LABOR SHORTS #2: Exposing Today's Union Bosses One Skid Mark at a Time

Labor Shorts, Vol. 1, Issue 2

Welcome to Labor Shorts, where we expose today's union bosses one skid mark at a time.

In this week's issue, we bring to you the following briefs...er...shorts:

• Harkin Hopes for EFCA in Fall. Union-mastered Senator Tom Harkin "hopes" for an EFCA vote this fall, reports the Hill. [For more information on the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act go here.]
• Goodbye Norma Rae. EFCA pushers invoke the spirit of the late Cheryl Lee Sutton (aka 'Norma Rae') as a means to draw support of the job killing legislation. What the proponents of no-vote unionization neglect to mention is that the textile plant that 'Norma Rae' helped unionize closed in 2003 [Listen to the NPR report here.]
• Kiddie Indoctrination Part Deux. We've seen the videos of kids eerily singing praises to the President, but those are considered educational anomalies. On the other hand, Michelle Malkin is posting how union indoctrination (including union organizing, complete with the creation of "peer education program about workers’ rights today") is built into the curriculum in the L.A. Unified School District.
• Boeing, Going, Gone? Despite its denial that it has made up its mind about transferring some of it 787 production to its recently union-free South Carolina facility, Boeing is seeking land clearing permits [perhaps to send a signal to its unionized workforce in Washington?].
• A Paper Tiger? The United Steel Workers (formerly the United Steel Workers of America) will learn tonight whether it will continue representation of 900 Virginia paper workers, many of them who are supportive of an independent union formed by former USW local officers.
• Let Them Walk and Carry Signs. Did you know that crossing guards are unionized in the State of Rhode Island? And, did you know the City of Warwick gave the crossing guards lifetime health care and pension benefits? No, really! Well, apparently the mayor of Warwick thought the same thing so he fired all the crossing guards. Problem is, the State Labor Relations Board ordered the city to rehire the crossing guards and pay them the salaries and benefits they would have been paid under the terms of their last contract. [Of course, at taxpayer expense.]
• Union Fundraiser: 'Raids Made Possible Only Through the Support of Members Like You.' The Willamette Reds report that the National Union of Healthcare Workers (the union formerly known as SEIU United Healthcare West) had a successful trip to the AFL-CIO Convention two weeks ago, receiving financial pledges from unions around the country. This will allow the NUHW to continue its fight against the Purple People Eater, otherwise known as the SEIU.
• Speaking of Union Raids... The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is raiding another union's 6,700 members in Suffolk, NY
• Goodyear's Steelworker Contract Saves 1/2 Billion+. The new contract covers 10,300 workers at plants in Akron, Ohio; Buffalo, N.Y.; Danville, Va.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Gadsden, Ala.; Topeka, Kan.; and Union City, Tenn.
• Everyone is NUTS over ACORN! Of all the czars and union stars proliferating the White House these days, Patrick Gaspard, former SEIU and ACORN front man and current White House Director of Political Affairs (think Karl Rove) has caught the attention of RedState.
• Where ACORN gets its Nutty Flavor. Union-Free America has posted where some of ACORN's green money making machine comes from. [Here's a hint: Unions.]
• Between a Rock and a Boulder. When teachers abandon school kids for picket lines, education gets short changed. However, in Boulder, CO, the school superintendent plans to use subs to keep schools open.
• Speaking of Rocky Relations in the Rockies. UFCW-represented grocery workers at Safeway and City Markets have rejected their employers' offers, setting the stage for a strike.
• Teamsters get a Time OUT. After representing workers at El Paso's Time Warner Cable for 30 years, the Teamsters were ousted (130 to 90) by TWC employees.
• ...And Bombs with Plans for FedEX. Teamsters' most recent efforts to run FedEx (into the ground) by busting founder Fred Smith's job into two were shot down by shareholders.
• Take this Shot & Shove it! Hundreds of health care workers in New York protest mandatory pig flu shots: When asked if he's willing to lose his job, Frank Mannino, RN, said, "Absolutely. I will not take it, will not be forced. This is still America." [Um... okay...]
• Don't Do the Crime if You Can't Do the Time. Only in New Jersey. Anthony R. Ambrosio pled guilty to five charges, including embezzlement of an employee benefit program, tax evasion and conspiracy, and now faces up to 25 years in prison and $6 million in fines. One of his charges was paying $20,000 (+/-) to leaders of the Operating Engineers Local 825.

