Labor unions swing newfound political muscle

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
9/3/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Unions not idle this Labor Day weekend as they canvass for President Barack Obama

Emboldened by the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case, unions and the labor movement is out to show their strength at the polling booths. They're not sitting still this Labor Day weekend, and they intend to reach out to voters far beyond the nation's 14.8 million card-carrying union members.

Every election year unions demonstrate their political power through the 'ground game' of going door-to-door and mobilizing voters. The 2010 ruling has been a game changer for labor, allowing unions for the first time to use funds and manpower to zero in on non-union households.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Labor union demonstrators made their presence known outside the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida and union members plan to be out in force in battleground states this weekend.

While unions remain a critical player in industries such as auto manufacture, the labor union movement is not the size it once was, representing just 11.8 percent of U.S. workers as of 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, down from 20 percent as recently as 1983 and 35 percent when the movement was at its peak in the mid-1950s.

Every election year unions demonstrate their political power through the "ground game" of going door-to-door and mobilizing voters. The 2010 ruling has been a game changer for labor, allowing unions for the first time to use funds and manpower to zero in on non-union households.

"The ground game is as old as politics. Doesn't mean it's any less important, but they have given us a very new ground game," Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California, Berkeley said. "Part of that is reaching out to non-union families who are sympathetic to labor's political positions.

"The numbers (for organized labor) have undeniably declined. But its ground game will be central to the Democrats' fortunes in November - and very powerful in a close vote. So labor is playing a critical role particularly as the money pours into the Republican coffers," Shaiken added.

Union members have begun a door-knocking campaign by visiting 640,000 homes. Activity "will be heavier" in six key states this weekend and will grow as Election Day nears, Jeff Hauser, spokesman for the AFL-CIO vows.

America's largest union federation is powering its mass mobilization through a fresh alliance with MoveOn.Org, a seven million-member liberal advocacy group. Hauser says that labor's message is "being crushed financially" by Republicans who are "dialing up a handful of billionaires, cashing some checks and paying a media consultant to produce hit ads" slamming Obama.

While the unions are vastly outspent by corporate political action committees, they hope to reach the masses with a smarter ground game, galvanized at least in part through digital media, Hauser said.

Labor unions had made about $70 million in contributions this election season as of June 30, with 89 percent going to Democrats, according to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets.org. Corporate interests in the meantime have made hundreds of millions in donations, with the majority going to Republican candidates.

According to Justin Wilson, managing director of the Center for Union Facts, the labor movement's dwindling is exactly why the AFL-CIO has unleashed squadrons of activists onto the campaign trail: simply to bolster its influence via a showy display of force contends The group describes itself not as anti-union but as standing against "union officials' abuse of power."

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
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Keywords: Unions, labor, Labor Day, canvassing, campaigns, door-to-door

