“We can pass a labor supported agenda in Congress, but first we must get health care with a public option. We will get this if you mobilize your members to go to the town hall meetings and show support and write our representatives urging them to pass health care reform,” said Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, speaking to 75 union leaders at the Causeway Bay Hotel in Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday, August 25. “Then we can get Employee Free Choice and bank regulation so the banks and other financial institutions and the Wall Street crowd are stopped from the speculation that got us into this mess.” The meeting was an AFL-CIO Community Services Seminar to discuss how to out reach to laid off workers about the various services and training programs available to them. Among the new features are an outreach to laid off workers by establishing unemployed clubs that include job fairs, food banks, resume writing, networking, opportunities for training, and helping out in organizing drives. The attendees included union brothers and sisters from AFSCME, United Steelworkers, UAW, Utility Workers, Operating Engineers, CWA and UFCW from various communities in the lower peninsula of the state of Michigan. -- Jim Ryan, Detroit
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Mich. labor leader: to pass labor agenda, we have to pass health reform
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Fla. town hall meeting on health care
From a pro-union radio talk show host:
Union Brothers and Sisters -- Plus Everyone Else!
A Special Health Care Forum -- Monday, August 10, at 7:30!
In Gainesville -- Sponsored by the North Central Florida Central Labor Council!
We are having a health care forum Mon the 10th of August in conjunction with our labor council mtg. It is at 1910 NW 53rd ave starting at 7:30 PM. Gunnar Paulson: NCFCLC President
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Picketline for EFCA in front of Bank of America
Chicagoans had a great picketline April 4 at the Logan Square branch of Bank of America. Signatures were collected from the community in support of Employee Free Choice Act. Lots of cars honked in support. Bank of America opposes the Employee Free Choice Act and used some of its taxpayer bailout money to organize corporations against the worker rights bill.
A full story will be posted later.
Here are some photos by Scott Marshall that capture the spirit of the event.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Sign petition for Cesar Chavez Holiday
From United Farm Workers
http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/chavezholiday09/
Join the Petition Drive for a National Cesar E. Chavez Holiday!
As UFW Founder Cesar Chavez? March 31st birthday approaches--an official holiday in eight states and dozens of cities and communities throughout the nation--we want to ask for your support in making Cesar's March 31st birthday a national holiday.
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy called Cesar, "one of the heroic figures of our time." He led the historic non-violent movement for farm worker rights and dedicated himself to building a movement of poor working people that extended beyond the fields and into
cities and towns across the nation. He inspired farm workers and millions of people who never worked on a farm to commit themselves to social, economic and civil rights activism. Cesar's legacy continues to educate, inspire and empower people from all walks of life.
"Chavez left a legacy as an educator, environmentalist and a civil rights leader. And his cause lives on. As farmworkers and laborers across America continue to struggle for fair treatment and fair wages, we find strength in what Cesar Chavez
accomplished so many years ago. And we should honor him for what he's taught us about making America a stronger, more just, and more prosperous nation. That's why I support the call to make Cesar Chavez's birthday a national holiday. It's time to
recognize the contributions of this American icon."
--Barack Obama
"I have been a farm worker since I was 8 years old. Even now, working in the fields is hard work, but before Cesar it was so much harder. Cesar made such a difference to the farm workers out in the fields. He unified us all, not just Mexicans, but
Filipinos, Black, White and other all other races. He gave us the courage to fight for our rights. He made many huge changes for the people who work in the fields. He got us breaks, bathrooms, unemployment insurance, the ALRB and so much more. He
also got rid of many dangerous pesticides and he not only worried about farm workers but for all people so that their food would be safe. Cesar deserves a holiday and so much more."
--Josephina Flores
"He evoked a spirit and a challenge to all of us to do what was right for its own sake...A national holiday honoring Cesar Chavez would secure his profound legacy."
--Martin Sheen
The Cesar Chávez National Holiday Coalition is gathering signatures asking Congress to designate March 31--Cesar's birthday--as Cesar Chávez Day. The United Farm Workers and the Cesar E. Chávez Foundation are proud to support the grassroots efforts of the Cesar E. Chávez National Holiday Coalition.
Please help us ensure all Americans learn about Cesar's life and work by signing the petition asking Congress to designate March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day.
Sign the petition today! Go to: http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/chavezholiday09/
Tell-A-Friend: Forward this message to at least 10 friends or family and ask them to sign the petition too.
http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/chavezholiday09/
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Counting heads on EFCA -- from Congress Matters
Interesting take on the Senate vote shape up...
