even accepting as members such outside groups as the Sierra Club and the NAACP. The changes, some of which will require amending the AFL-CIO’s bylaws, are part of a strategy aimed at reviving the labor movement’s falling clout and recasting it as a champion for American workers generally, not just for the declining ranks of dues-paying union members. In an interview Wednesday with USA TODAY, Trumka acknowledged resistance within his organization...
  • Unions ask Obama for Detroit bailout

    07/26/2013 9:25:06 AM PDT · by jazusamo · 41 replies
    The Hill ^ | July 26, 2013 | Megan R. Wilson
    Union leaders are calling on Congress and President Obama to provide a federal bailout to the city of Detroit. The executive council of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, called for an “immediate infusion of federal assistance for Detroit” to be matched by the State of Michigan, which they say has not done enough to keep the city from going through bankruptcy. “Bankruptcy must not be used as a tool to impoverish City of Detroit workers or retirees. City workers have already made severe concessions to keep the city afloat,” the executive council said in a statement. “They are...
  • AFL-CIO: ‘Racism remains deeply rooted in American society’(no justice for Trayvon alert)

    07/25/2013 11:44:46 AM PDT · by Zakeet · 24 replies
    Daily Caller ^ | July 25, 2013 | Caroline May
    The AFL-CIO Executive Council passed a statement on racism and equality in response to the death of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin, Thursday. Their statement, “A Call for Social and Economic Justice for Communities of Color” focused on the death of Martin and the “the sense of unrealized justice it left behind.” “Trayvon’s death — and the subsequent trial — have reopened the deep and unresolved wound of racism in our country,” the statement reads. “Nearly 50 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, we have made tremendous progress, but we still have a long way to...
  • “You can keep your healthcare.” Lie to Me: a continuing series.

    07/13/2013 9:04:20 AM PDT · by NOBO2012 · 10 replies
    Michelle Obama's Mirror ^ | 7-13-2013 | MOTUS
    “I won’t lie to you. I expect to be judged by results” – President Barack Obama, February 10, 2009 Who do you think said the following? Unlike most previous social-policy milestones, this law was jammed through Congress over the opposition of all Republicans, some Democrats and most of the public. The financial crisis had delivered the Democrats such large majorities in 2008 that they could accomplish longstanding ideological goals that had nothing to do with that crisis. Nor did Obama himself have a mandate for the law, having campaigned against some of its most controversial features — for instance,...
  • Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On Senate Immigration Bill

    06/27/2013 4:08:15 PM PDT · by mdittmar · 25 replies
    AFL-CIO ^ | June 27, 2013 | AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
    The United States Senate today moved our country a big step closer to building a common sense immigration system that will allow millions of aspiring Americans to become citizens. Now it is up to the House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead by allowing a majority of House members to vote on a bill with a path to citizenship. Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team face a decision that will have ramifications for a generation: Block a roadmap to citizenship vote, obstruct the will of overwhelming majorities of working people and face a generation of electoral decline—or support citizenship and...
  • Unions mobilize as labor board faces paralysis in Obama’s second term

    05/14/2013 1:34:38 PM PDT · by jazusamo · 9 replies
    The Hill ^ | May 14, 2013 | Kevin Bogardus
    Labor is mounting an all-out push to fill the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as the agency faces the prospect of being sidelined for the rest of President Obama’s second term. Unions of all stripes have told Senate Democrats that they need to move on all five of Obama's nominees to the labor board, even if it takes a controversial change to filibuster rules to make it happen. “Without this, there's nothing [to protect workers],” said Larry Cohen, the president of the Communications Workers of America. (CWA) “It's a floor and now the floor is caving in as well.” The...
  • AFL-CIO blasts White House over Walmart veterans program

    05/07/2013 8:22:58 AM PDT · by Sub-Driver · 31 replies
    AFL-CIO blasts White House over Walmart veterans program By Justin Sink - 05/07/13 10:00 AM ET AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka blasted President Obama and Vice President Biden for championing a Walmart program that guarantees a job to returning veterans. "Walmart’s recent announcement of a plan to hire returning honorably discharged veterans is more about public relations than honoring our heroes," Trumka said in a statement. "That this effort was valorized by President Obama and Vice President Biden reflects an acceptance of economic failure out of line with America’s history or future." Last week, the president and vice president spoke at...
  • Can a Faithful Catholic Belong to a Union?

