Union Front Group Protests Republicans At World War II Memorial

A front group for a large labor federation has shifted from pressuring President Barack Obama to hike pay for federal workers to pressuring Republicans to end the government shutdown.

The group Good Jobs Nation staged a protest at the World War II memorial on the National Mall this week, calling for an end to the shutdown.

According to WhoIs information on the group’s website, it is owned by Change to Win, a labor federation that includes the Service Employees International Union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the United Farm Workers unions.

The website’s registered agent is Jason Lefkowitz, who until 2010 was Change to Win’s online campaigns manager.

The Huffington Post reported that about two-dozen union members turned out to the protest on Tuesday.

The group has organized several small strikes and protests to draw attention to the estimated 2 million workers directly or indirectly employed by the federal government for low wages.

On Wednesday, they protested no wages. […]

Several conservative Republican members of the House of Representatives had arrived at the memorial to help veterans get past a barrier erected by the National Park Service. They blamed the Obama administration for the shuttered memorial even though their faction is the most opposed to a clean spending bill that would reopen the government. The protesters had hoped to see House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), but he didn’t show up.

This entry was posted in Issues and tagged Government Shutdown, SEIU, World War II. Bookmark the permalink.

Via: WFB

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SEIU Thugs To Begin Knocking On Doors To Try And Sign Americans Up For Obamacare…

The nation’s largest healthcare workers union announced Tuesday plans to help President Obama with the expansive rollout of his healthcare reform law.

The Service Employees International Union will knock on doors and host community events to help people understand the Affordable Care Act before Oct. 1, when uninsured Americans will be asked to sign onto exchanges to purchase health insurance. The Obama administration has actively recruited companies, celebrities, sports teams and unions to help prepare the country as key components of the law finally go into effect, dubbing the consortium the “Champions of Change.”

“Let there be no doubt, the new healthcare law is working for working people,” SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said. “We are not seeing the long-predicted ‘rate shock’ but we are seeing ‘Republican shock’ as extremists fail in attempts to repeal or obstruct the Affordable Care Act and its landmark protections and benefits for working Americans.

Via: Weasel Zippers via Washington Post

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Can We Pay a Minimum Wage That Makes Everyone Rich?

Last week, fast-food workers staged a one-day strike in 60 U.S. cities to demand a minimum wage of $15 an hour, more than double the current federal minimum of $7.25. The nationwide effort, “Fight for 15,” was organized by the Service Employees International Union.

I feel bad for those who are relegated to a minimum-wage job. I feel worse for those who want a minimum-wage job as a steppingstone to something better and would be denied that opportunity by the imposition of a higher wage floor. A higher wage is great for the workers who keep their jobs; it isn’t so great for those who wouldn’t get hired because McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) starts asking its existing workforce to do a bit more. With a higher minimum wage, the cost of automating certain tasks suddenly becomes more affordable.

Raising the minimum wage to lift people out of poverty has the opposite effect. So why does an idea that violates the most basic principle of economics keep coming back to haunt us? It may appeal to our humanitarian instincts, but as social policy, it fails the test.

Let’s start with the basics. As with any good or service, there is a supply of, and demand for, labor. Supply and demand meet at what’s known as the equilibrium price. The unintended consequences of setting a cap or a floor on prices have been well documented. Many economics textbooks use New York City’s rent-control laws to demonstrate the effect of price caps: a supply shortage as landlords keep apartments off the market rather than lease them at a below-market rate. The lack of supply also gives them the power to charge above-market rates on apartments that aren’t subject to rent control.

Via: Bloomberg

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Fast-Food Strike: Dumb Strike, or the Dumbest Strike Ever? (Update: It’s the Dumbest Strike Ever)

Unskilled entry-level workers demand double pay without offering more to their employers or customers.

NEW YORK — Beginning a day of protests that organizers say will spread to 50 cities and 1,000 stores across the country, a crowd of chanting workers gathered Thursday morning at a McDonald’s in midtown Manhattan to call for higher wages and the chance to join a union.