From Congress Matters http://www.congressmatters.com/story/2009/3/11/134348/804/242/769
EFCA head-counting
by Nathaniel Ament Stone
Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 10:43:48 AM PDT
The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced yesterday as H.R.1409 (George Miller with 222 cosponsors) and S.560 (Ted Kennedy with 39 cosponsors). With 223 total sponsors in the House, obviously the House is ready to approve EFCA, no questions asked. But what about that darned Senate? 40 total sponsors, with 60 votes needed for cloture.
Well, all 40 sponsors are Democrats (including Lieberman and Sanders in that definition). Knowing that Franken hasn't yet been seated but likely will be by July, we can be close to 100% sure that there are 41 votes locked in for cloture (the Dems won't be dumb enough to miss out because of Kennedy's ailing health...nor would he miss that vote for the world. If he resigns before then, his replacement will make it, but either way, there will be a second Massachusetts vote for cloture.)
Which 18 Democrats aren't signed on as cosponsors?
Arkansas: Lincoln and Pryor (Pryor is supposedly leaning toward support, but doesn't want to be too vocal, while Lincoln is wavering. Both are getting their arms twisted by Walmart, the unchallenged corporate king in Arkansas.)
California: Feinstein (I'm nearly 100% sure she supports it, though.)
Colorado: Bennet and Udall (pretty sure they both support it...it's just that they're both rather quiet folks.)
Indiana: Bayh (here's a fun fact: he's been the least loyal Democrat, other than Ben Nelson, so far in the 111th Congress, bucking us frequently on amendment votes though rarely bucking us on cloture. But Indiana is hurting economically, and is pretty pro-labor as swing states go.)
Louisiana: Landrieu (getting tons of pressure from the mucky-mucks in the oil, natural gas, and fishing industries, all of whom hold a lot of sway in right-to-work Louisiana. She's worth working over, though...)
Missouri: McCaskill (I'm pretty sure she's on the right side...like Bennet and Udall of Colorado, she doesn't like being identified too obviously with union bosses, but she's one of the biggest common sense populists in the Senate. Missouri is a major labor state, at that...Dick Gephardt built his career on it.)
Montana: Baucus and Tester (not a right-to-work state or an especially anti-union one, though nowhere in the Mountain West is labor very powerful except Nevada. They might want to avoid the shrillness of this controversy and stay out, but Baucus chairs the Finance Committee and was the manager of SCHIP expansion and the stimulus in the Senate. I think they'll go for it in the end, Baucus being a major Dem wheeler-dealer and Tester being a freshman who needs to stay on Reid's good side.)
Nebraska: Ben Nelson (says he opposes the bill in its current form. A right-to-work state, and an especially anti-union one at that. He'll be the toughest to get back. Lincoln, Pryor, and Landrieu are more worthwhile efforts. The good news is that, once Kennedy is back/replaced and Franken is seated, we can get 60 without Nelson if Specter stays on the right side of this one. Tough, but doable.)
New Mexico: Bingaman (a Feinstein Democrat...he's low-key but will come down on the right side.)
North Carolina: Hagan(also rumored in the Politico article. North Carolina is probably the second-most anti-union state in the nation, following only South Carolina. Remember that this is the land of Norma Rae, and has a union membership of...get this...2%! By comparison, even famous right-to-work states like Georgia, Florida, Alabama, etc. are more unionized. But, Hagan is a moderate-to-progressive and is a freshman needing to stay in Reid's favors.)
North Dakota: Conrad and Dorgan (both rather quiet, but Dorgan is avowedly pro-labor and Conrad is a key Obama ally and budget guru. They'll vote for it.)
Virginia: Warner and Webb (both fiscal conservatives and social moderates-to-progressives. Another right-to-work state with low union membership. But like Hagan and Tester, these are freshmen and Reid can keep them from moving up the ladder if he chooses. They'll be kept in line...if Reid is as smart as we hope he is.)
Wisconsin: Kohl (a businessman, but one of the more reliable liberals in the Midwest. Don't worry about him.)
Some of these people were cosponsors in 2007...what's up with that? I suppose the stakes were lower when cloture was impossible, and now that it's within reach, the "moderates" are getting cold feet. Special props to people like Tim Johnson, Bill Nelson, Mark Begich, and Sherrod Brown, who are cosponsoring S.560 despite coming from swing or conservative states. Johnson and Nelson hail from right-to-work states, at that.