    05/02/2013 10:30:25 AM PDT · by willowsdale · 12 replies
    Few Democratic Party constituencies were quicker and more vociferous than the union brass in commending President Barack Obama’s announcement on May 9, 2012, endorsing state court decisions and statutes that change the traditional definition of marriage by formally instituting same-sex unions. The top bosses of the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the United Auto Workers (UAW), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and a host of other unions all issued statements clearly implying that all right-thinking people should agree with Mr. Obama’s...
  • Immigration bill grants amnesty to employers of illegals; no prosecution for bogus IDs

    04/30/2013 2:15:48 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 59 replies
    The Washington Times ^ | April 29, 2013 | Stephen Dinan
    The debate is raging over whether the latest immigration bill is an amnesty for illegal immigrants, but one part is clear: The legislation would forgive businesses that have employed those immigrants illegally. Employers who have allowed illegal immigrants to work off the books can come forward safely and provide their work history without fear of prosecution, and businesses that knowingly employed someone using a bogus or stolen Social Security number likewise would get a pass, according to an analysis of the bill by the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that wants a crackdown on immigration. “The illegal workers...
  • PASS STATEMENT ON FAA FURLOUGHS

    04/24/2013 5:26:47 PM PDT · by mdittmar · 21 replies
    WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mike Perrone, national president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), which represents over 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, including systems specialists and aviation safety inspectors, released the following statement regarding the continued furloughing of FAA employees: "The furloughing of FAA employees is having an impact on the aviation system and the flying public is noticing. Systems specialists, aviation safety inspectors, aeronautical specialists, examiners and thousands of other FAA employees work behind the scenes to ensure that planes take off and land on time, equipment is restored, and planes are safe to fly. These employees...
  • New Senate Immigration Amnesty Plan Bears Union Imprint

    04/18/2013 11:55:01 AM PDT · by jazusamo · 17 replies
    NLPC ^ | April 18, 2013 | Carl Horowitz
    If there were any doubts that the oft-used term ‘comprehensive immigration reform' is a stalking-horse for amnesty, a new Senate proposal should dispel them. The measure, touted as a way to fix our ‘broken' immigration system, will do the opposite. Not only will it demean U.S. citizenship and rule of law, it also likely will produce adverse economic effects. The main feature of the 844-page bill is that it would allow millions of illegal immigrants to apply for legal residency and eventual citizenship. Significantly, the bill bears a strong union influence. And labor officials aren't bashful about it. Ana Avendano,...
  • 'Joe's Law': Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Strategy to Derail Amnesty Enrages the Left

    04/14/2013 5:49:08 AM PDT · by montag813 · 43 replies
    Stand With Arizona ^ | 04-14--2013 | John Hill
    by John HillStand With ArizonaWebsite | Facebook | Twitter Sheriff Joe Arpaio is facing a campaign to recall him from office. They are collecting signatures, and already have more than half the required amount with two months to go. This follows a re-election campaign last year which saw unprecedented amounts spent on both sides, as George Soros committed $10 million to oust "America's Sheriff". Joe was forced to spend his entire 'war chest' of $8 million to (barely) hold onto office - the closest race of his career. Why?Why is the Left in America so focused on a single county's...
  • Organized labor says closer to deal on immigration reform

    03/28/2013 4:53:43 PM PDT · by haffast · 6 replies
    Reuters ^ | 3-28-2013 | Rachelle Younglai
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. labor unions said on Thursday they were closer to resolving problems with wages for future unskilled immigrant workers like janitors and housekeepers - an issue that has stalled progress on a U.S. Senate proposal to overhaul the immigration system. "We have moved off poverty level wages and are moving forward and are working on a standard that will protect U.S. workers," said Andrea Zuniga DiBitetto, legislative representative for the biggest union the AFL-CIO. Late last week, disputes over a new visa program for foreign workers between the AFL-CIO, the labor federation, and the U.S. Chamber of...
  • After Bankrupting Hostess, Union Workers Rake In The Federal Dough

