Labor Convention Separates Wheat from Chaff Among Democrats

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/12-0



Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), said one union leader, is one of the few folks in Washington who “shares our economic priorities.” (Photo: AP)

The AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles drew to a close yesterday after four days of speeches, resolutions, and votes. At the convention, delegates voted to broaden the labor movement by forming stronger partnerships with non-union organizations (such as worker centers and advocacy groups). We can hope that this step will help reinvigorate the kind of mass social movement we saw in the 1930s, when a broad coalition of Americans rallied in support of the labor and employment policies that became the heart of the New Deal. As the AFL-CIO embarks on this new path, the appearance – and absence – of key political figures at the convention signals how this populist labor agenda will intersect with today’s Democratic Party.

Valerie Jarrett was the first political figure to address union leaders at the gathering. Jarrett received a disconcertingly warm welcome from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka before she reassured the audience that despite the President’s decision to skip the convention in order to drum up support for military action in Syria, he remained fully committed to advancing the interests of working people.

As someone who lives on Chicago’s Southside, I found it difficult to stomach. While the AFL-CIO seeks to fight the rise of income inequality and the rapid privatization of the commons with renewed vigor, it is hard to think of a more duplicitous speaker to reassure the audience that the President shares their priorities.

Jarrett, the President’s most trusted advisor, spent years privatizing public housing on the Southside. As she told the Boston Globe: “Government is just not as good at owning and managing as the private sector because the incentives are not there.”

[mick063]

1. Hard evidence

That the President is truly disconnected. Can't wait until his term is up.

No to Hillary.

[Scuba]

2. We need this woman in the White House.

[Autumn]

6. Yes we do.

[xchrom]

3. kick

[liberal_at_heart]

4. They are privatizing everything. We are going to wake up one day and have nothing left.

I'm so glad to see someone willing to stand with labor. It is long overdue.

[bvar22]

5. DURec for Warren and LABOR!

The administration let the curtain slip,
and showed LABOR what it REALLY thinks in the Arkansas Democratic Primary when it steped in at the last minute and rescued Blanche Lincoln's failing Primary campaign.