Unions Support This Detroit Socialist

-By Warner Todd Huston

The left is constantly attempting to wave its hand dismissively at our claims that they are socialists and communists. They claim they are true blue Americans and we are lying about them. Unions are one of the biggest perpetrators of this misinformation.

Well, it appears that in Detroit, unions came out in support of a goof ball that claimed himself to be a socialist. They all stood in the Michigan cold saying their “yeas” as he spoke about getting a free university degree, and as he touted a socialist “right” to food and their own house.

Here we see members of the AFT and the SEIU nodding in appreciation of this socialist’s ideas. They stood by his side as he pronounced these socialist “principles.”

Anyone that tells you that unions aren’t socialists and communists needs to explain why unions came out in support of this un-American nut in Detroit.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Service Employees Int’l Union Gives $1.7 Mil to Ill. Gov. Quinn

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Service Employees International Union wants YOU to pay more taxes, Illinois. And, in order to get their wish, they’ve donated $1.7 million to the one candidate that has since the beginning promised to raise everyone’s taxes, Governor Pat “Mighty Taximo” Quinn.

Oh, it’s a cozy arrangement, of course. The SEIU represents many of Illinois public employees. These greedy folks want YOU to pay their way in life, you see? So, big cash goes to Quinn the Mighty Taximo so that he’ll force higher taxes so that, in turn, these public employees will get even greater pay and even more undeserved benefits that other, private sector citizens don’t get. It’s a Faustian bargain, but it is a fact, nonetheless.

As everyone else in the state is losing his job, these trough-feeders want you to pay more taxes for their comfort. Nice work if you can get it, right?

Check out this line of BS from Illinois SEIU chief Tom Balanoff who wanted to explain to the media why Illinois’ budget is in such a mess:

“This situation has not been created by overspending. This has been created by a lack of revenue.”

You see, Illinois. It’s YOUR fault because you won’t pay enough taxes to allow these thousands of employees to get rich off the state when they retire at 50-years-old.

Of course, this is the same union that was in bed with Rod Blagojevich, only our latest governor is headed to jail, so you know that scruples aren’t a concern.

It all goes to line up with our insistence that public employees unions are anathema to good government and should be eliminated.

(Cross posted at TheUnionLabelBlog.com)

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

SEIU Prez Andy Stern Appointed to Federal Deficit Commission?

-By Warner Todd Huston

President Obama has today appointed Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern to the federal deficit-reduction commission. And I say, why not? After all, union thugs like Stern are one of the root causes of federal deficits so he should know all about them.

Unfortunately, though, Stern only knows how to make deficits worse and knows precisely nothing about cutting them.

Obama also appointed several other big, big campaign donors to this so-called deficit cutting commission, Ann Fudge (over $36,000 donated) and Alice Rivlin (over $47,000).

Of course this is a joke. But the joke is on all of us. As this poseur of a president sits stroking his chin and telling America “let me be clear,” and “make no mistake” that he’s all about fixing things, he hands out plum after plum to his pals on the extreme left.

So the question becomes this: how can a guy whose only goal is to make government more costly, union contracts more enriched, and spending ever greater be qualified to sit on a deficit reduction commission?

Well, he can’t of course.

Like I said, this is just another joke on the country.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Washington State’s SEIU Bought Republican

-By Warner Todd Huston

On February 24, Moe Lane posted a short piece alerting one and all to the fact that one of the Republican candidates for Washington State’s 3rd Congressional District is a favorite of the hard-core lefties in the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) — one of Obama’s favorite Big Labors cohorts. Mr. Lane, though, was sure that Jaime Herrera “regrets that endorsement now.” Unfortunately, I am not so sanguine because Herrera has been far more compliant with Big Labor’s goals than is evident from what Lane might have thought was a mere wayward endorsement.

There is a reason, it appears, that the SEIU endorsed Herrera. As a Republican she seems to be far more one of them than one of us at least as far as Big Labor’s needs go!

Moe Lane cited the Clark County Politics blog on the SEIU’s endorsement, but if you don’t want to believe the CCPblog — admittedly a right leaning site — here is a Progressive Voters Guide for Washington and here is the Voters Guide for Equal Rights Washington, both left-wing groups that show SEIU support for Herrera. On top of that, here is SEIU Local 1199 NW’s endorsement page which also announces its endorsement of Herrera.

But, let’s address that possible “regret” that Mr. Lane so casually extends to Ms Harrera. Could Lane be right, could it be that Herrera was just by happenstance on the receiving end of an SEIU endorsement and now wishes it never happened? Was it all just an unfortunate incident? I have to say that after looking up some of her votes over the last few years, I must conclude that Herrera was given the thumbs up by the SEIU for a reason. Jaime Herrera was quite a friend to Big Labor.