 About 500 people, including workers, activists, religious leaders, news crews and local politicians, gathered outside the McDonald’s on Fifth Avenue. The protesters chanted “Si Se Puede” (“Yes, We Can”) and “Hey, hey, ho, ho $7.25 has got to go,” holding signs saying “On Strike: Can’t Survive on $7.25,” referring to the federal minimum wage.

The protesters plan to spread out to other stores throughout New York during the day. Protests are also expected in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., and other cities.

Fast-food customer service is hard work, but it’s entry level. I know, because I’ve done a version of it in my storied career. It’s a skill-developing stepping stone from which an ambitious person should seek a better gig. It’s not an end, it’s a means. If you’re in a job like that, you’re very replaceable and you always will be. Knowing that should motivate a good worker to seek a better job where they will earn more and be harder to replace, not try to squeeze too much out of an-entry level job.

Aside: When was the last time you went to a fast-food restaurant and actually experienced good, friendly service? In my experience, that happens at Chick-fil-A, Sonic, Subway, sometimes Wendy’s, and…really, nowhere else but local franchises. Customer service at national chains is nearly dead — usually surly, slow, and prone to mistakes. They want more money for that? Robots can and probably soon will do the job better. The strikers should think about that.

Obamacare has changed the job market negatively and to some extent trapped workers in part-time underemployment, which is a terrible shame. But the unions that these strikers want to join support Obamacare. Well, they support it until they have to live under it. Then they get exemptions to escape it.

The fast-food industry used to employ mostly younger people just trying to make some extra money as they went through school. Now, workers are older and depend on the work to feed families. Analysis by the Economic Policies Institute shows that the average age of minimum-wage workers is now 35, and that 88% are 20 and older.

Via: PJ Media
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SEIU Officially Enlisted As ‘Navigators’ To Assist With Obamacare

The heavy-fisted SEIU is “contracted with federal authorities as navigators” and have joined the fledgling Enroll America program, which is trying to lead the healthcare law enrollment efforts, in signing Americans up for the Affordable Healthcare Act. 

We recently documented that Enroll American program is having difficulties getting anyone to attend their scheduled events.

 After Florida Governor Rick Scott and his cabinet expressed their concerns over the personal information that these ‘navigators’ would be collecting from those people signing up for Obamacare, SEIU and other groups in support of Obamacare decided to flex their muscles in opposition to Scott’s concerns about the vital information being gathered.

 “The governor of a state with more than 4 million uninsured should not be discouraging people from getting care” Monica Russo, SEIU (Palm Beach Post).

Scott told reporters after his recent cabinet meeting that it was unclear what all this personal information was going to be used for. 

 It is surprising that they can’t have an insurance background, that’s surprising. Scott added, my concern  is the we don’t have control over how the data is going to be used, as you know privacy has been a big issue for me. I’m concerned about privacy, we don’t  know how this information is going to be used . I think we are all a little bit surprised about how much data is being tracked by the federal government-Gov. Rick Scott.

Via: The Shark Tank

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Proposal 4: SEIU union pumps money into Michigan's home health ballot measure

LANSING, MI – The Service Employees International Union has kicked in at least $5.5 million to support Michigan’s Proposal 4, according to campaign finance reports, but it's not clear if more SEIU money is involved.

Proposal 4 on the Nov. 6 ballot would amend the Michigan constitution to create a home healthcare registry and give workers some limited collective bargaining rights. The workers involved would be represented by the SEIU.

The main committee supporting Proposal 4 – Citizens for Affordable Quality Home Care – reported raising roughly $9 million overall. The money is listed as coming from Home Care First Inc.