And, that, dear readers, concludes this week's Labor Shorts.

Best wishes for a productive and prosperous week's end.

For more news and views on today's labor unions, join LaborUnionReport's group on Linkedin or follow us on Twitter.

"I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." -- Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

LABOR SHORTS: Exposing Today's Union Bosses One Skid Mark at a Time

Welcome to LaborUnionReport's Labor Shorts, where we expose today's union bosses one skid mark at a time.

You might ask: What is Labor Shorts?

Well, picture New York Times' labor columnist Steven Greenfield hooking up with Paris Hilton after she's done about two grams of blow:

Labor Shorts is a fast and easy way to keep you up to date and interested in a freak-show-kind-of-way on the latest union news.

For example:

• Accused nepotist and Colorado union boss Ernie Duran was ousted by UFCW members this week
• Biting the Hand that Feeds You. Pro-union security guards employed by a sub-contractor rallied this morning in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to greet the museum's new president on his first day. Hmmm. Now that's client relations!
• Flunk them. UAW-represented teaching and research assistants, tutors and graders in the University of California have opted to strike this week. [Yeah. It's that UAW.]
• Sour Notes in Sarasota. The American Federation of Musicians has filed ULPs against Sarasota Orchestra Inc. for its imposition of its final contract offer. Horn blowers and other musicians are objecting to wage and pension cuts.
• Ted's Dead, But Dems Plod On. Following a hypocritical about-face maneuver in Massachusetts, Democratic Governor Devil [sic] Patrick is ready to announce Ted Kennedy's replacement...
• ...But Byrd's Down Again. Democrats' agenda hit another snag on Wednesday when the former KKK Exalted Cyclops and Senator Robert Byrd took a spill in his Maclean, VA home.
• NLRB Disses Dealers in Atlantic City. The union-controlled NLRB dismissed a decertification petition filed by dealers at AC's Trump Plaza.
• Nutty ACORN Hits Back. Filing suit against America's most famous 'pimp and 'prostitute,' lobbying congressional leaders, and going on a PR tour are part of ACORN's counterattack.
• Bad Call? The NBA locked out referees last week.
• AFL-CIO's New Boss Shows His Rainbow Colors. Gay Today reports the Trumka is fully behind the LGBT movement. [...and that matters how?]
• Don't Call them Communists. The AFL-CIO called for the end of the U.S. economic blockade against Cuba and the lifting of all travel restrictions to the island.
• Steelworkers Push For Trade War. Following their persuasion of Barack Obama to impose tarriffs on Chinese-made tires, the United Steelworkers filed another complaint on Chinese and Indian coated paper.

And that, dear readers, is LaborUnionReport's Labor Shorts.

For more union-related news stories, join LaborUnionReport's group on Linkedin.

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BIG NEWS: TEDDY'S FAUX REPLACEMENT TO BE NAMED BY MASS GUV

Big News on the health care and EFCA debates: The Massachusetts legislature approved giving Democrat governor Devil Patrick the power to appoint an interim replacement for the late Senator, Ted Kennedy.

This will bring the Democrats the needed 60 votes in the Senate (assuming Robert Byrd [D-WV] can make it in to vote), to overcome any Repulican-led filibusters.

Read more here.

ARLEN SPECTER'S PREMATURE MASTICATION PROBLEM

Although it's rarely talked about in the open, it is a severe problem that affects some men.

We've heard that, without understanding partners, it can lead to moments of deep embarrassment and, if not properly diagnosed, an overall loss of confidence.

It's called Premature Mastication Syndrome and its victims often do not know they have it until it is too late.

Premature Mastication Syndrome is a phenomenon that occurs when certain men (most often men with self-identity issues), in a moment of great passion, prematurely open their mouths in an attempt to deliver an intelligent dissertation, speech, or some other communication, but spontaneously erupts in self-congratulatory dribble.

Apparently, Pennsylvania's Senator Arlen Specter (the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Democrat) suffers from Premature Mastication Syndrome and, on Tuesday, masticated all over himself in front of 4,000 Lords and Ladies from the House of Labor, as well as labor's new king, Richard Trumka.