    02/24/2013 3:07:38 PM PST · by george76 · 25 replies
    Labor: Who says intransigence doesn't pay? After driving Hostess out of business by refusing to negotiate, union bakers have been rewarded by the White House with Trade Adjustment Assistance. It's all the foreigners' fault. Politics: Who says intransigence doesn't pay? After driving Hostess out of business by refusing to negotiate, the White House has decided to reward the union bakers with Trade Adjustment Assistence, blaming foreigners. What a sweet deal. ... the AFL-CIO-affiliated Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International (BCTGM). It refused to deal, taking the entire company, including fellow workers, down with it. Turns out the union...
  • Labor, business agree to principles on immigration

    02/23/2013 6:15:29 PM PST · by haffast · 9 replies
    Associated Press ^ | Thu, Feb 21, 2013 | ERICA WERNER
    Business and labor groups announced agreement Thursday on the principles of a new system to bring lower-skilled workers to the U.S, a key priority for a comprehensive immigration bill. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO reached consensus after weeks of closed-doors negotiations they were conducting at the request of Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., two of the senators involved in crafting an immigration deal on Capitol Hill. Ensuring that future workers can come to the U.S. legally is expected to be a central element of the deal, which will also address border security, employer verification...
  • ICE Agents Shut Out of Immigration Reform Talks By White House

    02/03/2013 7:28:09 AM PST · by TurboZamboni · 3 replies
    freedom outpost/yahoo ^ | 2-1-13 | tim brown
    It looks like unionized Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents are starting to make some noise against the White House and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka about being shut out of talks involving immigration reform. They expressed concern about how such reform would affect federal agents, specifically those that are in the Border Patrol and work along the United States/Mexico border. Yahoo News reports,Unions “did have at one point some differences” on the issue, but “the entire labor movement is entirely behind this now,” Trumka said. “We’ll be at the table the whole time this thing is being developed to make sure...
  • The Democracy Initiative: a Coup in Plain Sight

    01/20/2013 7:17:31 AM PST · by Mrs. Don-o · 51 replies
    The American Thinker ^ | January 20, 2013 | Clarice Feldman
    This is...about a coordinated effort by about 36 different interest groups with reported revenues of no less than $1.69 billion, pledging millions of dollars to work together to attack conservative supporters and organizations, to intervene directly in Democratic politics, to push for filibuster reform to better enable a push through their agenda without any input from the opposition, and expanding "voting rights" and fighting voter registration laws to further grease the skids for their legislative agenda. 1. Who belongs: Here are a few of them: ...the AFL-CIO, the Center for American Progress, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Common...
  • Michigan Unions Targeted Obama Enemy: Koch Brothers

    12/13/2012 4:19:33 PM PST · by raptor22 · 38 replies
    IBD EDITORIALS ^ | Dece,ber 12, 2012
    Politics: The union mob that tore down that tent outside the Michigan state capitol was aiming at a free-market advocacy group on the president's enemies list promoting right-to-work and other pro-growth measures. In an editorial headlined "Drinking the Kochs' Kool-Aid," the Detroit Free Press, a newspaper in a decaying city with 18.9% unemployment, opined it was pressure from the Koch brothers, David H. and Charles G., who head a Kansas-based conglomerate with 50,000 U.S.-based employees, that moved Michigan Republicans to make the state adopt right-to-work legislation. Randy Richardville, majority leader of the state Senate, and Gov. Rick Snyder may have...
  • Labor Unions: A History of Murder and Sabotage

    12/12/2012 5:21:40 PM PST · by VitacoreVision · 20 replies
    The New American ^ | 28 February 2011 | Daniel Sayani
    This article analyzes the history of labor union violence, and how Rep. Capuano's comments are a perfect continuation of this historical truth. Labor Unions: A History of Murder and Sabotage The New American 28 February 2011 The raging union-led protests in Wisconsin have resulted in many Americans taking a closer, more critical look at labor unions and their political clout and influence in shaping policy. With the ubiquitous announcement from AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka that he is granted an audience at the White House “nearly every day,” the American people have become more skeptical of unions and the role...
  • Jimmy Hoffa Warns Of "Civil War" As MI Governor Signs "Right-To-Work" Into Law