According to Dohn Hoyle, co-chair of Citizens for Affordable Quality Home Care: “Home Care First Inc. is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization formed and supported by Michigan’s leading senior and disability rights groups. Home Care First — along with the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan, the Arc Michigan and many more — strongly supports Proposal 4 ... "

Supporters of Proposal 4 have said there’s nothing secretive about their campaign. But former Attorney General Mike Cox has called Home Care First “clandestine” because there hasn't been full disclosure of donors.

Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution is a coalition that opposes Proposal 2, 3 and 4. Nick De Leeuw, a spokesman for Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution, said $1.4 million has been spent on Proposal 4.

Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution is a coalition that includes the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Via: Michigan Live

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Dems in hock to SEIU-owned bank

Classic crony capitalism from the Democrats.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) owes at least $8 million to a bank owned by one of the largest unions in the country, according to the committee's most recent financial report.

The DNC initiated an $8 million loan with the Amalgamated Bank of New York on Aug. 10, the report shows, accounting for the majority of the committee's overall debt of $11 million.

Amalgamated Bank, often described as "America's Labor Bank," is a national entity, the majority of which is owned by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a politically active union with deep ties to the Democratic Party. The SEIU is also involved with the Democracy Alliance, a shadowy group of wealthy left-wing donors founded by billionaire investor George Soros.

The bank announced in an August press release that the DNC had "moved its primary banking relationship" to Amalgamated Bank, which would handle the committee's "day-to-day banking needs."

The DNC had previously done most of its banking with Bank of America, which helped finance the Democratic convention in Charlotte.

DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz hailed the transition to Amalgamated Bank, and noted the longstanding political and financial ties between the two organizations.

The committee, she said, had a "fiduciary responsibility to those who invest in our party."

"It is critical that we honor their efforts to strengthen our infrastructure and build our organization by partnering with an institution that shares our commitment to standing with America's working families and small businesses," she said in a press release.

Via: American Thinker (BLOG)

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James Hoffa, Teamsters President, Says Romney 'Wants To Annihilate Organized Labor'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The way Teamsters President James P. Hoffa sees it, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney would be happy if an already weakened American labor movement ceased to exist altogether.

"He wants to annihilate organized labor as we know it," Hoffa told HuffPost outside the Democratic National Convention this week. "It's on his website. I'm not making this up. He's for a national right-to-work law. The Republican Party has veered dangerously to the right. It's rather incredible, in 2012, if you think about it."

Indeed, Romney's official stance on labor isn't kind to unions. His campaign website suggests that unions have outlasted their significance, "driv[ing] up costs and introduc[ing] rigidities that harm competitiveness and frustrate innovation." He supports states pursuing right-to-work laws, which weaken the clout of unions, and his party last week approved a platform pushing for national right-to-work legislation. He'd also like to prohibit automatic union dues-deduction from employee paychecks.

Hoffa isn’t the only labor leader who visited Charlotte this week and sees a hostility toward unions in Romney's positions. Mary Kay Henry, head of the 2 million-member Service Employees International Union, told HuffPost earlier this week that Romney "wants to take us out."

The Romney campaign didn't respond to Hoffa or Henry's comments.

Rank-and-file union members said they often feel taken for granted by Democrats in office. Among many labor activists, the enthusiasm for the Obama-Biden ticket appears to stem in large part from a loathing and distrust of the alternative. But Hoffa, like other labor figures who headed to Charlotte, insisted the current White House has been good to unions over the past four years.

Via: HuffPost Politics

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EDITORIAL: Labor Day Is No Holiday Without a Job

AP Graphics

EDITORIAL: Another bummer Obama day
Labor Day is no holiday without a job

By The Washington Times

For 23 million Americans without jobs, the Labor Day holiday is not a day off but just another day without work. It’s a fitting hash mark for the presidential campaign kickoff, reminding Americans of President Obama’s tragic failure to deliver.

