NJ: Labor's Lost Love
The National Journal's Barnes reports this week that, in the wake of the MA SEN election and the sidelining of heath care reform, union presidents at the AFL-CIO exec cmte meeting on Jan. 25 discussed the idea of challenging incumbent Dems whom they feel have thwarted key initiatives of labor like EFCA and health care.
"When you're in the condition we're in, legislatively, you're looking around like a blinded doe; you're looking for means to pay back and make things better," said AFSCME pres. Gerald McEntee, who is also chair of the AFL-CIO's pol. cmte.
House Dem leaders were praised for its efforts and the focus of labor's ire was clearly on the Senate. Steelworkers pres. Leo Gerard: "A number of us expressed our dismay with some of the senators from the Democratic Party who have held up and helped delay not only the passage of the health care bill but all kinds of other things that would help middle-class workers."
Gerard said the issue of primary challenges will be put before executive board of the Steelworkers when it meets next month and that Democratic Sens. Joe Lieberman of CT, Blanche Lincoln of AR and Ben Nelson of NE will be specifically discussed in that context. To read the entire story, click here.
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sure sounds interesting!
How can the Unions allow Specter, Lincoln and other Democrats get re-elected when Labor spent $400 MILLION dollars specifically to get EFCA passed and the Democrats with a 50 plus vote in the house and a fillibuster proof majority in the Senate totally BLEW IT.
EFCA should have been passed the day Al Franken was certified to take his seat.
The chance that the Democrats will ever have this ability again is remote.
Next time they do, labor will have less than 3% of the private sector and will not have any real impact.
LABOR blew it as well. They should have told the Democrats that they either pass EFCA or they would scuttle health care.
Instead, Labor was played like a patsy asking the Democrats "Please can you do something for us?" And the Democrats told them to wait and wait while the Chamber of Commerce and others were building a stronger and stronger opposition to EFCA.
The Labor leaders should be fired and MILLIONS should be spent to defeat Specter and Lincoln and any other Democrat in the Senate that stopped this.
Hi, great comment. I look forward to your next topic. Thanks, Samantha
Your post piqued my interest. Please give us a more indepth post if you get a chance.