At the AFL-CIO's convention in Pittsburgh, Senator Specter chose to speak about the delusionally-dubbed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). A controversial bill in Congress that Sen. Specter has been at the center of for more than two years.

[Senator Specter voted for cloture on the bill in 2007 (sending a signal of support for the measure) before turning against the bill earlier this year, then he supported the bill (again) when he switched parties.]

Whether it was his intention or not, Sen. Specter spilled the beans on a secret-deal that he and fellow senators allegedly made with labor leaders on the job-destroying legislation, claiming the bill would pass the Senate by the end of the year.

To make matters worse for himself, Specter even leaked his version of EFCA to the Washington Post.

[Hey, if you're going to embarrass yourself by prematurely masticating in public, you might as well go all the way, right?]

Here is what WaPo had to say:

An hour before President Obama appeared at the AFL-CIO convention here to reaffirm his support for bill, Specter told hundreds of cheering union officials that by year's end Congress would pass labor law legislation that "will be totally satisfactory to labor."

Well, apparently his partners were less than satisfied (how embarrassing!).

According to Secret Ballot Watch:

Arlen Specter made quite a splash yesterday with his declaration that a new version of the Employee Free Choice Act had garnered the 60 votes needed for passage in the Senate.

Yesterday, the newly Democratic lawmaker appeared before the AFL-CIO convention. He announced that a compromise on EFCA has been “pounded out” and would pass by year’s end – to great applause.

After his speech, Specter offered reporters some details of the “new” legislation: a deal that apparently key allies weren’t aware of, especially dropping the “card check” provision of the bill.

National Journal’s CongressDaily sorts out the details here:

“After a key legislator described a pending compromise on card-check legislation Tuesday, backers scrambled to tamp down speculation that a deal on the labor reform bill has been finalized.
…

“‘There is no final deal in place,’ said incoming AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

Ooops! Thus, by declaring a deal was done on EFCA (when it really wasn't), Arlen Specter revealed that he suffers from Premature Mastication Syndrome and, in the process, caused great embarrassment for himself.

Note: Although rarer, some women are also known to have Premature Mastication Syndrome.

A NEARLY BROKE AFL-CIO GETS A 'NARCISSISTIC, LAZY, SELF-INDULGENT' NEW BOSS

Next week marks the coronation of a new boss-of-bosses for the U.S. labor movement.

Richard Trumka, the former head of the United Mine Workers and the AFL-CIO's number two man for the last 14 years will take over the nation's largest labor federation by proclamation.

While Trumka is well known for being a fiery orator, his rise to the top spot is more a result of no one else having stepped up to challenge him than anything else.

CounterPunch, a left-of-center blog, has a less-than flattering take on Trumka and the federation he is inheriting.

Twelve years ago, the last time delegates to the AFL-CIO’s National Convention mustered in Pittsburgh, the rhetoric was lofty with invocations to organizing and expanded horizons, Union Cities and Street Heat, but in retrospect the most striking feature was money. Money represented by the legions of smarty-pants staffers and the repeated vows to spend $20 million a year on organizing and whatever it took on politics; money as expressed in the ubiquitous media “outreach,” the glossy brochures and overproduced sets whose only functional purpose was to justify the retainers of the formidable crew of hired pr experts; money as an AFL side business in the form of its Union Plus credit card program, then being vigorously promoted.

....

At a boat ride soiree on Pittsburgh’s rivers one night during that 1997 convention Andy Stern, then relatively new as John Sweeney’s successor as SEIU president, was breezily chatty about labor’s fighting side, the potential for blue-green alliances and subjects far afield union matters. He had been instrumental in organizing Sweeney’s victory as president of the federation in 1995, and as the union president most identified with the style and scaffolding of the New AFL, it seemed he could not have been happier.

Now Stern is gone and the money’s gone, from the AFL-CIO at least, and when delegates again converge on Pittsburgh for another National convention from September 13 through 17 they will bid a final adieu to Sweeney too. What will remain most prominently of that season of change will be Rich Trumka, elected secretary treasurer of the AFL-CIO fourteen years ago and now barreling forward to an uncontested election as the head of the federation, promising again to be an agent of change.

However, not all union bosses are enamored with Sweeney and Trumka's handling of the AFL-CIO, stating in May that "“A new leadership — leaders chosen by our members, leaders help [sic] accountable by our members — is needed.”