In 2009, Mr. Obama promised to lower unemployment to 5.5 percent by 2012. It’s stuck at 8.3 percent. In his first budget, hopefully titled “A New Era of Responsibility,” he projected current growth in the gross domestic product would be a red-hot 6.3 percent. Instead, the country creeps along at a miserable 1.5 percent. One measure of the Obama administration’s desperation is Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis applauding the latest youth unemployment figures, which dipped all the way to 17.1 percent. When numbers that high make officials “excited,” you know things are terrible.

From the White House perspective, this isn’t all bad news. The Obama administration thinks unemployment actually can be healthy for the economy. Obama press secretary Jay Carney said last year that jobless benefits somehow boost consumption and “every place that, that money is spent has added business and that creates growth and income for businesses that leads them to decisions about jobs, more hiring.” By that confused illogic, Mr. Obama should be cheering the worst sustained unemployment rate since the Great Depression. Congratulations, that’s a heckuva job, Barack. Apparently, the president’s re-election slogan, “Forward,” actually means “Reverse.”

Labor Day also draws attention to the role of organized labor in American public life. A new Gallup survey shows 52 percent of the public approves of unions while 42 percent disapproves. A lot has changed since the 1950s, when old Big Labor — the United Auto Workers, the United Mine Workers, the Teamsters — had a 75 percent approval rating. Back then, workers built things. The new Big Labor — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union — represents the service sector and public employees. Their influence grows through securing sweetheart deals from governments populated with the politicians they helped elect. Eventually, the cost of these deals becomes too great for states and municipalities to sustain. Even with these jurisdictions on the brink of bankruptcy, the unions refuse to give on any aspect of their plush compensation packages. Their answer is always the same: Raise taxes and fees; do anything it takes to extract more money from the public to keep alive the government golden goose.

Via: The Washington Times

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Federal judge says Ohio must count disputed votes

IT JUST DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER FOR OBAMA

A federal judge ruled Monday that Ohio must count improperly cast ballots this fall if the mistake is caused by an election worker rather than the voter, a small but potentially significant issue in an important presidential battleground state.

The decision could mean that thousands of votes that otherwise would have been rejected — most of them cast in urban areas where Democrats are concentrated — will have to be counted.

“Recent experience proves that our elections are decided, all too often, by improbably slim margins — not just in local races . . . but even for the highest national offices,” U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley wrote. “Any potential threat to the integrity of the franchise, no matter how small, must therefore be treated with the utmost seriousness.”

The legal fight is probably not over. “We respectfully disagree with the judge’s ruling and will likely appeal,” said Matt McClellan, a spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (R).

It is one of several contentious voting issues in Ohio, which has a history of close presidential elections, partisan battles to control whose votes are counted, and litigious interest groups and politicians.

Among other issues, the Obama campaign is suing over a decision by the Republican-controlled legislature to curtail early voting in the state. Democrats are incensed about Husted’s decision that weekend voting before the November election should not be allowed. And a conservative voting rights group is threatening to sue to remove what it says are questionable registrations among the state’s more than 7.7 million voters.

Marbley’s decision, which relied in part on the Supreme Court’s 2000 ruling in Bush v. Gore, concerned a subset of votes called provisional ballots. Such ballots are cast when a voter has some irregularity — a lack of proper ID, a name change not recorded, a missing entry on the voter rolls — that keeps him or her from filing a regular ballot. Local boards of elections then must decide whether to count them.

The civil rights group Advancement Project, the Service Employees International Union and others challenged a part of Ohio state law that says provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct should not be counted, even if the voter was following a poll worker’s instructions.

Via: Washington Post

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Government charges SEIU with intimidation and threats

Kicking in screen doors, shouting down union members, threatening assault, lying about wages and benefits, and destruction and removal of personal property.

The State of California has officially charged SEIU with all these illegal acts, and more. Three years after Fresno homecare workers filed complaints that SEIU broke the law with lies, threats and intimidation in their 2009 election to leave SEIU, the government agency charged with protecting public employees has filed an official complaint against SEIU-UHW.