    12/12/2012 9:28:15 AM PST · by DCBryan1 · 83 replies
    Zerohedge ^ | 11 DEC 12 | Submitted by Tyler Durden
    Minutes before Michigan Governor Snyder signed the 'Right-To-Work' bill into law... ... Teamsters head Jimmy Hoffa appeared on CNN, as seen in the clip below, warning that: "This is just the first round of a battle that's going to divide this state. We're going to have a civil war," ...as the bill to weaken unions' power is passed. If Hoffa is right, look for Michigan GDP to soar: after all it is one of the more Keynesian states in the union. Via AP: Michigan Gov. Snyder signs right-to-work bills LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed right-to-work...
  • Hey, Fat Cat Unions: Pay Your “Fair Share”

    12/06/2012 1:30:31 PM PST · by jazusamo · 16 replies
    Creators Syndicate ^ | December 7, 2012 | Michelle Malkin
    Message for wealth-bashing millionaire actor Ed Asner: Man up and take responsibility for lying to America's schoolchildren. Confronted by a producer for Fox News Channel's "The Sean Hannity Show" this week, the left-wing celebrity claimed he couldn't remember "a thing (he) said" on a vile propaganda video produced and published by the California Federation of Teachers. Asner narrated the unforgettable eight-minute anti-capitalist screed geared toward children. Think Occupy Wall Street meets Sesame Street. "Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore," Asner warbles in a folksy grandpa voice....
  • New Book Highlights Dangers of Government Employee Unions (Good article on unions)

    11/15/2012 11:17:14 AM PST · by jazusamo · 6 replies
    National Legal & Policy Center ^ | November 15, 2012 | Carl Horowitz
    "The unbridled growth of crony unionism and government corruption will destroy the United States as we know it." This statement may strike many as sheer hyperbole. But its author, Mallory Factor, a political scientist at The Citadel, knows whereof he writes. His new book, "Shadowbosses: Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind" (New York: Center Street), makes a credible case, and a well-sourced one, that our country may be in the early stages of a ruinous dystopia, courtesy of public-sector unions. In pursuing their interests, argues the author, these labor organizations hold taxpaying citizens hostage to unsustainable wage/salary, pension,...
  • AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: This Whole Fiscal Cliff Thing Is Manufactured

    11/15/2012 8:45:27 AM PST · by SeekAndFind · 38 replies
    Townhall ^ | 11/15/2012 | Katie Pavlich
    During a speech today in Washington D.C., AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called the looming debt disaster a "manufactured crisis" and said "there isn't a fiscal cliff." "There is no fiscal cliff," Trumka says in prepared remarks to the National Mediation Board Conference in Washington on Thursday. "What we’re facing is an obstacle course within a manufactured crisis that was hastily thrown together in response to inflated rhetoric about our federal deficit." Obama met with Trumka earlier this week, in addition to other far left leaders, to discuss economic policy. Apparently a $3500 tax increase on every family doesn't serve as...
  • National Unions Spending Millions to Defeat Sheriff Joe Arpaio ('Adios Arpaio' Campaign)

    10/24/2012 11:10:50 AM PDT · by montag813 · 13 replies
    Stand With Arizona ^ | 10-24-2012 | John Hill
    Here they come again. California unions are once again meddling in Arizona politics on behalf of illegal aliens, and against the interests of their own American workers. The deceptively-named "Campaign For Arizona’s Future" - which was funded by the national mega-labor unions AFL-CIO and UNITE HERE is spending millions to try and defeat Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The group, which calls its campaign "Adios Arpaio", is mostly comprised of the same Los Angeles-based activists which protested in 2010 after the passage of S.B. 1070. They claim to have registered over 36,000 - mostly Hispanics - in Maricopa County, AZ to...
  • Slums, drugs, and spousal abuse..The sordid tale of Claire McCaskill

    10/20/2012 7:19:56 PM PDT · by katiedidit1 · 30 replies
    Red State ^ | 10/20/2012 | Jeff Emanuel
    The domestic violence in Shepard’s past is both shocking and repulsive in detail. On February 15, 1998, police were called to then-Mrs. Shepard’s house (the couple had been separated since June of the previous year) by a girlfriend. According to the police report (.pdf file), Mrs. Shepard said of her husband: Read on. Joseph entered my home. I told him to leave. He came up to me looking angry. I put my hands up to protect my breasts as they are sore (cancer). He has hit me before in the breast. He grabbed my wrist and arm and pushed me...
  • SEIU, AFL-CIO, ACLU and Others Ready Attack Against Voter Integrity