So, some counting...40 sponsors of the bill + Feinstein, Bennet, Udall of CO, McCaskill, Baucus, Tester, Bingaman, Hagan, Conrad, Dorgan, Warner, Webb, and Kohl = 53 "lean" votes for EFCA (including Kennedy or his replacement in MA). 60, of course, are needed. Lincoln, Pryor, Bayh, Landrieu, and Nelson of NE are all serious concerns, and the latter may be lost for good. If so, the best case scenario is 57 right now, meaning we need Specter, Franken, and someone else (Voinovich of Ohio, a relatively pro-union Republican who is retiring?). Of course, those five Democrats all voted for cloture in 2007, so what real reason other than pressure from business hacks do they have to switch?
This will be the most dramatic cloture vote of 2009.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Labor editor on BlogTalkRadio tonight #EFCA, #topprog
Should Workers be Allowed to Form Unions?
March 9th, 2009
Employee Free Choice Act - Debate - Today, Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 7 PM EST
If drivers were allowed to form Unions, could this lead to many small business trucking companies closing their doors?
Employment Law Attorney-Eric Meyer, People’s Weekly World Labor Editor John Wojcik… and 15 year trucking veteran, Damien, are the special guests.
Employee Free Choice Act - DEBATE - Only on: Truth About Trucking “LIVE”
Come join the conversation!
Call-in Number: (347) 826-9170
Online: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TruthAboutTrucking/2009/03/09/Employee-Free-Choice-Act-DEBATE
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Bailed out banks conspire to block workers' rights
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/bank-of-america-hosted-an_n_161248.html
Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community's top legislative priority.
Participants on the October 17 call -- including at least one representative from another bailout recipient, AIG -- were urged to persuade their clients to send "large contributions" to groups working against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), as well as to vulnerable Senate Republicans, who could help block passage of the bill.
Bernie Marcus, the charismatic co-founder of Home Depot, led the call along with Rick Berman, an aggressive EFCA opponent and founder of the Center for Union Facts. Over the course of an hour, the two framed the legislation as an existential threat to American capitalism, or worse.
"This is the demise of a civilization," said Marcus. "This is how a civilization disappears. I am sitting here as an elder statesman and I'm watching this happen and I don't believe it."
"If a retailer has not gotten involved in this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to [former Sen.] Norm Coleman and all these other guys, they should be shot. They should be thrown out their goddamn jobs," Marcus declared.
Audio of the conference call, which was obtained by the Huffington Post, is excerpted throughout this piece to provide a clearer insight into the pitched battle surrounding the Employee Free Choice legislation. At one point, relatively early in the call, Marcus joked that he "took a tranquilizer this morning to calm myself down."
"This bill may be one of the worst things I have ever seen in my life," he said, explaining that he could have been on "a 350-foot boat out in the Mediterranean," but felt it was more important to engage on this fight. "It is incredible to me that anybody could have the chutzpah to try and pass this bill in this election year, especially when we have an economy that is a disaster, a total absolute disaster."
The legislation -- which would allow workers to form a union either by holding a traditional election or having a majority of employees sign written forms -- is virtually certain to face a Republican filibuster. Obama and Senate Democrats have stated their commitment to the bill, though the timing of the vote remains a topic of heated debate.
Weeks before the November election, Marcus, Berman, and others saw this ominous political landscape taking shape. Hoping to aid opponents of EFCA in the Senate, they pleaded with participants on the call, mostly stock analysts or individuals with investment portfolios, to urge clients to prop up the campaigns of endangered Republican candidates, including Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, and Roger Wicker of Mississippi.
"If there are not enough Republicans operating as a firewall, after this election it is going to be very difficult to hold the line," predicted Berman. "The only way after these elections if we don't have a filibuster proof Senate... is to make this issue so hot in some states so that even a Democrat who is up for election in 2010 has to think twice about whether or not they are going to let this thing go by."
Citing the massive war chests that unions have brought to the EFCA fight, Marcus asked participants to make campaign donations rather than lobbying payments. "Fire all these guys in Washington," he said of the K-Street operators, "they are worthless anyway."
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Berman said that there "was nothing on that call that spoke to funneling money to anybody." Indeed, at a separate point, Marcus discussed the need to contribute to issue advocacy and education activities. The call, Berman continued, was designed to explain some of the economic implications of passing EFCA and was "one of a series with people around the country who are connected to businesses."