Buffenbarger was complaining about the AFL-CIO's financial straits and, according to the CounterPunch article:

The numbers aren’t fully known, but the federation’s debt is said by one union leader to be in the neighborhood of $24 million. The money gained from royalties on the Union Plus card, which once accounted for something like 30 per cent of the federation’s revenue, has been blown, as have most of the operating reserves. What had been a $66 million surplus in 2000 has vanished, to the point where the Machinists’ Tom Buffenbarger warned earlier in the year that “insolvency might be right around the corner.”

Trumka according to CounterPunch, was not "the financial gatekeeper that his title implied, and in fact for some time now it has seemed that Trumka was merely warming a seat all those years as the AFL’s second man, making the occasional fiery speech and waiting, for John Sweeney to retire and himself to inherit the president’s platform."

“Bully pulpit” is the term being used, and it fits. Beloved by some in organized labor — for his heroics at the helm of the 1989-90 Pittston strike when he headed the United Mine Workers, for his fist-thumping rhetoric and brusque manner — Trumka is the bane of others for his performance as part of a team that turned out to be less inspiring than many had hoped.

“Narcissistic, lazy, self-indulgent,” one longtime union organizer quickly ticked off when I asked for an assessment of Trumka. “With Richard, everything will always be about Richard.” He will claim center stage. He will disburse rewards and punishments based on who makes him feel comfortable or not. He will take credit for victories and deflect blame for failures. He will bristle at even polite criticism. More than anything, perhaps, he will enjoy the sound of his own voice.
[Emphasis added.]

So, next week, as the media covers the AFL-CIO convention as dutiful union members that most writers are, it is clear that not all in the labor movement are unified behind or enamored with the new union boss-of-bosses.

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THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER TAKES ON GEICO'S GECKO

Sad news for the little green Gecko America has come to love. The Purple People Eater, otherwise known as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is out to get the little lizard.

It seems that insurance carrier GEICO has replaced its unionized cleaning services contractor with a non-union contractor, which has displaced SEIU-represented janitors.

From the Washington Post:

The chanting procession by 16 purple-clad demonstrators during Thursday's evening rush on Wisconsin Avenue marked the latest beat in the running conflict between Chevy Chase-based insurer GEICO and the Service Employees International Union.

A purple flier passed out by protesters took on the GEICO Gecko, noting that janitors working for a recently replaced contractor lost their jobs "due to GEICO's no so funny or cute money saving strategies." The company "decided to save a penny on their backs," it read.

More at the Washington Post.

SHOCKING: SEIU-Backed ACORN Officials Caught Telling 'Pimp' & 'Prostitute' How to Lie to IRS, Claim Child Prostitutes as 'Dependents'

While new revelations about SEIU-funded ACORN may not be that shocking anymore, the most recent allegations do seem to stretch the senses of even the most cynical.

A video tape made public today by Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com shows ACORN officials allegedly telling a woman posing as a prostitute how to lie to the IRS, as well as how to claim "child prostitutes" as 'dependents.'

View video (in two parts) below:





According to NPR.com:

ACORN's biggest union backer, the Service Employees International Union, gave more than $4 million to the community organization and its affiliates from 2006-07, according to Dept. of Labor filings. One SEIU local union, the Illinois Homecare Workers and Home Childcare Providers, sprouted from ACORN's organizing efforts and pays rent to ACORN.

ACORN's affiliates also pick up money from the Change to Win labor federation, the Food and Commercial Workers Union and the United Federation of Teachers, among others.

The question will be: Will President Obama's Justice Department investigate this? Or, will it be swept under the union-made rug?

Hat-tip to LaborUnionReport reader "Jill"

OBAMA NAMING UNION GUY IN CHARGE OF AMERICA'S MANUFACTURING IS LIKE PUTTING DRACULA IN CHARGE OF COLLECTING BLOOD

Putting a union commissar in charge of America's manufacturing policy is like putting Dracula in charge of blood collections. Yet, that is exactly what President Barack Obama is doing today (Labor Day) when he names former United Steelworkers' honcho Ron Bloom to become America's Manufacturing Czar or, in politcal parlance, Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy.

Already serving as one of Obama's Car Czars, Bloom is known for pushing the US automakers, General Motors and Chryster to draft out questionably viable plans for the future and pushed the CEO of GM to resign.