    10/19/2012 12:24:39 PM PDT · by jazusamo · 9 replies
    Townhall.com ^ | October 19, 2012 | Katie Pavlich
    As I reported yesterday , Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee Elijah Cummings is using intimidation and bully tactics to threaten voter integrity group True the Vote. As I also mentioned, he isn't alone in his attacks. On October 10, AFL-CIO Florida attorney Alma Gonzales sent a letter to local True the Vote leader, private citizen and volunteer Kimberly Kelly, threatening legal action should the group continue their efforts to get voter rolls cleaned up and to train poll watchers for Election Day. Gonzales also accused the group of violating the rights of voters. "According to press reports, True...
  • Big Labor’s Federal Funding Skyrockets Under Obama

    09/13/2012 1:01:31 PM PDT · by jazusamo · 3 replies
    Judicial Watch ^ | September 13, 2012
    The Obama Administration has rewarded its big labor allies with lucrative federal grants, including millions of dollars to help them strengthen unions in Iraq, according to documents obtained by Judicial Watch. The information comes straight from government records gathered in the course of a lengthy JW investigation into the administration’s tight relationship with the nation’s powerful labor movement. Since Obama moved to the White House federal funding for big labor has skyrocketed to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. A chunk of the money is being funneled to unions so they can increase labor organization around the globe,...
  • "A" Is for Agitation: Radical Chicago Teachers on Parade

    09/12/2012 1:10:47 AM PDT · by Kaslin · 7 replies
    Townhall.com ^ | September 12, 2012 | Michelle Malkin
    Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis walks, talks and barks like a rootsy Occupy Wall Street activist. But this Big Labor loudmouth who's leading the abandonment of nearly 400,000 schoolchildren in the Windy City is just another power-grabbing union fat cat. Instead of academic excellence, she rails about "social justice." Instead of accountability, she fumes about "profits" and curses merit pay. Lewis has marched with the Occu-clowns denouncing capitalism and promoting "socialism (as) the alternative." She raves: "Occupy Wall Street and the whole concept of the 99 percent is an extraordinarily important movement." And she earned praise as a "fist-in-the-air,...
  • Trumka leaving Charlotte ahead of Obama's acceptance speech

    09/06/2012 10:16:30 AM PDT · by jazusamo · 15 replies
    The Hill ^ | September 6, 20012 | Kevin Bogardus
    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is leaving Charlotte on Thursday and will not attend President Obama's acceptance speech. Trumka is leaving early in order to avoid the travel crush at the Charlotte airport on Friday, according to a spokesman for Workers’ Voice, the AFL-CIO’s super-PAC. But there have been tensions between the Obama administration and organized labor for some time. Spokesman Eddie Vale said Trumka and others union officials' absence was not related to labor’s frustrations with Democrats. “Nope, this has nothing to do with that,” he said in an email. “We're looking forward to Obama accepting the...
  • Karen Ackerman: Unholy Union Mover and shaker in union circles affiliated with the Soros-organized

    08/21/2012 8:05:41 PM PDT · by Nachum · 1 replies
    Washington Free Beacon ^ | 8/21/12 | Bill McMorris
    The most influential money-mover of the modern labor movement is also affiliated with the secretive Democracy Alliance. Karen Ackerman launched two of the most expensive political operations of the 2004 and 2008 elections as political director of union giant American Federation of Labor-Congress Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The union spent $150 million to defeat President George W. Bush in 2004 and pledged $200 million—more than 40 percent of the $450 million spent by labor groups that year—to elect Barack Obama in 2008. Ackerman’s ability to generate massive political capital made her a star of the left, leading to a $143,000 payday...
  • She won the (CT-5) primary, but can she win over labor?

    08/18/2012 11:49:36 AM PDT · by matt04 · 3 replies
    With a $2 million bankroll and heavy advertising, Elizabeth Esty won the high-profile Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District. Now, she has to win a quieter, if still crucial campaign for the support of organized labor. The first test will come Wednesday when the Connecticut AFL-CIO's political committee meets to consider transferring its backing to Esty from Christopher G. Donovan, the union favorite she defeated in a three-way primary. Esty, who voted against labor on a handful of key items during her single term in the General Assembly, concedes she has little hope of defeating Republican Andrew Roraback in...
  • Leo Gerard and the Chicago Thugs - Let's follow the bread crumbs, shall we?