"There has been, though it has changed in the last few months, a fairly significant deficit in terms of understanding what this law is about," Berman said. "I know a number of business groups have held calls with people about the impact of this legislation... The unions who are a proponent of this have not made it a high profile issue. I think they have learned from their polling that it doesn't poll well, which is why they don't' want to make it a public issue."
As for the business community, Berman added, "I do think that most businesspeople fully appreciate the damage that out-of-control labor leaders have caused for other businesses. There is no appetite for finding out if you are going to have to be the next business to deal with other labor issues."
A Bank of America spokesman declined a request for public comment, and the bank's representative on the call played a minor role. The conference call was referenced in a November 5 Bank of America research document, in which the company noted that EFCA "increases the likelihood that retailers would be unionized, which could drive higher labor cost at retail." On "the flip side," however, the document said the bill would increase the "spending power of lower income consumers as this would be a de facto wage and benefit increase."
As evidenced by its dual interpretation of the legislation, Bank of America's role in the EFCA fight is a bit murky. The company, as stated by an official there, hosted the call for the purposes of equity research, meaning that their goal was to represent the opinions of clients and not the bank itself. But their involvement in an effort to drum up support for defeating the labor-backed legislation, so soon after getting bail out funds from the federal government, left a bad taste in the mouth of some union officials.
"Bank of America is now not only getting bailout money. They are lending their name to participate in a campaign to stop workers from having a majority sign up [provision]," said Stephen Lerner, Director of the Private Equity Project at SEIU. "The biggest corporations who have created the problem are, at the very time, asking us to bail them out and then using that money to stop workers from improving their lives."
Monday, December 29, 2008
New York Times endorses Employee Free Choice Act
Dear friends -- from Rick in Ohio
Great news! This morning the New York Times, the most influential voice in the major media, called on President-elect Obama to ignore corporate pressure and push for quick passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.
"The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed," the editorial said. "Even modest increases in the share of the unionized labor force push wages upward, because non-union workplaces must keep up with unionized ones that collectively bargain for increases."
It goes on to say that "if pay continues to lag, it will only prolong the downturn by inhibiting spending."
The editorial also calls for greatly increasing staff and resources of the Labor Department, hopefully under the direction of Rep. Hilda Solis, Obama's nomineee for Secretary of Labor. The Department, it says, should do far more to enforce and strengthen labor standards, including safety and overtime regulations.
The editorial should strengthen the hand of centrist Democrats and Republicans who have supported the bill but will be the main targets of the campaign, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to defeat it. It also gives us another weapon to pile the pressure on Sen. Voinovich who has so far opposed the bill.
Here is the link to the editorial:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/
Rick
Monday, November 17, 2008
Support Long Beach Journalists Holding the Line for Quality Journalism and Jobs
Target: MediaNews Group
Sponsored by: Southern California Media Guild/CWA Local 9400
As negotiations for a successor contract drag on into a second year, the company continues to push for the absolute right to outsource or offshore any and all newsroom work despite the union's attempt to negotiate reasonable alternatives.
The company is abandoning its watchdog duty and responsibilities to the community it serves. After years of staff reductions, just 11 news reporters and 5 photographers remain to cover the 5th largest city in California and one of the busiest ports in the world. The citizens of Long Beach and the 23 surrounding communities the paper covers need a staff of locally-based committed and experienced journalists to provide the community with the quality local journalism that will keep its citizenry informed. Democracy depends on it.
Click here to support Long Beach journalists for quality news and a fair deal or copy and paste this URL into your browser http://www.lang9400.com/phpPETITION/petition.php
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
When was the last time a president walked the picket line?
When was the last time a president walked the picket line? NEVER?!
This is why America should be so proud of having elected this man president.
http://www.presidentpicketscongress.org/
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Ohio goes for Obama - with a huge assist from labor
When I saw Ohio called for Obama this evening, I called my friend Bruce Bostick, a longtime steelworker and union activist, and frequent contributer of great stories to the PWW, to congratulate him. This is a huge victory for Ohio's working class, and its union movement.
In our paper Bruce reported on Ohio AFL-CIO leader Joe Rugola's walk across his state last month, stopping at towns and cities ravaged by plant closings and corporate greed, to rally Ohio workers to vote for Obama.
At a stop in Barberton, IBEW leader and newly elected mayor Bob Genet said,
“There were 1,800 good manufacturing jobs here,” said Genet. “That’s 1,800 families that have lost jobs and a huge blow to our local tax base. But it’s more than that. That is where all of our fathers worked. They used to hire family members. It was a good union shop, part of our family here. Now it’s just an old rusty building, thanks to the policies of this administration.”
