A new member of the "With Friends Like These . . . " Hall of Fame

[dolstein]

Congratulations Andrew Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union. As the first natioal labor leader to break with the Kerry campaign, you have won a coveted spot on the "With Friends Like These" Hall of Fame, which I have established to honor conspicuous acts of treason by so-called members of the liberal community.




Union Chief Voices Frustration
Stern Says Labor, Democrats Might Be Better Off If Kerry Loses
By David S. Broder
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 26, 2004; 9:15 PM


BOSTON, July 26 -- Breaking sharply with the enforced harmony of the Democratic National Convention, the president of the largest AFL-CIO union said Monday that both organized labor and the Democratic Party might be better off in the long run if Sen. John F. Kerry loses the election.

Andrew L. Stern, the head of the 1.6 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said in an interview with The Washington Post that both the party and its longtime ally, the labor movement, are "in deep crisis," devoid of new ideas and working with archaic structures.

Stern argued that another four years of Bush policies might be less damaging than the stifling of needed reform within the party and the labor movement that he said would occur if Kerry becomes president.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16387-2004Jul26.html

[liberalhistorian]

1. My God in heaven,

IS HE FUCKING CRAZY? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!!! I simply cannot believe what I'm reading. Shrub and the Bushistas HATE UNIONS AND WORKERS, it's just that fucking simple. They've done everything possible to fuck over both unions AND workers, ALL workers, not just unionized ones. Another four years of this shit, hell another TWO years, and Stern won't have to worry about "policy reform" because there ain't gonna be no unions or workers left to reform. GODDAMN, this burns me up! FUCK HIM!!!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. I Guess He Does't Have Children Who Will Be Drafted....

NT

[Rowdyboy]

2. SEIU endorsed Dean...I thought they were on our side

Evidently union presidents can be bought. Who'd have thought....

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. You never know what

the rank-and-file think, though.

[Rowdyboy]

5. I have little doubt about the rank and file

I think Mr Stern is just trying to get a few headlines. Reading the article, I found that he was a frequent critic of Clinton during the his presidency. He represents one of the most liberal unions and the membership are definitely on our side. On reflection, looks more like a attention-seeker, rather than a sell-out.

[Krupskaya]

7. SEIU? LIberal?

What makes you say that?

[Krupskaya]

6. I said this in the other thread...

...bad timing, but he's right. Unions ARE in big trouble and had better get their heads out of the sand right quick. It was happening before Bush and is accelerated under him as well.

[Justitia]

8. He kneecapped Dean too, after giving the union endorsement

Stern is a jerk - he called Dean "crazy" and said other disparaging things about him, AFTER the unions endorsement.

The rank and file of SEIU was fantastic - I saw them at several events, very enthusiastic, working very hard.
From a Dean supporter - Thanks Again SEIU mbrs! :hi:

Stern is an asshole 'tho, and now he's doing to Kerry what he did to Dean.
Someone posted on another thread they looked up his contributions and he has only given to Repukes - go figure.

[JohnKleeb]

10. sorry for what he did to Dean

thats disgraceful, my dad did service jobs, waited tables for many years not sure if that qualified him to be a SEIU member but I consider myself the son of a server and am proud of it. I thought James Hoffa Jr was the most unlikable union president but I think I found a new one in Andy Stern.

[JohnKleeb]

9. jeez

Didnt he abandon Dean too or call him crazy? I am not a fan of Dean admittingly but I believe in loyality and I found it was disgusting of him to abandon a man he pledged to support. If we need a modern union president to admire, I'd say John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO is a great example as is Leo Gerard of the Steelworkers, and Harold S??????? of the firefighters is as well, the last man mentioned was loyal to his candiate of choice despite the trouble Kerry had early on. Stern really is fool of shit for what hes saying.

[Justitia]

11. Yes, Stern withdrew his endorsement and insulted Dean

I can't remember exactly when in the primaries it happened (painful memories), but yes, the lack of loyalty was appalling.

We had so many SEIU faithful express how sorry they were for Stern's treatment of Dean - I think they were sincerely embarrassed by it all.

The SEIU (& AFSCME & UPAT) folks were great. All our interactions (Dean supporters) with them were so positive. It really opened my eyes to just how hard those union mbrs will work for an endorsed candidate - they were tops. Thanks again to all the union mbrs who did so much for Dean.

I sure hope they get new leadership at SEIU, they deserve better than that scum Stern.

[JohnKleeb]

12. you dont do that to people you support

its just a sick thing to do, I hope they get a new guy over there too. I think Stern could take a lesson from fellow unionist Harold Schaitberger btw thats the firefighters union guy's name, the lesson he could learn is that you stick with your horse to the end through the bad and the good. I come from a union background, had miners union and steelworker blood, so I know how hard they work not just to achieve justice but to make a living, maybe Stern will get ousted as union pres.

[sandnsea]

17. Kerry's Army of Steel

Did you see the steelworker's union tonight during the convention? That's what their T-Shirts said. I thought it was catchy.

[JohnKleeb]

18. well no I didnt

The steelworkers are good people though, sadly though, the steel makes alot of their lives too short, thats why my uncle got heart trouble and died in my opinion prematurely. He also worked in the mines, he lived to be in his 70's but still, too young in my eyes considering that his younger sister is still strong at 77, my grandmother. I like those shirts thogh. See my thread about the head of the firefighters union please.

[nolajazz]

13. I believe he called Dean nuts.

[Justitia]

14. you're probably right - whichever RW meme du jour it was

Stern did a great job parroting the line.
It was a painful blow, more so, as it came from a supposed "friend".

Unfortunately, he's now doing it to Kerry - obviously a pattern here.
I feel really badly for his union mbrs, they must hate this kind of stunt after all their hard work.

[AP]

15. Stern was praising Kerry up and down on NPR today.

The interviewer said "aren't you disappointed with such a moderate ticket."

Stern was like, NO WAY am I disappointed! We said this ticket has an incredible voting record on labor issues and they couldn't have a better voting record.

Unless this article has quotes that are in context, I'm just going to have to assume it's BS. It totally contradicts what I heard come out of Stern's mouth about 5 hours ago.

[sandnsea]

16. SEIU is for cheaper laborers

The established unions are often fighting the SEIU because they represent lower paid workers and the SEIU is constantly trying to get these workers to do the jobs of the workers of the established unions. Think of them as the union of all those poor workers who vote against their own best interest and think big labor unions are the cause of all the problems in the country. That's the way I understand them anyway. I can see why this guy might prefer Bush. I feel sorry for their workers. He also did dump Howard pretty quickly and that doesn't say much about the guy. They need a better leader, seems to me.

[JohnKleeb]

19. My dad's manager when he worked at the Marriott

who Dad absolutely despised was a republican, my dad was a waiter for a number of years, not sure if they fit in to the SEIU. Yeah he did dump Dean which shows that he doesnt know what he wants, I think the SEIU needs a new leader too.