It should also be noted that Bloom & Co. also crafted the tax-payer funded bailout of the auto industry, which included the controversial bypassing of esablished bankruptcy law and putting the UAW in front of other creditors.

Given unions' track records (see union graphic at right) in causing the demise of so many industries, not the least of which are the auto, steel, and textile industries, as well as the closure of tens of thousands of unionized companies, the decision to put a union activist in charge of the nation's manufacturing policy seems akin to putting the fox into the henhouse or giving Dracula the job of collecting blood.

According to a statement posted on ABC News, President Obama states:

“Last week we learned that our manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 18 months and had the highest monthly output in two years. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track to economic recovery, but that we still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve asked Ron Bloom to help coordinate my Administration’s manufacturing policy. Distinguished by his extraordinary service on the Auto Task Force and his extensive experience with both business and labor, Ron has the knowledge and experience necessary to lead the way in creating the good-paying manufacturing jobs of the future. We must do more to harness the power of American ingenuity and productivity so that we can put people back to work and unleash our full economic potential.”

Bloom's statement:

"A strong manufacturing sector is a cornerstone of American competitiveness and a critical part of President Obama’s economic strategy. As we meet the challenges of globalization and technological change, it is vital to have a concerted effort across the Administration to support an innovative, vibrant manufacturing sector.”

The appointment of Bloom comes a mere two days after the ignomonious resignation of Van Jones, Obama's Green Jobs Czar.

BAD NEWS FOR UNION BOSSES: This Labor Day, the Majority of Americans Think You SUCK!

Bad news this Labor Day weekend, according to a Gallup poll release on Friday, for the first time ever the majority of Americans disapprove of unions.

While many (particularly union bosses) may view this as a surprise, it should not be that shocking.

Since 2006, when unions won the election mid-term elections for Democrats, unions have been exerting greater influence on the Democratic Party. This has manifested itself in the Leftward push of the party itself, turning the Democrats into, for the first time in America, a de facto Labor Party.

While many Americans were naive to this underground revolution on the Left, union bosses continued to flex their political muscles through 2008, culminating in November's Obama victory.

Since the 2008 Obama victory, the proverbial "sleeping giant" of America is starting to slowly wake up to the union bosses' game, having seen:

• A Bailout of the Auto Industry at taxpayer expense, rewarding the United Auto Workers, the union that helped decimate the auto industry.
• An attempt to nationalize health care by the administration, but led by unions
• Astro-turfing at town hall meetings where union thugs take their aggression out on concerned citizens and, in at least one case, allegedly beat up a man
• The incoming president of the AFL-CIO openly threatening politicians that it's the union way or else...
• A union-back bill that has been hallucinogenically named the Employee Free Choice Act which 1) removes workers' right to a secret-ballot election if a majority are tricked into signing union "authorizations" and 2) allows a federal government-appointed arbitrator to dictate workers' wages and benefits.

These, among other reasons (all union bosses' own doing), appear to be taking their toll on the public's perception of today's unions. This has led AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka to recently say: "We haven't branded ourselves."

Mr. Trumka fails to realize that no amount of 'branding' will erase the fact that today's unions are nothing like the unions of the past. Today's unions are controlled from the top-down by bosses who have embraced a socialist world view and have aided in the demise of thousands of companies and millions of jobs.

We'll have to wait and see next year's poll numbers to see if Americans continue waking up to today's union bosses and their shenanigans.

The'yre Baaack! No-Vote Unionization Pushers Release New EFCA Ad for Labor Day

Just when you thought it was safe to wade back to work, the pushers of the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act are out with an ad (see below) just in time for Labor Day weekend.

American Rights at Work, a labor coalition, announced today that it will launch a national cable television ad campaign that try to make the case for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow unions to bypass secret elections that they claim give a chance for employers to intimidate workers.

Just to clarify for new readers what the oxymoronically-dubbed bill is, EFCA:

• Causes the removal of the secret-ballot on union elections if more than 50% of workers sign union "authorizations" causing workers to become unionized based merely on their signatures
• Mandates a government-imposed contract if a company and union cannot reach an agreement within 120 days of negotiations.
• Imposes punitive fines on only employers (not unions) who violate the law.

