Hillary was on the Board of WALMART for 6 years and did NOTHING to change its stance on UNIONS

[Dems Will Win]

Hillary is hoping no one brings this up...

Mrs. Clinton largely sat on the sidelines when it came to Wal-Mart and unions, according to board members. Since its founding in 1962, Wal-Mart has aggressively fought unionization efforts at its stores and warehouses, employing hard-nosed tactics — like firing union supporters and allegedly spying on employees — that have become the subject of legal complaints against the company.

A special team at Wal-Mart handled those activities, but Mr. Walton was vocal in his opposition to unions. Indeed, he appointed the lawyer who oversaw the company’s union monitoring, Mr. Tate, to the board, where he served with Mrs. Clinton.

During their meetings and private conversations, Mrs. Clinton never voiced objections to Wal-Mart’s stance on unions, according to Mr. Tate and John A. Cooper, another board member.

“She was not an outspoken person on labor, because I think she was smart enough to know that if she favored labor, she was the only one,” Mr. Tate said. “It would only lesson her own position on the board if she took that position.”

Mr. Tate, a prominent management lawyer who helped stop union drives at many major companies, said he worked closely with Mr. Walton to convince workers that a union would be bad for the company, personally telling employees when he visited stores that “the only people who need unions are those who do not work hard.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/19/us/politics/19cnd-walmart.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

I never really thought about her time at WALMART. She was on the board from 1986 to 1992.

Please RECOMMEND if you think WALMART should be made to hold fair union elections.

[flvegan]

1. Hold on...

:popcorn:

Okay, go!

[LostinVA]

6. I answered just for YOU, big boy

[papau]

27. LOL - this is first true anti-Hillary Walmart statement on DU -her fight for women's/employee rights

is of course well known - but she is not recorded as going up against Sam and his hatred of unions.

I winder how long Sam would have kept her on the board if she had pushed unions.

[Swagman]

68. oldest trick in the book-keep your friends close and enemies closer

[papau]

78. Well - at least 30 years old - phrase was first used in Godfather 2

[heliarc]

92. I wouldn't give the Godfather movies that much credit...

For ideas that could be as old as Sun Tzu or older.

This quote is credited to him around 400 BC

http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/36994.html

The Godfather (and Francis Ford Coppola for that matter) is just rehashing old ideas that are good ones.


Hillary? I don't know that I trust her to consider Wal-Mart an enemy.

[papau]

120. nope - the only known source is the Godfather movie - see link below

This phrase is popularly attributed to this scene from The Godfather Part II.

Michael Corleone talking to Frankie Pentangeli to arrange a meeting with the Rosato brothers right after Michael was almost assassinated:
Michael: It was Hyman Roth that tried to have me killed. I know it was him.
Frankie: Jesus Christ, Mike, Jesus Christ, look, let's get them all. Let's hit them all. Now while we got the muscle...
Michael: ...My father taught me many things here - he taught me in this room. He taught me - keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Now if Hyman Roth sees that I interceded in this thing, in the Rosato Brothers' favor, he's going to think his relationship with me is still good...That's what I want him to think. I want him completely relaxed and confident in our friendship. Then I'll be able to find out who the traitor in my family was.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sun_Tzu

Misattributed (quotes not by Sun Tzu):

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

This has often been attributed to Sun Tzu and sometimes to Niccolò Machiavelli, but there are no published sources yet found which predate its use by "Michael Corleone" in The Godfather Part II (1974), written by Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola: My father taught me many things here — he taught me in this room. He taught me — keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.

This is sometimes attributed to Sun Tzu in combination with the above quote, as well as alone, but it too has not been sourced to any published translation of The Art of War, though it is similar in concept to his famous statement in Ch. 3 : "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles..."

[Sultana]

2. And this the same woman

who says that she'll rebuild America:wtf:

[Dems Will Win]

3. Rebuild the Middle Class, she says in her Iowa Ad...

[truedelphi]

71. How about it takes a village to raise a child unless of course you destroy

The village (or let your boss destroy the village) while you sit back "chilling" with your homies on the BOD.

interesting too, the timeline.

I have consistently stood up and said that Hill was with WalMart during the time of its MidWest small town take over. Only to have many here tell me she was involved BEFORE they started to make war on small town America and she left before this bad deal went down.

Nope, in fact, 1986 to 1990 whatever is exactly as I remember her being a WalMart member of the oldest profession. In the mid-eighties, the small towns across the MidWest watched as WalMart came in and drove out the mom and pop store owners. Then after the small town businesses closed, IF WalMart felt it wasn't making a profit, it would then PULL LOUT. Leaving that town with no where to go or their dry goods and other supplies.

Well as it says in Jesse James song, You can rob 'em with a gun or rob 'em with a fountain pen.

And if it takes a village to raise a child, then Hillary, would you be ever so kind confess up and say, "Sorry" there were many a small town kid who watched mom and dad go broke under your boss Walton's deal.

[D23MIURG23]

90. (Gut-laughing) n/t

[earthlover]

97. with what blue prints does she plan to rebuild the middle class?

did she get them from Walmart?

[liberal N proud]

74. Everyone will work for Wal-Mart

If you are hourly, you will get no more than 32 hours/wk at a few dollars over minimum wage.
If you are management you will be required to work 80 hours/wk with 1 day off a week.
Vacations will no longer be necessary because you either can't afford one or you will not have the free time.