Writing from Cleveland, Rick Nagin reported on the challenge issued early on by Cleveland area labor leader Loree Suggs, who told union delegates they needed to unite behind Barack Obama. “Go back to your locals. Now is the time to unite. We cannot let any bias or racial thoughts get in the way,” Suggs declared.
Nagin reported:
In case there was any doubt, Soggs said, the building trades had learned that their longtime opponent, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), had endorsed Republican John McCain, citing his opposition to every key issue protecting unions and working conditions including project labor agreements, the Employee Free Choice Act, the Davis-Bacon Act and occupational safety and health regulations.
“If your members have a problem with racial bias, tell them to get over it,” Soggs said. “Get over it for all time, but especially now for this election, get over it. We must put Barack Obama in the White House and, if we don’t, we are in deep trouble.”
It's clear that Ohio's far-sighted labor movement has made a huge contribution to moving our country forward.
Congratulations, Buckeye Staters.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
'Time To Give the Black Guy a Chance'
Carl Davidson of Progressives for Obama reports that the 'tide is turning" in blue-collar Beaver County, Pennsylvania. This county -- along with Davidson -- made it on the front page of the NY Times a couple of months ago as a "case study" of whether working class whites would go for Obama.
His recent blog "Time to give the Black guy a chance" points to a conclusion. Great writing -- all should read:
http://progressivesforobama.blogspot.com/
Steelworkers, unionists hit the streets
At a local steelworkers’ union hall in north Philadelphia, United Steel Workers President Leo Gerard spoke to a crowd of over 150 activists before they headed out for their morning door-to-door walks.
Gerard told the spirited union crowd that the “McCain straight talk express is going off a cliff” as, he pointed out, the nation saw a ninth straight month of net job losses. He continued, “We have socialism for the big banks and capitalism for the rest of us … The same people who tell us we can’t have government run health care are the ones who went with their hands out for a bail out for the big banks.”
Addressing the issue of racism directly, Gerard told the racially diverse crowd, “It’s hard to imagine that you would sacrifice the future of your country, your kids and your grandkids over the color of a man’s skin. In union halls around the country, we see people of all races and backgrounds. We are the face of America.”
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Are they really for “democracy at the workplace?”
Right now workers who try to form a union are up against employers who coerce, harass, intimidate and fire them. “Elections,” in which workers vote “yes” or “no” for union representation are held on company property after a long period during which workers have been forced to attend anti-union propaganda sessions. The union is not allowed in and has to reach workers outside the workplace.
Heavily funded right-wing outfits are rearing their ugly heads now all over the country, trying to turn back the growing support for the EFCA and they are attacking congressional and Senatorial candidates who support the bill.
One TV ad shows a union leader who looks like the stereotypical gangster barging into a voting booth and telling a worker who is in there that he can’t vote in secret. The gangster-type “union leader” hands him a card and tells him to make his choice while a bunch of people standing nearby look on.
The ad is co-sponsored by the so called “Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.”
This attack on the EFCA is as absurd as it is hypocritical.
To begin with, in any democracy, when people join an organization they usually do so by filling out a form, a card or an application printed by the group they want to join. When the company you work for joined the Chamber of Commerce in your town there was no election. You did not have the right to force the boss to attend a meeting at which workers had a chance to propagandize with him about how bad the Chamber of Commerce is. Democracy means that when you want to join an organization you should be able to sign up and join. No one has the right to force you to wait months or more so they can have a chance to talk or scare you out of doing it.
If the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace was really interested in pursuing the noble goal of democracy on the job there are numerous ways they could do it.
They could insist, for example, that before your company decides to move to
The companies, of course, are not interested in workplace democracy. Those decisions, they tell us, are company decisions and are none of our business.
Workers know that most workplaces are dictatorships where democracy stops as you enter the door. Any country in the world run like most companies in the
They believe the bosses have the right to threaten that they will close down if the workers unionize.
They believe bosses have the right to corner workers individually or to herd them into a room where they scare them into voting against a union.
They believe bosses have the right to fire people who want a union.
The reasons we must back the EFCA, however, go beyond even these issues of our human, civil and democratic rights.
The economy grows and profits grow but wages stagnate or even go down.
This is the direct result of the attacks on the labor movement and the fact that smaller percentages of the workforce are now unionized than 30 years ago.
