Obama for President, A Worker's Reasoning
I have seen a lot of disappointments and successes in the union movement in the United States; especially over the last three years of publishing Union Review. If there is a rhythm to what is and is not taking place in the United States it would have to be our lame administration. We have an anti-union president, NLRB, and more and more power transferred to the largest of union busting corporations. Clearly I am concerned with who will be taking office after this election.
While the AFL-CIO is spending a lot of dollars, time and energy on its anti-McCain campaign and the Change to Win is going with Obama ... I have watched close to both Democratic candidates since Edwards pushed out of the race.
I am going with Obama – and I think you should too.
I believe that Obama is serious when he says he will strengthen our ability to organize unions. I believe him when he says that he will fight for the Employee Free Choice Act. I believe him when he states that his labor appointees will support workers’ rights and that he will work to ban the permanent replacement of workers. Many working people know that going on strike is often a last resort – but that it is a tool that we are often left no choice but to employ. Unfortunately, many working people also know what it is like to lose our jobs to scabs crossing our lines and taking less money, unaffordable health care, and take what they can get their hands on.
Can you imagine a president coming out and saying that he supports the right of workers to bargain collectively and to STRIKE if necessary? We need to be able to strike so that we can stand up for ourselves without the worry that some moronic scab will take our jobs. Obama has pledged to work toward BANNING replacement workers!
Then there is the misclassification issue that many of us deal with. Whether we are taxi drivers in California, nurses and health care providers, construction workers or FedEX drivers and sorters ... we have all known, first hand, the utter rubbish associated with misclassification.
Obama is a cosponsor of legislation that would overturn the “Kentucky River” decisions that classified hundreds of thousands of nurses, construction, and professional workers as “supervisors” who are not protected by federal labor laws – and that goes a long way with me. We need more Mickey Mouse laws overturned and stronger, union-made laws put in place. I truly believe that Obama can do this ... and more!
I am not going to head into a whole Clinton-bashing segment of this entry, but I will tell you this: I am not comfortable with anyone as married to NAFTA as Clinton is. I am not comfortable with a Clinton who sat on the Board of Wal-Mart ... knowing full-well how this company has continued to mistreat its workforce while instilling an anti-union rhetoric and propaganda parade as part of its corporate culture. I am not comfortable with a Clinton who has recently lied about being against NAFTA, lied about being shot at in a warzone ... or, well anything else. While I think it is exciting to see a woman running for president, this is not the woman I want to run the country. I simply don’t think that she can do it – or at least do it right.
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Obama in "The Pit"
Hello from the West Coast, union folks:
Though I am still very fond of Edwards, I was pretty keen on Obama even before Edwards left the race for the Presidency, and I have always thought the two of them would make a great team. Well anyhow, it came very natural for me to support Obama, and I felt quite proud to have at least a little bit of input in the decision by Local 503 (Oregon) to say yes to the International SEIU Endorsement. (I am on the Board, and the conference call was memorable.)
Fast forward to a couple Fridays back, and I got to see Obama say hello to Eugene, Oregon at the University of Oregon's famous basketball court, known as "The Pit." So yes, Richard, I am totally with you on support for this fine man. Here is an excerpt from an email I sent to the Board of Directors after the experience:
“I,and some of my SEIU 503 comrades, did make it in with the many thousands to thisunticketed event for which some folks waited many hours to get in. Our original intent was to join up withWayne and his cluster of folks, but this did not pan out; so, our sea of purplewas maybe a couple of puddles. (Turns out there were thousands who did not get in, and some sort ofimpromptu talk by Obama even took place on the outside after he arrived!)
Iknew in advance that there was no apparent SEIU 503 connection to the event, soit came as no great surprise to see only one SEIU shirt in the floor audience thatI could see (at least from my vantage point looking down on the stage), one ofthe clients of a care provider in our union. We were somewhat up in the clouds, but it was still quiteremarkable to be observing this kind of history and to actually feel hope forour country, and for our people. One person in our party had a good video camera with strong telephotocapacity, so maybe she got some good stuff.
Toany who have not experienced "The Pit," this is a formidably noisyvenue. At least it can be whenpeople are stomping, screaming and clapping as they might for a competitivebasketball game. And that is whatwas happening. Obama immediatelysaid, "So this is the pit..." which led to a lot more noise!
Itwas quite remarkable how much stamina, good humor, intelligence and orderly thinkingthis man has. He had been goingnonstop (except he stopped for pizza in Corvallis according to someone I spokewith outside the event, must have been revealed by cell phone relay), from a.m.until when we saw him speak, which did not happen until a bit after 9 pm. Yikes!”
So there you have it, pretty darn exciting. I know that this alone does not relay a lot of the substance that this man has to offer. What is not so clear to his detractors is that it is a leader like him that we desperately need to inspire both young and old to become part of the solution to our country's many ills. Working people need hope of recovery from the labor-unfriendly regime that has ruled for too long.
I too, even though I AM a woman, will not elaborate on Billary . I want the one running for the White House as the Democratic Candidate to be Obama.
I am in, Richard.
Star Holmberg, w/SEIU Local 503
Thank you, Star
Fantastic to have you along! What a great story being down at the Pit and watching all this unfold. I love these kind of stories.
You said, "Working people need hope of recovery from the labor-unfriendly regime that has ruled too long," and I cannot agree with you more. I do believe that we can place some hope in Obama. I think we are well on the way when we see this candidate's stance on labor.
Everything he is calling for on EFCA, Misclassification, Replacement Workers ... all this stuff is what we are fighting for day in and day out; the acknowledgement alone is fantastic, but ... I believe we can pull this off, together.
How excited am I that you are on board?
If there's anyone in this country who can...