[TeamJordan23]

4. Mrs. NAFTA being against labor? You don't say.....nm

[Tom Rinaldo]

18. Fault her for not fighting for unions at Walmart - a fair argument

However your comment is yet another distorted slur. Nothing in this story indicates that she was against Labor while on Walmart's board - nothing. It goes out of it's way to characterize her as staying on the sidelines AND it speculates that she did so because taking a pro-Union stance on Walmart's Board at the time would have been totally ineffective. This infers the opposite of your post - that Clinton's sympathies if anything were with Labor but she chose not to fight for Labor with that Board because it was a certain losing cause. She focused elsewhere until she left that Board. Again, fair grounds for attack if you want - but be accurate about it. As has been pointed out Hillary Clinton has as much if not more Union support now as any candidate running. Do you think for a minute that the Unions who support her now are not aware that she did not champion union issues on Walmart's board? Of course they know it. Maybe they wish she had made a different choice then but I suspect that they can at least understand why she made the choice that she did then under those circumstances. That Board was not going to open the doors to organized labor even if Clinton had chained herself to the Board Room door. Since then Clinton has won major support from Unions. The very people you claim she was/is against.

[Brianboru]

82. It's only a losing cause if you refuse to fight

Leadership often requires you to take unpopular stands.

She came up short. She is establishment and it shows.

[FREEWILL56]

94. Come on now hillary didn't get on the BOD by being for labor in any way.

It makes me ask why she was on the BOD and what qualified her to be there. Only those that are with some power and are pro business get on such boards and that does make them anti-worker anti-union. As to the unions backing her they are either ignorant to the facts and/or corrupted. I would not call it a slur as it is natural to reach the conclusion that if one is pro-business to the point of serving on BODs that one is anti-labor. I see you are not well versed in what it is to labor or to have to deal with such inequities that pro-business types push upon the labor force. Your arguement is much like the gettaway car driver saying he didn't enter the bank and as such is not a criminal. Yea right.

[Tom Rinaldo]

135. Aren't you missing something?

Although Hillary Clinton had a successful independent career as a lawyer in Arkansas, one that qualified her to be on that board, she also had a husband who one could say had political connections in the State. Hillary Clinton could have been a flaming Liberal and Walmart still would have wanted her on their Board. As for vice versa, Arkansas was always a fairly poor State, and prior to Bill Clinton becoming Governor, it was also backwards in areas like Education, racial and gender equality, economic safety nets, etc. Walmart was one of the largest employers in Arkansas, of course the Clintons had an interest in trying to to positively effect Walmarts policies where possible. It seems like old man Sam was always dead set against Unions and unwilling to budge on that point. I suspect that Hillary Clinton was always to the left of virtually if not all other Walmart Board members, it's not like she could organize a coup against good old Sam. If Walmart were not based in Arkansas it would be different, but since it is, I can understand why Hillary Clinton stayed on that board making efforts to moderate their policies where she could.

[truedelphi]

142. Hillary was not on this Board Of Directors for any other reason than her prestige

I know that she and her followers equivocate so much that they no longer understand Logic.

But Logic dictates that if you hold certain principles, you must behave a certain way.

IF she wanted to be on the BOD and uphold her principles, then she could have spoken out against the anti-unionism of WalMArt.
She could have spoken out against WalMart raping small town America.

She remained silent instead.

Until of course she choose to pay someone to help her write her lovely narrative "It takes a VIllage" And though Rolling Stone claimed this book to be one of the better written-for-hire dialogues we have seen in the last thirty years, the fact is that Hillary, by her silence, allowed the small mom and pop villages across America to be destroyed.

How can you be a proponent of "It take a village" while you know you helped bury the village?

I guess if you have decided you can pass the IWR and state that you are for Peace, and vote
"Yea" on the Kyle Lieberman bill, then turn around and say that that vote indicates your determination to see Bush dialogue with Iran's leaders, then you can stand behind your WalMArt BOD performance and still sleep at night.

[hraka]

112. Thank you, Tom

It's easy to bash candidates when you don't have the whole story. I'm not a Hillary supporter and even I say this thread is wrong. Hillary was the 1st woman appointed to the WalMart board, albeit possibly a token considering it was 1986 in Arkansas. (She resigned when Bill's presidential campaign took off.) Anyone can look deeper into this story - I did - and find more info. See Blogging Stocks' "Hillary Clinton calls Wal-Mart 'mixed blessing'" http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/27/hillary-clinton-calls-wal-mart-mixed-blessing/ or The New York times story http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/us/politics/20walmart.html.
Again, I am NOT a Hillary supporter, but get your facts straight before you trash someone.. As Tom said, "your comment is yet another distorted slur."

[MilesColtrane]

141. I find bystanders just as contemptible as collaborators.

So she didn't do the right thing because she might have been fired and would have missed a paycheck?

What was that Edmund Burke quote about "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil..."?

Hillary Clinton: there is no "there" there.

[unapatriciated]

146. yeah and my union wanted me to support a crappy contract

that has come to fruition and is now being thought of as a mistake. Just because the Union Leaders give their support to her or any candidate doesn't mean the members will vote for them. You are correct in saying she has the most union support. All have a fair amount of union support...and it depends on the union some are stronger than others. Before you call me anti-union-I'm not.. very pro in fact. I know what they have done to help the common man rise up out of poverty because I lived it. I'm just saying Union Support is not what it used to be because company's like Wal-mart have weakened them.

[Andy823]

70. Good point

The "Mrs. NAFTA" thing.