    08/16/2012 4:37:05 AM PDT · by Cincinatus' Wife · 7 replies
    The American Spectator ^ | August 16, 2012 | Jeffrey Lord
    .........."As all of America now knows, the Obama SuperPAC has run an ad with former steelworker Soptic essentially accusing Governor Romney of killing his wife...... On September15, Leo Gerard's appointment to the Trade Advisory group was announced by -- yes indeed -- the Office of the Press Secretary. Said the White House of Gerard in its release:... >>>Leo W. Gerard is the International President of United Steelworkers. He is a member of the AFL-CIO's Executive Committee and chairs its Public Policy Committee. Mr. Gerard is co-chairman of the BlueGreen Alliance, and a board member of the Apollo Alliance, Campaign for...
  • People of Color: Romney/Ryan Plans Take Us Back to ‘Less Equitable’ Times

    08/13/2012 3:06:01 PM PDT · by mdittmar · 41 replies
    AFL-CIO ^ | 8/13/2012 | Mike Hall
    “For progressives and people of color, it’s hard to imagine a worse choice” than Mitt Romney’s selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his running mate, writes Imara Jones on the blog Colorlines today. He says the pair:represent a retread of 40 years’ worth of Republican ideas on economics, race and the role of government. Not content to let failure remain dormant, they want to reanimate bankrupt concepts and take them to a whole, new level.Jones writes that “Romney’s and Ryan’s discredited proposals would take America back to a less-just, less equitable place.”To them, that era of racial and economic...
  • Unions hit Democratic convention where it hurts: In the wallet

    08/09/2012 4:59:22 PM PDT · by Sub-Driver · 18 replies
    Unions hit Democratic convention where it hurts: In the wallet By: Robin Bravender and Anna Palmer August 9, 2012 06:44 PM EDT The Democrats are hitting up unions — their go-to cash cows — for last-minute donations to help pay for next month’s convention in Charlotte. The response from some big unions? Tough. Union leaders insisted from the start that they wouldn’t help fill the piggy bank for this year’s Democratic National Convention after the party picked a labor-hostile location and at the same time made fundraising tougher by banning corporate contributions and capping individual donations. And with the event...
  • Unions ready to send volunteers out for Obama

    08/09/2012 5:53:44 PM PDT · by mdittmar · 18 replies
    Boston.com ^ | August 9,2012 | SAM HANANEL Associated Press
    WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor unions plan to send out more than 300,000 volunteers later this month to canvass voters to support President Barack Obama’s re-election. The effort begins on Aug. 25, when activists fan out across 27 states during a national ‘‘day of action.’’ AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says a record 400,000 union-based volunteers will be knocking on doors and talking to voters in all 50 states later this year.
  • Race Isn't the Problem for Obama (Trumka assigns 400K union goons to swing-state bell-ringing duty)

    08/02/2012 9:26:46 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 12 replies
    Townhall ^ | August 2, 2012 | Linda Chavez
    The president of the AFL-CIO is worried that President Obama is doing poorly among white, working class, male voters -- and he plans on putting 400,000 of his troops in the field in six key states to change the equation. Recent polls show the president doing poorly with white males with less than a college education. Mitt Romney leads the president among white males voters by more than 2-to-1 in a recent Washington Post poll, with the president favored by only 28 percent of this demographic group. Other polls show similar results. Republicans have won a majority of white males'...
  • Union leader strives to ease Obama's "white guy problem"

    08/02/2012 12:32:35 AM PDT · by Zakeet · 15 replies
    Reuters ^ | August 1, 2012 | Patricia Zengerle
    President Barack Obama made history in his 2008 election victory as the first black U.S. president, but he risks achieving another, less welcome, first if he wins again in November. Obama is on course to become the candidate with the lowest support from white male working class voters to win a U.S. election if he triumphs over Republican Mitt Romney on November 6. Polls show support for Obama from white males without college degrees at under 30 percent, well below the 39 percent he had when he defeated Republican John McCain four years ago. While he has overwhelming support from...
  • Economists Say Minimum Wage Boost Would Help 20 Million Workers (AFL-CIO)