Herrera’s Pro-Union Votes

In both 2009 and 2010 Herrera voted “yes” to forcibly unionize child care workers in the state, a favorite SEIU cause not just in Washington but in many states. (For instance, I had a hand in fighting the SEIU’s efforts to forcibly unionize in-home healthcare and child care workers in Illinois in 2009. Also see John Stossel’s recent story on forced unionization of Michigan’s in-home workers.)

In the 2007-08 session, Herrera voted yes on HB 2449 a bill that provided “collective bargaining for child care center directors and workers.”

Then in the 2009-10 session she not only voted yes on HB 1329, she was also a co-sponsor. This bill also provided for the collective bargaining for child care center directors and workers.

It turns out that Herrera is co-sponsoring a bill that would force these child care workers to unionize even though those very same workers previously rejected the SEIU and had already told the union that they didn’t want to be part of their organization.

Not only that, but this bill would also force unionization of church-based child care centers.

These several bills that would force child care workers to unionize aren’t the only forced unionization bill that Herrera voted for. She also voted yes on HB 1389.

According to its summary, HB 1389, “Adds the operating and maintenance employees at a commercial nuclear power plant to the employees covered by interest arbitration under the Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Act.” In other words the bill would place workers at a private power plant into a state employee’s union.

As it happens, Herrera was one of the few Republicans in Washington State to vote in favor of these many Big Labor bills. Herrera said in a phone interview that her votes on these Big Labor bills were a “moral issue.” I guess if by “moral” you mean getting political and financial support from unions, then that would be the case. Other’s mileage might vary!

Just call it Herrera’s attempt to emulate an Obamaesque style of “community organizing.” It’s organizing by hook or by crook and since none of these bills bothered to ask the actual workers being unionized, I’d say it is mostly crook.

Again according to Clark County Politics Blog Herrera promised she “would be a friend of organized labor.” Well, even if she didn’t say that exactly (as I only have this one source to say so) her votes most certainly lend credence to that sentiment.

The Washington Third

Currently Democrat Brian Baird holds Washington’s 3rd Congressional seat. He is retiring at the end of this term. Democrats seem to be lining up behind Denny Heck as their nominee to replace Baird. Three other Democrats are also still in the running: State Senator Craig Pridemore; Cheryl Crist; and Maria Rodriguez-Salazar.

There are three Republicans vying for the GOP nomination. Along with Herrera, former serviceman David Hedrick of Camas is in the race and former deputy assistant secretary of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs David Castillo of Olympia is also running.

Me, I have no dog in that hunt, but with Herrera’s constant sop to Big Labor, I’d suggest that Washington’s Republicans look a bit more carefully at her record and then that they should consider looking to support either Castillo or Hedrick instead.

David Castillo for Congress www.castilloforcongress.com
David W. Hedrick for Congress www.davidwhedrick.com

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Longtime Dem Consultant Torpedoed by Union Thugs

-By Warner Todd Huston

In Democrat political consulting circles Pat Caddell is a big name. One-time adviser to President Jimmy Carter and longtime political strategist for the left, Caddell isn’t someone you throw off a campaign easily. But the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) doesn’t care about past success. It only cares about its power.

After being thrown off the campaign of Colorado Democrat Andrew Romanoff’s campaign for Senate, Caddell spoke to the folks at The Daily Caller and said he’d been axed by the “thugs” at the SEIU.

“What I said about Andy Stern and the SEIU? Sure, they’re thugs,” said Caddell, a former adviser to President Jimmy Carter, who until Monday* had an informal advising role with the primary challenger to incumbent Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.

“The unions have been considering endorsing Romanoff, and basically they told him that if I was involved with the campaign, ‘sayonara,’ which I think is the definition of thuggery isn’t it?” said Caddell, who has worked for a who’s who of Democratic politicians over the last few decades, including Ted Kennedy, George McGovern, Mario Cuomo and Gary Hart.

I couldn’t agree more. Unions will brook no opposition and even the smallest disagreement marks you for destruction with a union… even if you are on the same political side as they!

He pointed out, as have we — repeatedly — that public employees unions are destroying the country,

“I think the public unions are going to take the country and the Democratic party down the tubes. They’re in the business of taking care of — of asking taxpayers, asking ordinary people, to pay for people who make twice as much as they make, with benefit packages they will never see, and they’re told, you may not cut those.”

We agree.

Caddell also ripped the Obama administration for its fealty to the public employees unions.

“What they have created is a world in which there is no dissent. Don’t look at me. Look at [Sen.] Evan Bayh. People, with some justification, may think that I’m crazy. But he is the center of the establishment if there was ever was someone,” Caddell said. “When there’s no room in the Democratic party for him and there’s no room in the Democratic party for me, and the unions do get to make those kinds of calls in defense of the indefensible, because, ‘We own you,’ well, the Democratic party will be finished.”

Caddell isn’t right about much politically, but he’s dead on with this one. Public employees unions are antithetical to good government and dangerous to our Republic.

(Cross posted at TheUnionLabelBlog.com)

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post