The EFCA is the first step in reversing this trend. If the trend is not reversed we could well see an
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Confront racism, leader tells union
This just in from Gary Hicks in Boston...Right on! Labor is really taking this head on and getting a good response to it.
Confront racism, leader tells union
Issue shadows campaign for Obama, Haynes contends
By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff September 2, 2008
The state's top union leader, concerned that some white voters will not vote for Barack Obama because he is black, issued an impassioned plea to union members yesterday to confront racism on the campaign trail.
Speaking to politicians and pipefitters alike, Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Robert Haynes brought the audience to its feet at the Greater Boston Central Labor Council's annual Labor Day breakfast. He surprised many union members by delivering an unusually direct speech on the sensitive issue of racism, echoing concerns from other union leaders nationwide.
"Barack Obama's skin color isn't what matters in this election," Haynes told more than 350 people who gathered for bacon and eggs at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. "I'll be damned, and I know you'll be damned, if I let racism . . . scare this country into voting for John McCain." Haynes followed US Senator John Kerry, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and union leaders who also urged workers to vote and campaign for Obama, citing the urgency of the election and the fact that Democrats have lost the last two presidential contests.
Only Haynes raised the issue of racism directly.
Haynes said he decided to confront racism head-on because he had been hearing racist comments about Obama - some subtle, some overt - in restaurants and mechanics' garages across Massachusetts. Recently on the Cape, for instance, an elderly man busing tables suggested that he would not vote for Obama and referred to black colleagues as "those people." In another case, he said, car mechanics who normally voted Democrat said they would not support Obama because he is black.
Haynes said he gave his speech because he wanted to give union members something to say in response to racism on the campaign trail. Yesterday, he told union members they could emphasize the economy and workers' rights. They could point out that black union members have been voting for white Democrats for president all their lives.
When all else fails, he said, make voters see the shame in racism.
"You've got to look them dead in the eye," he said. "Can you imagine telling your kid in this day and age that you're not going to vote for someone because of the color of their skin?"
Nationally, other union leaders have raised concerns about racism hurting Obama among working-class white people. The national AFL-CIO endorsed Obama in June and launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to urge people to vote for him.
Making the point is crucial now, Haynes said, as dozens of union members flock to New Hampshire and other swing states to campaign for Obama. Massachusetts unions could have a key influence on New Hampshire voters, he said; about 10,000 of New Hampshire's 40,000 union members work in Massachusetts.
Haynes said he had never given such a speech before - even when Deval Patrick, Massachusetts' first black governor, was running for the seat.
Haynes's speech inspired many in the crowd.
"I don't think racism should be the point of the election," said Arthur Johnson, a 52-year-old security guard from Revere who is white.
Lauren Jacobs, organizing director of the Local SEIU 615, said union members who are campaigning in New Hampshire are emphasizing the issues that Obama shares with all voters. Obama is the son of a single mother, she said, and he struggled to put himself through college, something that resonates with voters.
"People really connect with this guy," she said.
Haynes said racism was prevalent everywhere, not just in the unions, although he did not think that most voters were racist. Still, he said he decided to make it a major issue because even a small number rejecting Obama because of his race could hurt his chances.
"We can't afford to have this guy lose the presidency because of unspoken truths," he said afterward. Haynes represents 400,000 union members in Massachusetts.
After the speech, union members, white and black, approached Haynes to shake his hand, slap him on the shoulder, and thank him for his speech.
David Eastmond of Boston, an iron worker for more than 30 years, said he hoped union leaders would share the speech across the United States.
"As an African American, I've been voting . . . for white presidents all my life," he said. "When the tables are turned, we've got a good candidate. Why can't we vote for him?"
Labor Day in Milwaukee
A very nice account of the impression Obama made at Milwaukee's Labor Day here. I haven't seen any reporting of this event in the corporate media.
In particular:
He spoke about the things which have come about due to the impact of labor unions. Things that were not given to individuals, but were fought for by organizing and working together. Some of the victories of labor he mentioned were a 40 hour work week, health care benefits and worker's compensation for those that are injured on the job.He also spoke of the quiet storms that many Americans are facing today.
He talked about the hard times and the difficult choices for all Americans. He mentioned that inner city kids that work hard in school cannot go to college, because of the cost of school and the lack of support from our government.
The entire speech was only fifteen minutes long. It was very thoughtful and sincere. One of the blogs I read today contained a quote from a NYT reporter that has been following Obama all campaign. This reporter said that yesterday's labor day speech was Barack Obama's finest speech of the campaign.