But are any of the so called "free trade" agreements going to really benefit this country in the long run? Who is benefiting from all of these "free trade" agreements? The people, or corporat America?

Now remind me what side of the Peru "free trade" agreement Obama was on, even though he never voted?

[earthlover]

98. This says it all....

“She was not an outspoken person on labor, because I think she was smart enough to know that if she favored labor, she was the only one,” Mr. Tate said. “It would only lesson her own position on the board if she took that position.”

=====

Hillary has always been the triangulator. Somehow we are supposed to believe she would stand up for labor. But look at her "experience"!!!!

She has experience alright. Experience not risking her cushy position to speak up for labor when she has the opportunity. She was on the board of directors no less, so she had the opportunity to at least try.

If'nn she wanted to.

[LostinVA]

5. And she left because she found their practices incompatible with her beliefs

And, have you noticed all of her union support?

Your plea for recommending is oh so disingenuous.

[Joe the Revelator]

11. So instead of working to change their practices, she just leaves

Yeah, real great Leadership shown by Hillary there.

[hedgehog]

22. I guess she had to keep her powder dry for the big fights

just as President CLinton never went to the wall for anything during his administration because he was waiting for the big fight.




























The big fight should be along any day now.

[annie1]

24. she did work to change their practices. so you are incorrect and spreading falsehoods.

[hedgehog]

25. How about some specifics? nt

[annie1]

28. ...from the NYT...

"Fellow board members and company executives, who have not spoken publicly about her role at Wal-Mart, say Mrs. Clinton used her position to champion personal causes, like the need for more women in management and a comprehensive environmental program, despite being Wal-Mart’s only female director, the youngest and arguably the least experienced in business. On other topics, like Wal-Mart’s vehement anti-unionism, for example, she was largely silent, they said."


In Mrs. Clinton’s complex relationship with Wal-Mart, there are echoes of the familiar themes that have defined much of her career: the trailblazing woman unafraid of challenging the men around her; the idealist pushing for complicated, at times expensive, reforms; and the political pragmatist, willing to accept policies she did not agree with to achieve her ends.

“Did Hillary like all of Wal-Mart practices? No,” said Garry Mauro, a longtime friend and supporter of the Clintons who sat on the Wal-Mart Environmental Advisory Board with Mrs. Clinton in the late 1980s and worked with her on George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign.

“But,” Mr. Mauro added, “was Wal-Mart a better company, with better practices, because Hillary was on the board? Yes.”

NYT

[Evergreen Emerald]

32. Thanks annie1

great information--and way to counter the distortion with facts.

[Dems Will Win]

40. what facts? Those are completely different issues.

For 6 years, Hillary Clinton was providing COVER to Sam Walton for his union-busting.

She was upping Walmart's image and getting to meet the entire business crowd in Arkansas, at no cost to that bastard Walton.

That is the fact. Plain and simple.

[FREEWILL56]

101. Add to that the only reason she quit was that Bill went for the presidency.

So if she be this champion for labor, tell me what she has done besides turn the other cheek to corporate labor abuses.

[Joe the Revelator]

42. Your article even says that she was silent on pro-union issues

On other topics, like Wal-Mart’s vehement anti-unionism, for example, she was largely silent, they said."

[annie1]

44. that is correct. But she did SOMETHING. she didn't stay silent...

and she changed what she felt she could. Did she change the whole company? no. but if you want to find whatever you can against her, you'll continue to do so no matter what, you make that clear.

[Joe the Revelator]

49. She did stay silent when it came to Walmart and unions

She doesn't care about working people.

[Evergreen Emerald]

62. this is the same person who supports Obama with 130 "present"

votes. Apparently it is ok to stay silent, sometimes?

[JTFrog]

95. If you look up the laws in Illinois you will see there are three choices for Senators when voting.

Present is one of them. It is also a very COMMON strategy used in Illinois.

It isn't "silent" at all.

Now, if we're talking just not showing up to vote, I have issues with that.

[earthlover]

102. one more source to show that Hillary did not stand up for unions.....

"On other topics, like Wal-Mart’s vehement anti-unionism, for example, she was largely silent, they said."

[FatDave]

136. So what you (and this article) are saying is that she chose her battles

And I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that, but isn't there something to be gleaned from which battles she chose? She was willing to be a thorn in their side over hiring women and the environment. Why those two instead of fair labor? It was a choice she made, and it does say something about her priorities.

[Dems Will Win]

45. Not with letting unions hold elections no sir -- you are just making that up!

Please retract that statement unless you can prove it.

[earthlover]

103. Don't hold your breath! Some cling to the image of Hillary and ignore the facts!

[earthlover]

100. read this again from the OP....

“She was not an outspoken person on labor, because I think she was smart enough to know that if she favored labor, she was the only one,” Mr. Tate said. “It would only lesson her own position on the board if she took that position.”

[LostinVA]

26. Oh brother -- lose-lose situation for HRC

I left a company because of the way they treated gays. I guess I should have stayed there.

Strawman. Dislike her for something legit.

[Joe the Revelator]

39. Were you in a leadership postion within the company?

[LostinVA]

130. Yes

[earthlover]

104. Lots of folks don't shop at Walmart because of their practices....

but is ok to serve on the board and not speak up for things you supposedly don't like?

actions speak louder than words.

[truedelphi]

144. The Hillbots are delusional.

They will get to you if you forget that fact for a moment.