For more anout EFCA, go here

In enacted, the practical effects of EFCA will be:

• Immediate gains in union membership, swelling union coffers immensely
• Chilling effect on employer speech
• Closure of small companies under the burden of unionization, resulting in layoffs of workers (view article on EFCA's killing of American jobs here).
• Capital flight in the form of more outsourcing of jobs, as larger companies take flight from the onerous burdens of unionization.
• More automation in those industries that cannot be outsourced resulting in fewer jobs
• Following the expiration of government-imposed two-year contracts, for those companies that can survive, there is likely to be a sharp increase in labor strife (i.e., union strikes and employer lockouts).
• Potential for one-party rule in state and national politics, as unions will be able to moblize millions of dollars and tens of thousands of members to polls

Here is the ad being launched this weekend.

For more information go to 1-888-NO-UNION.COM.

SEIU FOOTS THE BILLS FOR TOWN-HALL THUGS

Nearly a month ago, SEIU bosses in the St. Louis heeded President Barack Obama's call to engage Americans who were protesting the nationalization of health care.

As the world knows, things got ugly (see video below) and, according to eyewitness accounts, two or more SEIU thugs allegedly beat a black conservative who had been handing out "Don't Tread on Me" flags, sending him to the hospital.

However, that's not the end of the story.

As of today, it has been revealed that one of the SEIU thugs who did the beat-down on is apparently having his legal fees paid by the SEIU and that he has applied for workers compensation, but has been denied so far.

If true, this would mean he is claiming that he was was being paid (by the SEIU) while he was beating someone up. Here is the e-mail that Elston McCowan has reportedly sent around asking for money:

Text of Email:

From: (personal email address of Elston McCowan removed)

Sent: 8/24/2009 2:54:43 P.M. Central Daylight Time

Subj: Re: We Need a Defense Committee for MCCowan/attacked by Teaparty
Thugs

Hi All,

I think a truth committee is needed as well as legal and medical funds. To-date my workman's comp has been denied, which means that I have to pay co-pays for my Dr.'s visits as well as deductibles. Currently SEIU Local 2000 is paying for my legal fees in defending myself and any others charged with assault associated with the Union. I hope that if there is a Civil Suite against me, they will pay those legal fees as well, but there aren't any guarantees at this juncture.

Thanks,

Elston

We'll keep you posted on this story as it develops.

AFL-CIO BOSS STILL BACKS SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, THREATENS POLS (AGAIN) & INSULTS THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS...

If politicians don't back AFL-CIO boss Rich Trumka's ideals for socialized medicine, they should expect to incur the wrath of he and his unions.

According to ABC News, Trumka spoke on Tuesday, warning fellow Democrats to get behind the creation of a government insurance option or face political "peril" in 2010.

"We will continue to push it and say to them: 'Do so at your peril,"
AFL-CIO secretary treasurer Richard Trumka told ABC News. "If you're not willing to do what you promised to do, you'll have a tough time convincing our members at election time."

Asked to elaborate on what kind of "peril" these Democrats would face, Trumka added, "We're going to tell our members the truth: 'Who stood with them. Who stood for health insurance reform. Who wanted to make the insurance
companies happy versus those who wanted to make Americans healthy. And at election time, I think it will be a tough sell for any politician who is a part of killing health insurance reform to get the support of working Americans."

It should be noted that, by "working Americans," Trumka is talking about union members and, since union members only account for 7.5 percent of the private-sector (and falling), Trumka is insultingly implying that the other 92.5% of Americans don't work.

Trumka said that a public insurance option is one of three "absolute musts" for the AFL-CIO. "It's an absolute must," said Trumka when asked if the AFL-CIO could compromise on the issue. "We won't support the bill if it doesn't have a public option in it."

"There are three absolute musts," he added. "You have to have an employer mandate; you can't tax the benefits of workers to pay for it; and it has to have a public option. Otherwise, you don't get health insurance reform, you don't break the stranglehold of the insurance companies, and the system goes on and on and on as it has. Costs go up, quality of care goes down."

Asked if that means that the AFL-CIO was prepared to work against a bill that does not include a public option, Trumka sidestepped the question, saying, "That means we won't support the bill if it doesn't' have a public option."

Comrade Trumka, perhaps not having your support is a good thing for America.

A SNEAK PEEK ON WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE AFL-CIO CONVENTION

In ten days' time, the AFL-CIO's bigwigs (the neo-union bosses of today) will be swarming Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend what will be billed as their most important convention in a generation.

