Trump: AFL-CIO head "represented his union poorly" on TV, "Happy Labor Day! Celebrate Labor Day!"

[Miles Archer]

Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump

Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, represented his union poorly on television this weekend. Some of the things he said were so againt the working men and women of our country, and the success of the U.S. itself, that it is easy to see why unions are doing so poorly. A Dem!

4:15 AM - 3 Sep 2018

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Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump

Happy Labor Day! Our country is doing better than ever before with unemployment setting record lows. The U.S. has tremendous upside potential as we go about fixing some of the worst Trade Deals ever made by any country in the world. Big progress being made!

4:28 AM - 3 Sep 2018

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Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump

The Worker in America is doing better than ever before. Celebrate Labor Day!

5:23 AM - 3 Sep 2018

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[dalton99a]

1. Stagnant wages and rising costs for everyone, while the rich enjoy their tax-scam windfall

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Latest data is sickeningly obvious

[dalton99a]

5. +1. What the GOP is all about.

[Drahthaardogs]

3. Oh just fuck off Trump

You orange pile of shit

[bdamomma]

4. STFU

tRump, you and your sick GOP followers neutered unions, what worker rights?? We have none, due to your rich bastards who stole from the Middle Class, hope you all choke on that greed.

[Bleacher Creature]

6. I am "againt" this tweet. Does he have "councel" to check his spelling? NT

[maxrandb]

7. I agree with Donnie Short Fingers

Trumka and all the Union "leadership" that have overseen the absolute destruction of Unions without so much as a whimper have done a horrible job defending Unions.

If the events of the past 4 decades haven't led to strikes all over this country... what will?

Stand up and fight, or get the hell out of the way.

[tonyt53]

8. Are you a union member??? If so, what have YOU been doing as a union member?

If not a union member, you should thank unions for your health insurance, paid holidays, paid vacations, job safety laws, minimum wages, public education, and the list goes on and on. These are just few item that unions have given to ALL workers. You should also avoid things that you have no idea about. Unions HAVE been fighting and speaking up. The problem is that people, and likely such as yourself, have taken unions and the benefits they fought and many died for, for granted.

Finally, so you want unions to get out of the way? Go to work and tell your employer that you will no longer accept any benefits from them except your pay. Back up unions and what they fight for or just be one of those that expect things to be given to them.

[Skidmore]

9. The items on your list

have sometimes been bartered away by union leaders as they sought treatment commensurate with those they were bringing with. I was a steward for a while. You are right about dealing with management. However, unions need to increase membership and figure out how to organize in this century.

[tonyt53]

10. "Unions need to increase membership"??? They ARE trying. You can't force people.

They have never bargained away the items I listed. Never. When unions have no power to bargain, what are they supposed to do? They give up some of the lesser fringe benefits to gain reinforcement of their core benefits. And what do unions get in return from the average worker? Ridicule and no respect, and most importantly, no respect for what they have done and are doing.

All a group of workers have to do is ask a union to help them unionize their place of employment. That isn't hard to do. Unions represent white collar work environments also. Just a phone call and some volunteers at their place of employment. But they won't because they are afraid of losing their jobs. It's fine if somebody else goes on strike and loses their job, but them, now that's a different story. The day after the last labor union in the US closes its doors is the day that most US workers lose those dear benefits. Unions ARE organizing in this century, but it takes willing souls.

It isn't hard to find products made by union workers here in the US. Just go online and do a search. Are Americans willing to pay 5% more for a US union-made product than a similar product made in another country? Most aren't. So before you start blaming unions for their struggles, maybe you, and Americans as a whole, should look into the mirror.

[maxrandb]

13. Retired from the Navy after 30 years of service

I've got benefits that Unions used to have. Medical, dental, pension, and believe it or not, strong workplace safety rules. When an E3 Plane Captain on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier can shut down the entire flight schedule due to safety issues, those are pretty strong rules.

Prior to the Navy, I was Head Stock at a grocery store in Ohio. It was a great job. In 1980, I was making $12.60 an hour, time and a half for overtime, double time on Sundays and holidays. We weren't Union, but our closest competitor, Kroger, was and I never forgot that the only reason my pay and benefits were so good was because of Kroger's Union.

My grandfather got put in the hospital by "security" for working to unionize the coal miners in Corning, Ohio.

I've devoted my life to fighting for this country, but I'm not sure that country exists anymore. We used to value labor in this country, but now we seem to only value wealth.

The point of my post is that the single most powerful force that Unions have is the ability to strike.

I'm not naive. I know how painful strikes can be, but I guarantee you that my grandfather's generation would have shut the whole damn thing down...and it wouldn't have taken them 40 years of getting stomped on to do it.

We are in an existential fight for the United States and our Democratic form of government.

At what point do the Unions use the most powerful arrow in their quivver?

Or should they just continue to surrender to people like Donnie Short Fingers?

[ismnotwasm]

12. What specifically are you talking about?

This is the second time I’ve seen this here. What actions or non-actions are union leaders responsible for?

And who are the union leaders you are referring too?

[maxrandb]

16. Look, if I were pledge captain for a fraternity

and the membership tanked, I don't think I'd still have the position.

Can someone tell me what the Union leaders have accomplished?

[struggle4progress]

11. "I've never actually worked; but I really do enjoy trying to piss off my balcony

onto the heads of people that do work!"

[hunter]

14. Trump thinks labor is for suckers.

Trump thinks smart people like himself never get their hands dirty.

Trump thinks he is a superior breed of human because he never makes anything with his tiny hands, never cleans anything, has never looked at the results of his own labor -- a truck loaded or unloaded, a rack of metal parts stamped, a motel room cleaned, a stack of term papers graded, trays full of strawberries picked -- and thought to himself "that's a job well done, something I can be proud of."

[Initech]

15. 1. Shut the fuck up Donny. 2. Thanks Obama!