[indimuse]

29. i could dig a ditch..you could dig a ditch...

but... is that where my (or yours) best talents lay?? :think::think:

[hedgehog]

15. It took her SIX YEARS to figure out where Walmart was heading?

I find it curious she discovered that she couldn't get along with WalMart the same year her husband took the Presidency.

[earthlover]

105. Hmmmm.....yathink?!!!!

[earthlover]

99. Sure took her a long time to leave! HA!

And if she was really upset, why didn't she EVER voice a pro-labor position in the meetings where she had a voice? HUH?

[killbotfactory]

7. And opening up trade with China greatly benefited Walmart

But I'm sure there's no fire under all that smoke.

[suston96]

That does it.......I am calling all my relatives.....

....including the dead ones ....and I will tell them all about this.

[alfredo]

8. One way to up your chances of winning is choosing what wars to fight.

Edwards has been very good at that, and maybe Hillary knew she couldn't win over enough board member to a worker friendly position.


Any goal of a workers rights activist is to make unions unnecessary. As long as workers are abused, unions are needed.

[truedelphi]

145. She would have my vote if she had TRIED.

She never spoke out against WalMart putting small town America out of luck. The practice of moving in and seeing that all the small mom and pop stores fold up.

Then if the WalMArt people at the top decided that the area was not profitable, they would move out. ANd the small town left behind no longer even ahd other businesses to provide its necessities.

[alfredo]

150. We don't know what influence she has on their board, we don't know what

she said and what she has tried to do on their board. It's like Gore on Apple's board of directors. Has he pushed them to be more green? We don't know. We don't know if Hillary or Gore were positive forces as board members.

I have been on the board of a corporation and the president of a corporation. You don't take your business on the street, and you trust the other board members not to go blabbing about what should be in confidence.

[truedelphi]

152. I'm sure that had she tried to right the wrongs of WalMart, by now she would have blabbed about it

[alfredo]

159. Speaking of such things in public could

open you up to lawsuits if it negatively impacts stock prices.

[paulk]

151. you know, Walmart was a different company when Sam

Walton was still alive - back when HRC was on the board. The practice of moving into small towns and killing the mom and pops came afterward, when the kids took over the business.

For your info, in case you are actually interested, Clinton has spoken out against Walmart's current business practices, the one's you describe.

[truedelphi]

153. Paul you are simply WRONG!

I first read about the WalMartization of small town America back in 1985 or 1986.

It was being reported in the Sunday sections of the San Francisco Chronicle.

There wasn't any mention of Hillary at that time, but the dates were those years.

(Hillary at that time was not well known and the Chronicle did not detail who was and who wasn't on the board.)

By 1990, myself and many others were already avoiding WalMart like the plague because of what WalMArtt had done to small town America.

Quit saying something that is not true.

Thank you!

[mopinko]

9. ok, i ain't no fan of hill, but jeeeeez.

walmart was very different back then. did she even actually do shit on that board? first ladies sit on a lot of boards that they never lift a finger for.
i think walmart ought to hold fair union elections. but i sure don;t think it is hillary's fault that they don't. ferchrissakes. crucify her for something that she actually did, wouldja?

[earthlover]

106. "first ladies sit on a lot of boards that they never lift a finger for. "...HUH?

She was not first lady yet! That is a pretty lame excuse.

[mopinko]

139. she was the first lady of arkansas. nt

[annie1]

10. She did some stuff to get more women in higher positions there, walmart did not want her on that...

board, there's only so much she can do. she's got tons of union support in this election, so meh. but yeah, not the best thing on her resume. lol.

[hedgehog]

14. Walmart didn't want her on the board? #1, who is Walmart, #2,

if Walmart didn't want her on the board, what was she doing there?

[annie1]

23. they were pressed to put a woman on the board...

they didn't have any female there. they asked a few females before getting around to her. she was the governers wife, that got her on the board. the director wasn't crazy about having to put a woman on the board. so i guess i should have stated it more like, they didn't want a woman on the board, but they had to choose one, and eventually ended up asking hillary.

[hedgehog]

33. Not to change the subject too much, but isn't that similar to what a lot of us are being told

about the Presidency? "We need to have a female President, and Hillary Clinton as the former First Lady is handy, so we should select her."

[annie1]

36. um. yeah, that is kinda random. but yes, walmart should have put a woman...

on the board. hil was right to push for more women to be hired in managerial positions. and i'm tired of men running this fucking country.

[hedgehog]

38. So, a woman who is a DINO is better than a man who is a progressive? nt

[annie1]

41. no one said that. We each like our candidates for different reasons...

i don't know who you support, but there are things i like and dislike about my favorite candidate. there are things i like and dislike about the other candidates as well. :) and i don't know what a dino is.

[hedgehog]

51. Democrat in Name Only

[annie1]

53. oh, well than that's just dumb...

her voting record is very democratic.

[flyarm]

75. have you studied the DLC and dino's?

i call the dlc..dems love corporations..and fuck we the people!!

[truedelphi]

154. Yep it sounds very similar.

I wish their suggestion was Barbara Boxer.

Lynn Woolsey would be awesome. Just awesome.

I'd rather have Martha Stewart than Clinton. She hat least had her eyes opened for a while while in the clink.