    07/24/2012 6:25:17 PM PDT · by Sir Napsalot · 27 replies
    AFL-CIO ^ | 07/23/2012 | Mike Hall
    A group of prominent economists today urged President Obama and congressional leaders to raise the federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 an hour for three years. In a letter to the president and lawmakers they wrote: A higher minimum wage at this juncture will not only provide raises for low-wage workers but would provide some help on the jobs front as well. The group, including Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University; former Labor Secretary Robert Reich; and Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), advocate a three-step raise of 85 cents a...
  • Questions To Ask Democrats As They Abandon Barack

    07/22/2012 7:55:20 AM PDT · by Kaslin · 38 replies
    Townhall.com ^ | July 22, 2012 | Austin Hill
    Democrats are abandoning Barack Obama’s ship. Last week Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi instructed Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to not attend this September’s Democratic National Convention. Instead, Ms. Pelosi insisted, their time would be better spent campaigning at home, rather than partying in Charlotte, N.C. Ms. Pelosi’s announcement falls in line with the AFL-CIO, which announced the previous week that it won’t be spending money to bankroll the convention. And Pelosi and her Big Labor friends are in lockstep with Democrat U.S. Senators Jon Tester of Montana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia –...
  • Big Labor gives Obama, Democrats big cold shoulder with alternate convention

    07/12/2012 2:20:17 PM PDT · by Zakeet · 19 replies
    Daily Caller ^ | July 12, 2012 | Michelle Fields
    AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Thursday that his union will not be at the Democratic convention, “do[es] not intend to put any money into the convention” and will be hosting its own convention — without Obama. Speaking in Washington, D.C., Trumka said the labor group “will not be doing extravagant events” at this year’s convention like “we’ve done in the past.” Instead of giving money to the Obama campaign and Democrats they are focusing on their own event that rivals the Democratic convention. The event, called “Workers Stand for America” will be held on August 11 in Philadelphia. “We will...
  • AFL-CIO Backs Marriage Equality in DOMA Case Brief

    07/11/2012 5:37:45 PM PDT · by mdittmar · 11 replies
    AFL-CIO ^ | 7/11/2012 | Mike Hall
    The AFL-CIO today filed a “friend of the court" brief asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to uphold a lower court’s ruling that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. The 1996 law denies federal benefits to same sex couples.In the brief, filed along with Change to Win (CTW) and the National Education Association (NEA), the three union groups say:The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), by intention and design, ensures that workers with same-sex spouses earn less money, are taxed more on their wages and benefits, and have available to them fewer valuable benefits and...
  • Go Figure… Richard Trumka: Rightwing Uses “Freedom” to “Dupe Public” [Union Thug]

    07/04/2012 11:55:51 AM PDT · by QT3.14 · 24 replies
    GatewayPundit ^ | July 3, 2012 | Jim Hoft
    AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka celebrates Independence Day today by bashing freedom. The Examiner reported: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has a 4th of July-themed column in the Huffington Post musing on the word freedom and how it is interpreted by the Republican Party. His conclusion is that they use the word to con people. Let’s call this right-wing “freedom” catch phrase what it really is: a grossly political strategy to dupe the public, which holds the word “freedom” as something sacred.
  • AFL-CIO super PAC casts U.S. Senate hopeful Josh Mandel as LeBron James in $100,000 online ad buy

    06/19/2012 4:13:29 PM PDT · by Clintonfatigued · 6 replies
    The Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | June 19, 2012 | Henry Gomez
    Deep-pocketed groups supporting U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown or Republican challenger Josh Mandel have spent millions of dollars to beat up the other guy. Each side is constantly accusing the other of being out of touch with average Ohioans. But a $100,000 online advertising push launched today by Workers' Voice, the super political action committee affiliated with the AFL-CIO, aims to tug at the emotions of the put-upon Cleveland sports fan. The web ads depict Mandel, the Republican state treasurer, in ex-Cavaliers' star LeBron James' iconic pre-game pose under the tagline "Witness the Mandel investigation" -- a reference to the federal...
  • AFL-CIO Pulling Funds From Obama Campaign

