Hillary Clinton. (photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Why It
Makes No Sense for Labor Unions to Endorse Hillary Clinton
By Michael Sainato, Observer
27 November 15
Given her record for flip flopping, unions should be weary of
endorsing her candidacy
In
June 2015, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told 1,300 fast food
workers, "I want to be your champion," and that she supported
their push for a $15 minimum wage.
Despite
such a pledge, her support of their cause was more of a Faustian
strategy than one of genuine interest. Ms. Clinton recently endorsed
a $12 minimum wage. Her opponents, Senator Bernie Sanders and Martin
O'Malley both voiced their support for a $15 minimum wage early in
their campaigns, but it took until early November for Ms. Clinton to
affirm her stance on the issue.
The
fight for a $15 minimum wage has been a staple for the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU), which has spent millions to push it
into the mainstream American consciousness—which is why their recent endorsement of Hillary
Clinton makes no sense for the organization. Several SEIU members agree,
with rifts in the organization over the endorsement, and the New Hampshire SEIU Chapter formally
endorsing Senator Bernie Sanders in retaliation for the decision.
Ms.
Clinton's political expediency on the minimum wage issue isn't the only
ploy she has used to gain favor of labor unions. She has distanced herself from
Wal-Mart, where she served as a board member from 1986-1992, while the
corporation waged campaigns against labor unions seeking to unionize store
workers. There is no evidence she ever vocalized her support for labor unions,
and ABC News obtained
videos of several board meetings she attended and remained silent as her fellow
board members worked out anti-union strategies. The New York Times reported in 2007 that
Ms. Clinton maintains close ties to Wal-Mart executives, but omits her
past affiliation with the company in her speeches and website. At the time of
her appointment to Wal-Mart's board, she held nearly $100,000 in stock and was
a lawyer with the Rose Law Firm, which represented the company in several
cases. Her current campaign treasurer, Jose Villareal, has also
spent decades on boards of Wal-Mart and other companies run by their owners,
the Walton family.
In
addition to an endorsement from the SEIU, Ms. Clinton received endorsements
from the nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association.
The decision has also created a rift within the union, with several state and
local chapters protesting the
endorsement. The American Federation of Teachers' endorsement
Ms. Clinton resulted in a similar rift among its members—many
opponents to the endorsement feel it undermines the democratic process to
endorse a candidate before the primaries, which is why several unions still
have not endorsed any candidate at all, including the nation's largest
organization of labor unions, the AFL-CIO.
The
Clintons' history with teacher unions isn't a positive one. The
Washington Post recently reported during Bill
Clinton's tenure as Governor of Arkansas, teacher unions hated the Clintons
after they supported an education bill in Arkansas staunchly opposed by teacher
unions, despite the generous campaign contributions and support given to Bill
Clinton in his initial election to Congress in 1974. Given
Ms. Clinton's penchant for flip
flopping or waiting to affirm her stance on key issues until a favorable
political side has revealed itself, teacher unions should have been more wary
and at least held off endorsing a candidate until after the primaries.
During
her current presidential campaign, Ms. Clinton hesitated in her
disapproval of Keystone XL and the Trans Pacific Partnership until the majority
of labor unions had vocalized their opposition to the deals, and made it clear
she would have to oppose them if she wanted their support. After she obliged,
several unions came through with their endorsement even though her affirming
stance in opposition came months after Mr. Sanders'. Her initial
involvement in setting up the deals while serving as Secretary of State should
have been enough indication for labor unions to steer clear of endorsing the
frontrunner candidate, who is more than likely not to hold their best interests
to heart if she is elected.
The
donor network of the Clinton Foundation should have also deterred labor unions
from endorsing her. In 41 years, their foundation has
received nearly $3 billion in contributions, most of which are from
large corporations or their executives. Labor unions are deluding themselves if
they believe Ms. Clinton is going to fight for their interests over those of
corporations.
C 2015 Reader Supported News
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"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives."
Eugene Victor Debs
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