[demnan]

12. I hate Wal-Mart

http://www.davelippman.com/walmart/whyihatewalmart.html

[Dems Will Win]

13. How come?

[BringBigDogBack]

21. you and me both, I refuse to shop at

Sprawl Mart

[Dems Will Win]

66. How many small businesses did Clinton help Walton put into bankruptcy?

[flyarm]

76. many many many in the mid west!! eom

[truedelphi]

155. And despite what Hillbots say

These bankruptcies occurred during Hillary's tenure on this board of directors.

[flyarm]

77. i will die before i walk into one!! eom

[earthlover]

107. Don't shop at WalMart? What are you, a Hillary Hater?

[progressivebydesign]

86. I hate Walmart too.. but how are they any different than.. say.. Trader Joes?

Or other retailers? I don't see most retailers offering health care, nor offering full time hours. ANd in the case of Trader Joes, they import so much of their cheap food now... you want tomatoes? Mexico. Black Beans in a can? China. Frozen entrees? China. Frozen Broccoli? China. etc. etc. etc. I'm having a hard time deciding which retailers to hate more.. the ones like Walmart that everyone already knows about, or the dicks at uber-hip Trader Joes that pose like some sort of socially responisble retailer, while shipping food from China that is readily available from American farmers.

[Bitwit1234]

16. Really we don't know she was on the board for six years but

unfortunately you didn't mention that Mitchell Obama was also...on the board...how did you miss that. Thanks for bringing it up, gave me a chance to post this.

[hedgehog]

19. Michelle Obama was on the board of Tree Foods which sells about

15% of its pickles through the second largest grocery retailer in this country which happens to be (Ta-da!) Walmart.

Clearly, Michelle Obama should have convinced the board to ignore Walmart!

[earthlover]

108. Lots of companies sell their goods to Walmart....not the same as being on Wally's Board....

[mtnsnake]

17. When you've gotta use that old worn-out Walmart angle, you know you're beat. nt

[paulk]

20. It's my understanding that she had some success

in making Walmart more environmentally friendly in it's new store construction - also she helped with improving their policy toward putting women in leadership positions within the company. She didn't deal with any of Walmart's anti-union activities because she knew she wouldn't make any progress in that area (as the article points out) - she instead chose to invest her time in areas where she could make a difference.

This is one of the reasons I support her for President. I don't believe that "leadership" means tilting at windmills; I believe it means assessing the playing field and accomplishing what can be accomplished, while working to change that playing field.


ed for spelling

[ScooterFibby]

73. Yes, doing what is possible is good...

... but sometimes you have to break the rules and go for a paradigm change.

Hillary would be fine with business, but Edwards will go for a big change... a change we desperately need.

[Sultana]

30. K&R

:kick:

[PurityOfEssence]

31. Ah, big deal; she didn't know beans about it and didn't give a rat's ass anyway...

Corporate is as corporate does.

[rodeodance]

34. oh, this has been so so so covered on DU!!--update your information.

....Hillary is hoping no one brings this up...

[Armstead]

35. Snipping around the edges while ignoring the big problem

That pretty much defines Hillary/Clintonism/DLC/Centrism.

Wal Mart was Wal Mart back then. They have gotten bigger and meaner, but it was the same basic company.

Making Wal Mart more environmentally friendly in its construction? Haven't seen much evidence that made a whole lot of difference.

Putting more women in management positions? Worthy goal, but putting women in positions that support a lousy company isn't exactly progress.

Plus the fact that being a governor's wife on the board of a major corporation in her state might possibly be construed as a major conflict of interest.

[D23MIURG23]

91. Bingo!

Brilliantly summarized.

[antigop]

37. Has she ever walked a picket line? n/t

[annie1]

43. From what i understand she organized a strike at Wesleyan (spelling) for them to...

add more african american staff and to admit more black students.

[antigop]

46. Link, please? Has she walked a picket line, say, within the last 20 years? n/t

[annie1]

47. i doubt she has. is that your pre-requisite for a pres? and everyone who doesn't is no good? well...

then i guess she and many others are not for you.

[antigop]

48. I want a pro-labor Pres, not a pro-corporate Pres n/t

[Dems Will Win]

54. Hillary remember is pro FREE TRADE, Free for corporations, slavery for the workers

It's no surprise that Hillary is a strong supporter of free trade with China. Wal-Mart, despite its "Buy American" advertising campaign, is the single largest U.S. importer, and half of its imports come from China.

Was Hillary the voice of conscience on the board for American and foreign workers? Contemporary accounts make no mention of that. They do describe her as a "corporate litigator" in those days, and they mention, speaking of environmental matters, that she also served on the board of Lafarge, a company that, according to a press account, once burned hazardous fuels to run its cement plants.

Wal-Mart, though, was the crown jewel of Arkansas, the state's First Company fit for a first lady. During her tenure on the board, she presumably helped preside over the most remarkable growth of any company until Bill Gates came along. The number of Wal-Mart employees grew during the '80s from 21,600 to 279,000, while sales soared from $1.2 billion to $25.8 billion.

And the Clintons depended on Wal-Mart's largesse not only for Hillary's regular payments as a board member but for travel expenses on Wal-Mart planes and for heavy campaign contributions to Bill's campaigns there and nationally. According to reports in the early '90s, before Bill and Hillary moved to D.C., neither was raking in the big bucks, but prominent in their income were her holdings of between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of Wal-Mart stock.

A press report on the Clintons' finances during the early stages of Bill's 1992 run for the presidency showed that most of their income came from her $109,719 annual salary from the Rose Law Firm and tens of thousands of dollars in fees she received from serving on corporate boards. (She was on two others besides Wal-Mart's.) Her honoraria and director fees grew almost as fast as Wal-Mart's profits during the '80s—rising from $111 in 1980 to $6500 in 1986 to $64,700 in 1991, according to the same source.