    06/13/2012 10:35:25 AM PDT · by kristinn · 43 replies
    U.S. News & World Report ^ | Wednesday, June 13, 2012 | Elizabeth Flock
    The AFL-CIO has told Washington Whispers it will redeploy funds away from political candidates smack dab in the middle of election season, the latest sign that the largest federation of unions in the country could be becoming increasingly disillusioned with President Obama. The federation says the shift has been in the works for months, and had nothing to do with the president's failure to show in Wisconsin last week, where labor unions led a failed recall election of Governor Scott Walker. "We wanted to start investing our funds in our own infrastructure and advocacy," AFL-CIO spokesman Josh Goldstein told Whispers....
  • AFL-CIO chief dismisses regrets in Wisconsin recall

    06/06/2012 3:15:16 PM PDT · by mdittmar · 16 replies
    msnbc.com ^ | 6/6/12 | Michael O'Brien
    With the labor movement reeling from the result of Tuesday's recall election in Wisconsin, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sought to downplay the significance of Gov. Scott Walker's victory over a union-driven effort to unseat him. Trumka, the leader of one of the nation's largest labor groups, dismissed the notion that unions might look back upon their unsuccessful campaign against Walker with regret."We didn't decide on this recall. It was the workers in Wisconsin and the voters in Wisconsin who did," he said on a conference call with reporters. "Hell, I don't know if we'd do anything differently."
  • Beyond Wisconsin

    06/06/2012 12:23:51 PM PDT · by SubMareener · 26 replies
    Via Email ^ | Wed 6/6/2012 6:48 AM | Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO
    Dear XXXX, A year and a half ago, Gov. Scott Walker and his friends in the Senate forced through an extremist anti-worker agenda that divided the state. Last night, Wisconsin took back its Senate. While Gov. Walker remains in office after being only the third governor in American history subjected to the humiliation of a recall, his divisive agenda has been stopped cold. Though Walker was shielded with a flood of secret corporate cash, Wisconsin made its voice heard. While we came closer to recalling Walker than many expected, we ended up coming just short. The work we did together...
  • Obama Provides Support to Unions in State Battles (2/19/2011. Blast to the past)

    06/05/2012 7:02:58 PM PDT · by tobyhill · 5 replies
    Fox News ^ | 2/19/2011 | ap
    Organized labor is trying to re-energize and take advantage of the growing backlash from the wave of anti-union sentiment in Wisconsin and more than a dozen other states. President Barack Obama and his political machine are offering tactical support, eager to repair strained relations with some union leaders upset over his recent overtures to business. The potent combination has helped fan the huge protests in Wisconsin against a measure that would strip collective bargaining rights from state workers. The alliance also is sending a warning to other states that are considering the same tactic. "I think it's a clear message,"...
  • SC union leader attacks pinata with Gov. Nikki Haley’s likeness

    05/22/2012 5:36:00 PM PDT · by QT3.14 · 20 replies
    Yahoo News ^ | May 22, 2012 | Pueng Vongs
    An online video of a South Carolina union leader pummeling a pinata featuring a likeness of her state's Republican governor is eliciting strong reactions from across the political spectrum. The video shows Donna Dewitt, the outgoing president of the state AFL-CIO, taking a bat to a pinata which bears a photo of Gov. Nikki Haley. The pinata also features a printout of a quote from Haley: "Unions are not needed, wanted or welcome in South Carolina." In the video, posted to YouTube, Dewitt is encouraged by others at the gathering, with calls of "Hit her again" and "Give her another...
  • Obama Labor Board Slapped Yet Again

    05/22/2012 5:08:40 AM PDT · by Kaslin · 8 replies
    Townhall.com ^ | May 21, 2012 | Fred Wszolek
    For just over a year now and since the failure of the Employee ‘Forced’ Choice Act (EFCA) to receive a vote in the 111th Congress, union bosses have been desperate to obtain the “payback” they believe is owed to them. Big Labor is beside itself that its membership numbers continue to dwindle despite giving half a billion dollars in campaign contributions to President Obama and Congressional Democrats. In the absence of employees voluntarily choosing to join unions, labor bosses have decided to force them into collective bargaining units in an effort to line their own pockets. More than a year...