As with any union convention there will be the usualy demonization of "corporate greed," "union-busting," and need for "leveling the playing field." There will be much cheers when talking about the working class and more jeers when it comes to anything other than the working class. The rhetoric will be laced with Marxist appeals, without specifically calling it Marxist.

Much fanfare will be heaped on outgoing AFL-CIO boss John Sweeney (and DSA member) and incoming boss Richard Trumka. The neo-union bosses, posing as champions of the underclass, will be crowing about their new-found takeover of the Washington official appartchik.

There will likely be some astro-turfing rally or other event for union leaders to go out and hold a press conference in front of.

There will be much fiery rhetoric from all micro-phonies, but none more so than from Trumka.

So, to give you an advance sneak peek inside the halls and to break it all down for you, here's what you will (and, more importantly, will not) see in the news:

What you WILL hear about the AFL-CIO's new leader:

• Richard Trumka will be confirmed as the new president of the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO's PR hacks will claim he was "elected."

What you will NOT hear:

• Trumka is running unopposed and lobbied hard to garner endorsements from union bosses who were not so enamored with him.

What you WILL hear about outgoing AFL-CIO boss John Sweeney:

• Accolade upon accolade heaped upon outgoing AFL-CIO boss John Sweeney

What you will NOT hear:

• Under John Sweeney's reign, due to infighting, the AFL-CIO lost approximately 40% of its membership due to a nasty break-up in 2005;


• Under John Sweeney's reign, unions have continued an overall decline as a percentage of the workforce due to unionized companies closing and outsourcing unionized jobs;


• Under John Sweeney's reign, the AFL-CIO has moved toward a total embrace of the tenets of socialism.

What you WILL hear from the AFL-CIO's Organizer-in-Chief:

• President Barack Obama (scheduled to speak on September 15th) will be speaking to convention delegates on Sept 15th and will:


• Reconfirm his commitment and devotion to unions


• Reconfirm the "principle" of the delusionally-dubbed Employee Free Choice Act and will state that he will sign it if it reaches his desk


• Challenge delegates not to give up fighting for Universal Health Coverage (aka socialized medicine)


• Pledge to help advance the cause of "social justice" through immigration reform (amnesty)


• Heap more blame on the Bush Administration, the GOP, and "Wall Street" for all that has befallen America in the last thirty years

What you will NOT hear from the Organizer-in-Chief:

• Unions have spent an estimated $1.4 billion of their members' money in 2006 and 2008 to become the de facto Labor Party in the United States


• Obama's poll numbers are tanking due to Americans getting over the Obama hype and realizing that America is facing a $9 TRILLION debt


• The $787 billion (so-called) "stimulus package" has not saved or created jobs and, in fact, may have made it worse


• That terrorists are now being treated like common criminals


• Amnesty ("immigration reform") will ensure another 11 million + voters for Democrats


• The Employee Free Choice Act is a bad bill that will destroy jobs, BUT it will ensure Democrat majorities for the next 40 years

The above is just a synopsis of what you will hear and not hear coming out of the AFL-CIO's convention, but stay tuned.

We'll be updating you as the convention commences. Be sure to stay tuned to LaborUnionReport.com for the latest.

"I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes." Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

ACORN'S TAX PROBLEMS

Perhaps ACORN goes to the same CPA as Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner as it seems that, unlike the vast majority of Americans, both have their problems paying their taxes.

This from the Healthcare Horserace:

Pelican Institute for Public Policy, the premier think-tank in Louisiana, uncovered evidence last week that proves that the far-Left activism group, ACORN, and several “closely-related groups” owe more than $1 million in backed state and federal taxes. These findings, validated by Orleans Parish court records, also indicated that the organization “paid off more than $1.1 million in late bills since January of 2008.”

The organization, based in New Orleans, La. and operating in partnership with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), has accounts delinquent since 2004, including one tax bill totaling $545,000. ACORN (Associations of Community Organizations for Reform) and its affiliate companies have outstanding federal tax liabilities of $1 million and four Louisiana tax bills of at least $28,000. In March 2008 alone, nearly $1.2 million in federal tax liens were filed against ACORN and its related groups with only some of them being cleared upon payment.

Read the entire article here.