During the same period, small towns all over America began complaining that Wal-Mart was squeezing out ma-and-pa stores and leaving little burgs throughout the Midwest and South with downtowns that featured little more than empty storefronts.

But selected small companies were doing quite well, thanks to the Clintons' friendship with Wal-Mart. The Boston Globe reported in January 1992 that Bill Clinton had introduced a brush company's executives to Wal-Mart executives, hoping that the two could do bidness. Executives of the brush company had been rebuffed in previous attempts to sell their products to Wal-Mart. Lucky for the company, it happened to be located in New Hampshire, where Clinton was trying to win a presidential primary. At the time, Hillary Clinton was still on Wal-Mart's board, and the retail giant was still resisting the unionization of any of its workers.

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0021,harkavy,15052,5.html

Jeebus.

[annie1]

55. Yes. /hillary is for slavery and is against workers. we get it./

[antigop]

56. Here are some videos on Hillary's positions against US workers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhLBSLLIhUs
Hillary pushes for more h1-b visas and outsourcing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLNOSGM2jK4
Lou Dobbs: Hillary Clinton's hypocrisy (part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgdrh2Bc95M
Lou Dobbs: Hillary Clinton's hypocrisy (part 2)

[papau]

121. Hillary is not pro-free trade -she is pro fair trade w/ many speechs/votes to that effect- see CAFTA

where she voted "no"

[antigop]

50. and I'm still waiting on that link.....n/t

[annie1]

52. i said from what i understand. but it might be in here...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/us/politics/05clinton.html

[antigop]

57. thanks for the link, but this thread is about Hillary and UNIONS

Has Hillary ever walked a picket line in support of any union? That's the question.

[Dems Will Win]

58. I can't find one, altho she has refused to cross picket lines

[antigop]

59. I can't find any evidence that she has ever walked a picket line in support of a union.

That's why I asked the question.

I have found links to other candidates' walks on picket lines though.

[annie1]

60. and i also said i doubt she has walked a picket line.

[antigop]

61. Yes, you did. And if she hasn't ever walked a picket line, I think that is significant. n/t

[Tom Rinaldo]

She was the 1st Dem candidate to say she would not cross a writers Union picket line to debate

After she took that stand several others joined her and that Presidential debate was scratched.

[antigop]

80. That's not what I asked. I asked if she ever walked a picket line in support of striking workers.

<edit to add> Not crossing a picket line and actually WALKING a picket line in support of the striking workers are two different things.

[earthlover]

109. Oh....like....WOW....!

sarc

[jeff30997]

63. Yes but but...

She's the Goddess of peace!(Actual quote from a DUer).

[earthlover]

110. HA! I forgot that phase of the Hillary Herd's evolution!

More than one DUer was worshipping the "goddess of peace". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at such stupidity and hero worship.

And they said it seriously and tried to defend their worship so it wasn't sarcasm or anything.

MAybe I should have kept track of those who called her the goddess....

[salib]

64. Not to mention healthcare.

Remember, WalMart is notorious for having the largest pool of working poor, without a living wage and without healthcare.

I bet Mrs. Clinton found being on the Board a great source of campaign donors. All who feel about the same as she does, don't ya think?

[southerncrone]

65. Wal-Mart....biggest part of the China, Nafta triangulation

[nealmhughes]

67. Why how dare DU pick on Mme. for such a small thing as labor rights?

It was WalMart, a small little corporation deep in the bowels of deepest darkest Arkansas, not a Fortune 500 Corporation.

Oh, wait! It isn't a minor little issue for working people and it is the largest retailer in the world.

Had I a video of Mme. strangling puppies after skinning them alive would people come to bat for her?

Aren't people tired of having their candidates' votes and maintenance of the corporate status quo "explained" away from those who question?

So what if Mme. wanted more women in management? That has nothing to do with workers' rights. What did she do for a living wage? What exactly did she do at WalMart, pray tell if she didn't want to raise a ruckus?

What was the point of being there? The token female Clinton representative for PR and to act as the ambassador from Sam's Curia to the Governor's Mansion?

Give me a break! She is a has been, a product of the Reaganzeit in her world and corporate outlook, a skilled politician, for some reason which eludes me, but not one to take to the park for a rumble -- or the Capitol, for that matter.

[Swagman]

69. LOOK who is being quoted in this article : an ANTI-UNION LAWYER

Now he wouldn't have a reason to help scuttle Hillary's campaign..would he ?

[LostinVA]

79. Good catch

[OhioChick]

72. Interesting....

I wasn't aware of this.
K&R
:kick:

[Divine Discontent]

81. sadly,

very few of her supporters, statistically speaking (based on EVERY poll on DU) are on DU compared to other candidates backers on DU. So, this great info is widely not known - it's up to us to tell Hillary supporters she's a corporate candidate and not for the workers in the same way all the other DEMS are, esp. John, Dodd, & Kucinich. I think this shows her early ability to not be a leader, but times change, and she possibly would do differently if on there now, but I don't feel that strong sense of union consideration from her like I do from John, and yet she's got some major union endorsements like he has, but she's not deserving imo.

I'm a Teamster, first time I've ever said my union affiliation online, and I try to inform everyone about her when I get the chance...