It's Obama. This guy has the potential to really activate "regular people" en masse.
I really believe that once people start believing in their own ability to make a difference in their own lives and their government, we will start to see a shift in policies that matter.
What could be a greater power than the ability to persuade people to get off their butts and do something? And how rare -- how precious -- is that power?
How many people who have felt powerless their entire lives will be out there on the streets making a difference? How many people do you think will discover that they are actually democrats?
Ahh... It's a beautiful thought.
Looking at Obama’s record
Yes!
One concern...
Did people notice Robert Novack's piece on Obama's plan to end federal oversight of the Teamsters union?
Herman Benson has a piece on this: http://bensonsudblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/hoffa-soft-on-obama-and-vice-v...
The IRB, empowered by court order to act against corruption in the
Teamster union, has been an effective force against organized crime. It
is true that, on corruption matters, the Independent Review Board has
held the Teamsters to a high standard --- that difficult task has been
its finest achievement, one that no other agency, government or
private, law enforcement or civil, has been able to do before. But not
exactly to a standard higher than expected of other unions. The
Teamsters are required only to meet anti-corruption standards we should
expect --- at least demand --- of other unions. If some other unions
fall short, does that give the Teamsters a free pass? Senator Obama
proposes to lift the moral standards of the nation’s politics. Could he
begin by lowering standards for the Teamsters union?
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The practice of democracy in organizing is the organizing of democracy in practice.
I noticed and left it alone
I, speaking ONLY FOR ME, not the Teamsters, or even Union Review ... but as one simple working guy ... read Benson's piece and wondered if he ever worked-worked ... meaning, how long has he been looking to find items to discuss that creates a greater separation among working people at a time when we are starving for unity? Maybe I am ignorant, but ... I read this when it first got posted on 3/13 and thought, OK ... he is writing this because 1)He, like many others in the union movement, hates everything Teamsters because the union is a big and powerful target, and we love to hate the big and powerful in our ranks. 2) He is a strong supporter of the TDU and will speak their speak no matter what or 3) He is not interested in supporting a candidate who is less married to NAFTA. (Just last night her chief strategist had to step down because of his involvement with yet another "free trade deal." Is Benson in favor of free and fair trade deals and sending more work to other countries? Is Benson a Republican? Is Benson for Clinton, simply because she and her husband went out in favor of Carey against Hoffa?
Matt, I totally respect you and all your work, so, please don't read this any other way than with true respect, but: Can you honestly tell me what Benson's motivations were for writing this?
In my humble opinion (again, not to sound at all cynical), I wish Benson would have just said ... "A ha, since I was a TDU Carey man, and thus a Clinton Man ... I want to tell you about Obama and Jim Hoffa." In other words, I cannot see any reason to this article from Benson, why you are bringing it up, and instead not talking about this.
Why the speculation?
Richard, thanks for your reply. I'll forward your comments to Benson and let him reply as to his motives, if he likes. (Probably on his blog.)
I can tell you that to me the piece is straightforward. I doesn't make any of the arguments you suggest and it is not pro-Clinton or pro-any candidate.
Benson's argument boils down to this: whatever your political allegiances, Obama's position in favor of ending the federal monitorship in the Teamsters union is important and worth discussing.
Why? Because Obama is taking sides in an important debate in the union movement, not the only debate by any means, but an important one for those who want to see unions become both stronger and more democratic.
You may think it is time to end the government's role in the Teamsters. Certainly the IBT leadership thinks so. If so, Benson raises several issues that challenge your point of view.
If you want to tackle Benson, go to the issues -- argue in favor of ending the federal monitorship, argue that Obama was right to take that position. Drop the guessing about Benson's motives and loyalties.
(Two more suggestions: "creating separation among working people" -- you need to drop this line of attack. It is not helpful. It's just a tired old dodge leaders use to try to suppress criticism instead of answering it. Likewise the "did this guy ever work-work" line.)
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The practice of democracy in organizing is the organizing of democracy in practice.
Apology for Tone ... and my take on this
In regard to the issues that you and Benson bring up, and which I will also post to his site, I do believe it is time that the government gets out of the Teamster business.
As far as I understand, the IRB began filing charges in 1991 relating to organized crime's involvement with the IBT. Between '91 and '99, they filed 181 charges relating to organized crime, and since 2000, the IRB brought 4 cases relating to organized crime forward, no doubt, a dramatic reduction since it all began.
My take on it is this: If the IRB is in place to remove organized crime from the International, hasn't it long proved its job is done? The IRB, I am guessing, would agree; only because it primarily focuses on Teamster issues out of its jurisdiction.
Isn't it the work of the Department of Labor or the FBI to handle corruption and other issues that arise at unions? Isn't that what is happening with UNITE HERE and LiUNA, both of which were once under the same kind of trusteeship? Why shouldn't the Teamsters be able to police itself in the same manner as these other unions? I suppose that part doesn't make sense to me, mainly because the IRB has done its job and is fishing for work outside its scope. The government didn't do this with either of the other two unions, did they?
With the fact that the union, especially since 2001, has been more democratic, the Teamsters and the DOJ should negotiate a renewed partnership to release the union from the Consent Decree and begin to police itself like any other union or business.
We got on this whole matter because of my "endorsement" of Barack Obama, and while yesterday I was annoyed that this came into the fold, today I am a little more relaxed and less ...well, bitchy. In the end, I still strongly believe that, regardless of this point you and Benson bring forward, union workers (and those whom wish to be union) have a candidate.
I believe we need a president, such as Obama, who has gone on record about banning replacement workers, revisiting NAFTA while opposing other like trade agreements; about misclassification and, of course, EFCA. These and other important issues continue to face every American worker, therefore, I think Obama is the candidate worthy of every worker's vote for president.