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1 - 5 of 5 Comments

Paul-Emile Leray
4 months ago
As a follow up to this, the Canadian gov't just gave more money to the Canadian auto industry. Is it private free market enterprise or corporate socialism? What are the rules? If corporations can't compete, let them sink. That is what happens to me. I am a teacher and I refuse union jobs, retirement packages, all sorts of nanny state like help. I also refuse holiday pay. I do NOT desire having any bonuses. Bonuses for what? Having a job is a bonus. Weak, incompetent, stupid, lazy, undisciplined, ignorant, foolish, unorganized, helpless goofs need leaders to lead them. Can you imagine chickens or ducks leading eagles? Maybe people flying in formation or inside the henhouse do need a chief duck or mother hen? How is it possible to have fair competition when governments are forever interfering? (for more votes) And why do 30 year old saps working on Wall Street or Bay Street get paid high salaries for losing money of farmers, for example, who produce food necessary for human existence? The entire system is corrupt and full of lies and deceit.
Paul-Emile Leray
Joe
8 months ago
Just wanted to thank Paul-Emile for a very well written post. It's a sad thing but unions have become socialist partners with the Dems. They may have protected workers in the past, now protect incompetents and criminals. They also support the Democrats platform which is virulently anti-chrisitan.
Paul-Emile Leray
8 months ago
Competency is a good source of protection. It would seem logical and reasonable that union leaders, using tribal mentality group behavior fear tactics (similar to what happens in the game of politics); would strongly promote unions giving the FALSE illusion of job security. Find out what a union employee makes, on average, at Toyota or Honda. Then, find out what they make at a North American plant. Unions? Cattle, buffalo; they run in herds. And? They end up like lemmings, going off a cliff blindly following one another to the butcher shop to then find themselves on your plate. Unions? If people were truly competent and if leaders were truly honest, union leaders would be out of a job because nobody would need a union to begin with. Where there is no sickness, the hospital is not needed. Where there is no tooth problem, the dentist is not needed. Can insurance policy sales people insure you against death? I asked one salesman this question when he tried selling me his insurance policy to me. You can well imagine that was the end of that conversation. If the insurance policy can't insure me against death, then to me it is USELESS (in most cases)....like a UNION. (other than to keep those in charge and more and more bureaucrats EMPLOYED and BUSY while preying on YOUR fears)
Obama is a FOOL. And so were the millions who voted for him! Are you waking up yet? Do NOT pay attention to great speeches without a critical thinking rational and coherent mind. Snakeoil salesmen speak well. The Avon lady speaks well. The 5 cent to a dollar store sales people speak well. Politicians are YOUR EMPLOYEES on YOUR taxes. They should bow to YOU...what are you doing looking at them as if they are saviors? Politcians are employees who were born, exist, and will die...like all humans. Future worm food, as with all of us. Do NOT fear politicians or they will ENSLAVE you. Unions? WEAK people need unions and all kinds of protection. The more you FEAR, the more control you give to those in power. Labor unions? Spend more time working and less time playing all sorts of legalistic petty infantile group mentality herd like behavior games and you won't need a labour union. Tough and blunt, but in most cases true. Do socialists, communists, and union leaders live a life of humility, poverty, wearing sackcloth, going around town on an ox and paddling on the ocean in a kayak? No. They usually live MUCH BETTER than private entrepreneurs, artists, self funded researchers, freelancers, and the likes. Do NOT be naive. A democracy is a MOBOCRACY, a big theatrical game. Do not make it WORSE than what it already is, intrinsic to its nature, by electing people who GROW the bureaucracy! Socialists, communists, and bureaucrats promote themselves and their own agendas while ENSLAVING YOU. Period. History proves this over and over and over again. True equality is a beautiful idea and you will have it in HEAVEN, not on earth. Why? The human condition and human nature exists in all of us. In other words, most humans are very selfish and egocentric. Naive gullible FOOLS place their trust in the government and in politicians. Greater fools place their trust in governments filled with socialists, communists, and bureaucrats. How many people fled from various parts of the world, and sailed, for America and why? I am not promoting corporatism either. I am not an elitist either. I am simply stating that naive FOOLS think they are better served by socialists, communists, and heavy handed unions and bureaucrats. It looks great on paper, at times, and does NOT work in practice in most cases. When the rhetoric heats up to make a point, in politics, it is perhaps because forced upon coercion is being attempted to try and shove it down your throats. A democracy is only as good as its citizenry. If the citizenry is highly enlightened, the politicians will be jumping to your tune. If the citizenry is asleep, the politicians will turn you into their SLAVES. I do not vote. I have ZERO faith in politicians due to their behaviors that speak louder than their words and high flying platitudes and pep talk feel good speeches. A democracy results in one big stupid shouting match, but until the democratic system is REFINED this nonsense will likely continue. To those who do vote, I thought this might be of some help. If you think the 'left' is the answer, then you are exercising your right to vote yourselves right into further enslavement! Slaves don't have to think much. They just have to take orders. Perhaps most people enjoy enslavement? Thinking hurts at times! Free will is a big responsibility. Some seem to enjoy using their free will to freely enslave themselves even more. Facts are facts. Look around! You did it again when voting for Obama! You want true freedom? Understand on deep levels God given free will and sincerely try living a Christian existential life. You will be FREE, even when in jail. It sounds contradictory, but some who have understood this on deep levels enjoyed their time in jail and were productive inside a cell. Many saints were jailed. Socrates was jailed. Nelson Mandela was jailed for a long time. You see? Freedom is not simply being free in society. It is also being FREE from your ownself, liberated from the chains inside yourself that tie you down. The system is there to help SET you free. It can NOT set you free, but it can help or hinder that potential reality. Labor unions? Like crabs inside a basket believing being inside the basket is safe....to end up inside the hotel's kitchen to then find themselves being served to those above them on the food chain...humans. Strength is not found in numbers. It is found in TRUTH. I can almost hear the rants and complaints of some after reading this. The more this angers some, the more likely it is TRUE. And then? It will anger some even more when they realize they were wrong! Don't get angry with me. Get angry with yourselves! I didn't vote for Obama. I'm not even American. I'm also not a nationalist and don't believe in partisan politics and don't vote to begin with. Why? Politics is a power and control game, not a TRUTH game. It's filled with a bunch of bad actors, in most cases. The good actors don't usually go into politics, although there are exceptions. A democracy is the best system of the WORST...not of the best. And it is a MOBOCRACY, FIRST. Never forget this. It is the rule of the MOB elected by the MOB and governed by a MOB chosen MOB leader. The majority is usually wrong. Yet, in a democracy the majority rules. How to reconcile this logical contradiction and incredibly irritating fact that it is the nature of truth that it often separates itself from the crowd and yet in a democracy majority rules? Something does not jive. True? True. Why do many people know more about fun, football, fraternities, social clubs, games, wine, all sorts of stupid activities...and then wonder why their politcians are leading them off cliffs? Because, as was the case during the long gone Roman empire, the citizenry is often ASLEEP. Politicians don't want you to be awake. If people wake up, there will be revolutions...peaceful ones, but revolutions nonetheless. (and this is NEEDED...peaceful, revolutions from within our ownselves) If it happens within enough people, society changes radically for the betterment of mankind and towards the greater good; peacefully. It does not have to be violent, but it is radical. Jesus was radical, radically good!
Paul-Emile Leray
techwreck
8 months ago
Catholic Online says, "... the AFL-CIO has unleashed squadrons of activists onto the campaign trail: simply to bolster its influence via a showy display of force". The "force" doesn't come from the corrupt union leadership, but from corrupt elected officials at the local, state, and national level who are willing to trade political favors for campaign cash and campaign volunteers. The level of corruption in our government is equivalent to third-world countries, but an ignorant public keeps reelecting crooked politicians from both parties and blaming "the system". The problem is not "the system". The problem is "the voters".
Robert Burford
8 months ago
I have been an AFL-CIO-APWU member since 1980. I believe in what the Union stands for to defend the worker and give them a unified voice against management. However not all management is bad and not all workers are right. The process is what saves the arrangement. Justice usually prevails. However even though I support the process the union has little to no affect on my vote.I have always stood for God's side first other considerations will always be secondary. For my money the Union money is wasted but have to support their effort to promote their agenda. But God's agenda is always first.

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