[Botany]

83. Well look @ her top man Mark Penn, he has some solid union busting history

Sadly Hillary is the last person we need if we want to change directions.

She gets money from insurance, HMOs, big drug makers, and the Military / Industry
complex. For a women of Hillary's brains to say that she was not aware of WALMART's
labor practices is pure crap.

[earthlover]

111. Hillary gets more contributions from medical corps than ANY candidate--Dem or Rep

Doesn't it say something when the medical/pharma/insurance interests give HER more than the Reps?

I don't think it is because they want significant progress on health issues for the rest of us....

[Botany]

118. That money tells me that "the powers that be" know a dem should win in '08.

So they are putting their money on the person they think will protect their
"golden goose." Just a short read on Hillary's Mark # 1 guy Mark Penn should
be enough to make any fair minded person question their support for Clinton.

Mark Penn has helped in union busting & has done work to put Blackwater in
a more positive light after their murders in Iraq and he is Hillary's point man
for this election?

[earthlover]

128. Yes, they are covering their losses: in case a Dem wins,. they want it to be Hillary!

OF course they will donate to the Reps too. That way, no matter who wins, they get a candidate who will do their bidding. Smart cookies, those. Another benefit for them is if Hillary gets the nomination the Reps may actually win.

[unapatriciated]

157. my thoughts exactly

Her supporters are constantly spouting her experience and intelligence but ignore who her financial backers are. She knew exactly what Wal-mart was all about and accepted their terms. Yes they were the major employer but one that kept their employees in poverty. She lost her soul and her way when she got into bed with the corporatist.

[Stuckinthebush]

84. Damn....I didn't know that

I find the fact that she was on the Walmart Board more than disturbing. I have yet to declare for a candidate yet, but this is a big strike against Clinton for me.

[progressivebydesign]

85. Hillary ran over my cat, and ate my cookies, and made faces at me, and.. and..

and she didn't do anything when I got that traffic ticket in New York while she was Senator, even tho I was driving 90 miles an hour near a school with a beer between my thighs!! WAAAAAA!!!!!!

Prove she didn't!

Give me a fucking break. Do you people do anything anymore on DU without posting these breathless attacks on Hillary Clinton? I'm just so eagerly awaiting the bitter Naderites, the paid posters from Planet Rove, and either paid or overeager volunteers for other Dem candidates, to flee DU as soon as the nod is sewn up. YOu people bore me.

[Jim Sagle]

87. Then go sleep it off.

[D23MIURG23]

93. Grow some critical thought.

I know republicans who think just like you. They are called dittoheads and they think its dirty to commit thoughtcrime against thier own party.

Why don't you respond to the actual post instead of making 17 red herrings and labling us all "naderites"?

[earthlover]

129. This is certainly more relevant than Obama's kindergarden views....

or his middle name, or his drug use, or anything from the Smear du'jure of the Hillary campaign

[autorank]

88. K*R ... but would they have paid her if she had. How about Obama & Carlyle?

[Me.]

132. Good Point

They all have thin spots in their armor, the ones already mentioned, Edwards with hedge fund....none are perfect.

Happy New Year Autorank and to all.

[meowomon]

89. Hillary has no integrity

Any real woman would have divorced her husband after his numerous and public liaisons with other women. She kept him for politics and to ride his coattails to the white house. As a feminist, I would never trust her.

[Perry Logan]

96. You are not fit to lick Hillary Clinton's boots.

[earthlover]

113. Who the hell would WANT to lick Hillary's boots?

You owe the poster an apology. That was demeaning and a personal attack.

[Dems Will Win]

137. Did she get those boots at Walmart?

[FatDave]

138. Spoken like a true auhoritarian

Let's all strive to be subservient to Hillary!

[Nimrod2005]

114. Thank you

[hayu_lol]

119. OK, so Hill was on the board at Mall-Wart...

while in that position, did she improve the lot of any of Mall-Wart employees--for example, did she accomplish anything for women and minorities while on the board. I would suggest that she did.

To look at another side of the same argument, did not John Edwards serve as a paid consultant for some years for a large for-profit health corporation? He was paid half a million a year for his services. Whilst engaged in this position, did Mr Edwards attempt to lower the costs of healthcare for lower and middle class workers? I do not think so.

Apples and Oranges--nah.

As for unions and Mall-Wart, workers have to initiate a move toward a union. Problem with Mall-Wart is that they fire any employee caught even using the word in conversation. Thats how unions start--the employees, not the employer, have to make the choice and fight the battles that result.

This thread is a faux attack if you go back in the history of Mall-Wart. They were, and still may be, one of the largest employers in Arkansas. Does that ring any bells or change any hearts or minds?

[Telly Savalas]

122. On that note, what has Al Gore done at Apple?

iPods are made in China. I kind of doubt that it's high paid union workers manufacturing the things.

I'd much rather see Gore or Edwards in the White House than Clinton, but nevertheless find the double standard to be obnoxious.

[mckeown1128]

115. Uh oh....

I remember this came up like in may in GDP.. the Hillbots all freaked out and started posting something meticulous about how Michelle Obama was on the board of a pickle company that happened to sell pickles to Walmart (among many other vendors) and they screamed bloody murder about the Obama's supporting Walmart because of the pickle company... does anyone remember that besides me?? It was hysterical.