The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) cited SEIU’s “physical and verbal threats,” “menacing and abusive behavior,” “unlawful destruction and removal” of property and a campaign of lies about wages and benefits intended to mislead 10,000 Fresno homecare workers into voting to stay trapped in SEIU.

FOX News Fresno covered the complaint, and showed chilling footage of SEIU-UHW CEO Dave Regan screaming and urging 1,000 SEIU staffers assembled in Fresno to “kick those S.O.B.s in Fresno County.”

The coverage goes on to show a Fresno homecare worker testifying that SEIU “pressured me into voting for them.  The SEIU came and threatened that they will come everyday, all the time.”

As a healthcare worker in Fresno, this  coverage disturbs me. Why would any healthcare union act this way?  As a Kaiser worker, knowing that SEIU also broke the law and lied and intimidated workers in our 2010 election, this coverage makes me angry.

But, with yet another government agency filing charges that SEIU broke the law and violated workers’ rights, my bottom line question is simple:   

Why on earth is Kaiser management celebrating their “partnership” with Dave Regan and SEIU

Via:NUHW

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OBAMA MUST GO

In the past couple of weeks I have been called out by a number the readers on the topic of my weekly blog postings. Their main concern was that my reporting on the presidential primary season has been conspicuously absent. The only response I have is “Guilty as Charged”.  And with that said I would like to explain my logic. The subjects that I have been concentrating on are the happenings within the Obama Administration and the destruction they are serving up on a daily basis.


I have discussed Obamacare, jobs, ACORN and many others. This has been a well-planned out strategy to address the issues that are facing this country and meet them head on.  We can talk about the presidential primary season at length if needed but we already know that we want Obama out of the White House. Anything that I can say about the primary process pales on comparison to the information that Americans need to know about the subjects that they will not read in the main stream media.


I am doing what I feel is necessary to dethrone Obama from his imperial Presidency in any way that I can.  You could say that I am a one man army capable of anything, but this is not the case.  I am counting on all the people to fight the cause as hard as I am. During the Bush presidency the press did not have any trouble blasting him at every corner no matter what he did good, bad, or indifferent.  The liberal press is not following the same logic when it comes to Obama and his band of merry men and women.  They have ignored his American killing policies at every turn.  They have turned him into a hero of the people which is the farthest from the truth that you can get.


His latest antics have caused many of us anguish and concern with his usurping of Congress and the Constitution. He has named four more of his radical friends to positions in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the NLRB all in the name of expediency, total control and politics to further his “I can do anything I want and who’s going to stop me” campaign. But in the name of fairness I have to give him credit for his asking Congress to consolidate six agencies into one, eliminate the Department of Commerce and save us $300 Billion over 10 years.  This equates to savings of about 1/400 of the $1.2 trillion increase in the debt limit that the president is seeking from Congress.  This is perfect timing as it gives him another blank check to spend until after the November election. And by the way the 1000 to 2000 jobs that this consolidation will eliminate through attrition are small potatoes compared to the 200,000 plus jobs he has added since taking office.  It’s up to you to decide if this is an election ploy or he is doing this for the good of “We the People”.


This past week has seen him replace his Chief-of-Staff again (This is number 3).  He has picked none other than Jack Lew, another Wall Street insider who reaped millions in benefits from his past employers by betting against the collapse of the housing market.  If that weren’t enough to handle, he has promoted Cecilia Munoz as Director of the Domestic Policy Council.  She came to the White House in 2009 from The National Council for La Raza which has strong ties to ACORN, SEIU, and George Soros.  It is any wonder that this president has used “We need four more years to finish what we started” in his never ending campaign. 


I have done my best to keep people informed of the little things that the White House has done and kept below the radar by the liberal press.  Now it is your job to pass this information to others and do what is right for this country by electing a Republican as next President of the United States.  It is up to us to do the right thing and win this country back from those that are intent on destroying us.
© Nick Steven – Politics are Real