On The Outside Looking In, VS. On The Inside Looking Out
Now that the two major party conventions are over, with their nominees chosen
and their platforms adopted, one great contrast strikes us about the two
conclaves:
At the Republican Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, unionists were on the
outside looking in. At the Democratic Convention in Denver, unionists were on
the inside looking out. And that follows a very historic pattern:
* We don’t mean this contrast just in terms of numbers, although those speak for
themselves: One-fourth of the 4,000-plus Democratic delegates and alternates
were members of unions. Meanwhile, the sole unionist news reports identified at
the GOP conclave wasn’t even a delegate: VP nominee Sarah Palin’s husband, Todd.
He’s a former Oil, Chemical and Atomic Worker, now a member of the Steel
Workers.
* Nor do we mean this just in terms of visibility, though there was a contrast
there, too. AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney, Change to Win Chair Anna Burger
and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) -- who proudly proclaimed himself a one-time member of Laborers
Local 187 in Los Angeles--all spoke from the Denver podium.
In the Twin Cities, unionists weren’t in the hall, but out in the streets. The
Service Employees led a “Take Back Labor Day” gala on an island across from the
convention hall. AFSCME Local 3800’s president was among the anti-war
protesters.
* Nor do we mean this just in terms of the two party platforms. The Democratic
platform included a ringing endorsement of the Employee Free Choice Act, the
labor-backed legislation designed to level the playing field between workers and
bosses in organizing drives and in bargaining first contracts. The Democrats
also criticized job-destroying unfair trade treaties--though they stopped short
of advocating dumping them--and even pledged to outlaw the use of scabs.
Meanwhile, a Google search of the GOP platform shows the word “labor” was never
used, and the platform includes strong backing of the trade pacts, which lack
worker rights. GOP operatives are already mounting a big ad campaign against EFCA.
* Nor do we mean this just in terms of the two presidential candidates. Sen.
Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has a 98% “right” AFL-CIO voting record, co-sponsors EFCA,
and is trying legislatively to force the anti-worker GOP Bush regime’s Federal
Aviation Administration back to bargaining with the Air Traffic Controllers,
among other things.
Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), in a much-longer time in Congress, has a
16% “right” score, advocates a national “right-to-work” law, once proposed
“baseball-style” all-or-nothing arbitration as a way to settle contract
disputes, voted repeatedly against raising the minimum wage, voted to keep the
filibuster going against EFCA and voted for every single free-trade treaty,
again among other anti-worker stands.
No, what we mean is the totality of all those facets of labor’s relationship to
the two political parties. In case after case after case, going all the way back
to the 1890s, and extending through the present, workers have been “on the outside looking in” at the GOP and “on the
inside looking out” with the Democrats.
There have been some exceptions over the years. Abraham Lincoln was very
pro-worker and said “labor is superior to capital” and meant it. Teddy Roosevelt
forced the coal mine owners to recognize and negotiate with the Mine Workers in
1904. Some Republican lawmakers even now are favorable to workers and unions.
Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, had an attorney general, A. Mitchell Palmer, whose
“Red Raids” after World War I targeted unionists, among others. Harry S Truman
did not battle so-called anti-Communist “loyalty oaths”--many aimed at union
leaders--after World War II. Even FDR had to be convinced, by Eleanor, Labor
Secretary Frances Perkins, and New York Sen. Robert Wagner Sr., to support the
National Labor Relations Act.
But by and large, the rule holds: Democrats seem to be, however imperfectly,
pro-worker, and the GOP reflexively anti-worker. A Democratic Congress passed
the NLRA. After his reluctance, FDR came around and publicly advocated organizing. A GOP
Congress, over Truman’s veto, tore the NLRA to shreds with the Taft-Hartley Act.
This is the reality on the ground, and has been for more than 100 years.
That’s not healthy for workers, believe it or not. As many union leaders say,
labor should have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent
interests. But the no friends-no enemies part of that statement hasn’t worked
out the way we envision. One party writes us off and the other often takes us
for granted.
So maybe, after this campaign is over, and the hoopla and partisanship die down,
and virulently anti-worker GOP President George W. Bush exits the White House,
union leaders and members can sit down and figure out how to maximize our
influence in both major political parties. It would be healthier for workers,
the parties, the political system and the U.S., if that occurs.
Ledbetter Tells Dems Of Sexual Pay Discrimination
DENVER (PAI)--The common story of sexual discrimination in women workers’
paychecks--and how it affects working families--came to the Democratic
Convention Aug. 26, when Alabama grandmother Lilly Ledbetter outlined how the
U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote last year, tossed her pay discrimination case
out.
In a speech showing the Democrats intend to heavily target working women--who
millions of whom voted in party primaries for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)
rather than the nominee, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) -- the Gadsden, Ala.,
grandmother discussed how her employer, Goodyear, had discriminated against her
through a 19-year-career as a supervisor there.
Ledbetter sued and won in lower courts, but the Supreme Court, with the majority
ruling coming from GOP-named justices who tossed out her case and her damages.
The court said she could not sue except within 180 days of being hired.
Ledbetter told the delegates she won’t get a dime. “The court sided with big business,” she said.
The Democratic-run House passed legislation to overturn the ruling and restore
everyone’s right to sue against pay discrimination. A GOP Senate filibuster
killed the bill. “Let us remind ourselves the fight for equality is not over,”
Ledbetter said.
Though Ledbetter did not say so, both Obama and Clinton flew back to D.C. from
the campaign trail to vote for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The GOP
nominee, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), skipped the vote and later said he opposed
the bill. He said pay discrimination exists because women workers lack the
education--a comment that drew caustic criticism from other convention speakers.
Harking back to the High Court’s decision, and Obama’s vote, Ledbetter said “We
can’t afford more rulings like that. Barack Obama is on our side. He has
promised to appoint justices who will fight for people like me…Equal pay for
equal work is a fundamental American principle.”