[unapatriciated]

147. here is a more recent article

and I'm not laughing, just wondering why Obama and Clinton don't understand why the working class has a problem with ties like that. I view it as a conflict of interest at the very least.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/13/wobama13.xml

edited to add link

[ileus]

116. Miners, and Industrial workers need Unions.

Not to be confused with basic unskilled jobs. If you don't like the "conditions" in an unskilled job, move on, or “get on” at a union workplace.

Unions are needed in real professions where wages are good, work conditions can be hazardous, and companies could abuse workers with mandatory overtime.

[LiberalFighter]

117. Where was everyone when Bill Clinton ran in 92?

[pjt7]

123. Do people reallyt think Hillary is on the side of the working

class?

[LiberalFighter]

125. Who on the Republican side is on the side of the working people?

[unapatriciated]

148. She is not the only Dem in the race

I use to have very high hopes for her but now find her polices lacking in real concerns for the working class. Her Health Care plan keeps the Insurance Companies in the position of reaping even more profits off of the least who can afford it. She wants to expand NAFTA to Peru and keep us in Iraq for years to come. Instead of ignoring what some of us view as problems maybe you should join us and try to get her to change her stance on these issues. When she does this than she will regain my support.

[LiberalFighter]

156. Then you must let her know your position on those issues

and that you will make her your primary candidate if she supports single payer health care, reduce NAFTA (the hell with Peru and others), and get the troops out of Iraq within a year.

I have been doing my part by telling the Senate and House Democratic Committee that they will not get any of my contributions if impeachment is off the table. Telling everyone why Evan Bayh should not be the President when he was in the running and why he should not be the VP. It hasn't done any good to tell Bayh that his stances on different issues are wrong. His head is full of holes.

Unless Indiana comes into play during the primary in May I doubt that Clinton or any of them would be interested in what I have to say. It is best for me to concentrate on getting our current Governor ousted. That might provide Indiana as a possible win for the Presidential race.

[unapatriciated]

160. I have many times

and well before she was a candidate. I have written letters since 1991 regarding Health Care and a single payer system to all of congress, senate and the WH during both administrations. I pleaded with Clinton, mother to mother and received responses such as she understood the need and was sorry to hear about my son, but there were many complicated reasons it couldn't be done. With the age of the computer I have sent many e-mails, signed petitions and made phone calls all with the same basic responses and reasons why we are not ready for a single payer system. My campaign was personal. I watched my 13 year old son slowly deteriorate and almost lose his life because of my HMO's and Insurance Company delaying and denying treatment. I was forced to sell my home to continue his medical care, care that the Insurance Company finally agreed was covered under my policy. Please don't suggest I should have sued, because I have been there done that. They were protected at that time under the ERISA ACT. My goal is to prevent another child suffering the way my son did. I thought Moore's Movie "Sicko" would wake americans up. Sadly not enough of them care or our public servants refuse to listen.I hope it is the latter because than we might be able to fix it. I have tried to make her supporters understand what is really at stake and suggest they join me in letting her know, but sadly her policies are just fine with them.

[Joanne98]

124. This is why the Clintons pushed to get China in the WTO! All for Walmart!

[Android3.14]

126. When silence is support

If she were on the committee that oversees Japanese fishing, but she said nothing about protecting whales, would we give her a pass on this issue?

If she were sitting mute on the board overseeing the school lunch program as it cut nutrition for children, would we give her a pass on that?

A person who buys (or makes)the argument that she was somehow behaving strategically as the WalMart nightmare became the awful organization we see today probably thinks Kerry is still "keeping his powder dry" for 2004.

She is damaged goods.

[Dems Will Win]

158. excellent points

[mdmc]

127. the future of America is in her hands

watch it roll over Niagara Falls.

[0007]

131. That is real fucking shameful.

[Canuckistanian]

133. Political operatives should not serve on corporate boards. Period.

It's a scenario ripe for conflicts of interest, political interference and financial dirty deals.

I don't think think the Walmart board brought her on board for her business acumen.

[unapatriciated]

149. couldn't have said it better

could it have been for her political "IN" as a sitting Governor's wife?

[happygoluckytoyou]

134. EDWARDS - TOP 10 REASONS HE DESERVES YOUR VOTE

1. WILLING TO ADMIT MISTAKES
2. DOESN'T MAKE A LOT OF THEM
3. LEARNS FROM THEM

4. CANT BE ATTACKED BY THE GOP FOR CLINTON CONNECTION
5. BEST L A B O R CANDIDATE IN THE RACE.... AND YOU KNOW THE GOP LOVES CHEAP LABOR MORE THAN GOD
6. WIFE IS COOL, SMART, POPULAR
7. HAS ENOUGH WEALTH TO NOT BE A SLUG

8. HAS THE BEST NUMBERS TO BEAT ANYTHING THE REPUBLICANS LOOK FOR
9. HAS A BACKGROUND IN THE LAW.... UNLIKE THE CURRENT PRESIDENT, THIS ONE WOULD READ AND THINK

10. HILLARY IS GOP LIGHT.... WE NEED A TRUE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE!!!

[MilesColtrane]

143. 11. Has a serious work ethic.

12. Has a history of fighting against corporations.
13. Has great hair.
14. Has vitality and charisma on the campaign trail that would, in contrast, make any of the Republican candidates look like either corpses or vampires.

[L0oniX]

140. So she didn't mind having illegals working after hours until they got busted?

300 Workers Busted At 60 Stores. Hillary is probably hoping no one brings this up too.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/04/national/main581731.shtml

[MalloyLiberal]

161. Correct, and Edwards campaigned against Walmart, with Ned Lamont