Why don't we call the Chamber of Commerce a "union" for business owners?

[Skidmore]

That is what it is. It is a labor union for owners.

Plain and simple.

[w4rma]

1. Agreed. It's a business union. (nt)

[rodeodance]

2. I have been listening to the Cof Com. quest on cspan.

[Skidmore]

4. So have I. And every time they have a CC rep on, I just get steamed

listening at them whine and make excuses for screwing over the line guy and spoiling the land for profits.

[malaise]

3. The most powerful union on the planet n/t

[rucky]

5. I wish it actually were.

but they piss on the mom & pop shops as bad as anyone. It's amazing how hard our local Chamber tries to attract big
Wal-Mart type stores and other national chains, and how little they understand about what they're doing to our community. It's not just changing the landscape - it's bad business. Wealth is exiting the community at record pace.

[w4rma]

11. Which means it is a business union that only represents certain businesses.

The next time someone tells me that they have a problem with labor unions, I'm going to tell them that my problem is with the business unions, instead. These business unions only seem to represent big business, rather than small business.

[broadcaster]

6. Agree, but isn't it more like a massive lobbying group or PAC?

I agree with where you are coming from totally. The Chamber would have anyone
who works for a business, making 4.00/hr, living in cardboard shanty towns so
that owners could maximize profits. Same for the use of illegal labor, and H1B
visa issues. The Chamber is anti-worker for sure. I wish more were publicized
about the Chamber's beliefs, lobbying, political contributions, etc.

[BlueJazz]

7. I forgot the person's name but a few years ago a prominent democratic...

..journalist said:

"If you happen not to know the positions of your local and state candidates and want to vote for the best person, just find out who the Chamber of Commerce endorses and vote for the other ones." :rofl:

[whistle]

8. I believe Chambers of Commerce are far more powerful than any union

<snip>
Chamber of commerce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Chamber of Commerce)

A chamber of commerce (also referred to in some circles as a board of trade, though this phrase is not commonly used in the United States) is a form of business network. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to protect their own interests. Local businessmen are members, and they elect an executive council to run the chamber.

Chambers of commerce serve the following purposes:

o They promote trade in their own towns or cities.
o They attempt to get enacted municipal regulations in interest of business in their regions.
o They settle disputes between members by means of arbitration.
o They collect information and statistics which may be of use to their members.
o They keep a blacklist for members' reference.
o They try to prevent unnecessary competition by establishing uniform hours, wages and prices.

The first chambers of commerce were founded in 1599 in continental Europe (Marseille, France and Brugge, Belgium). The world's oldest English-speaking chamber of commerce is that of Glasgow, Scotland, that was established in 1783.

<MORE>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_of_Commerce

<snip>
HomeDiariesBreaking BlueE-Wire 2008Tom Donahue, the 'Gang of 6' and Red America
by Matt Stoller, Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 02:22:00 PM EST

Well, it turns out that the Sunrise Senior Living scandal isn't the first time Mr. Donahue has been involved in corporate accountability problems, but I'll save that for a later post. I want to explain why I'm blogging about Tom Donahue and the US Chamber of Commerce, because it gets at the heart of the problem for the progressive movement. A substantial amount of political power in this country is controlled by a relatively small number of people. These people sit on corporate boards, they know each other, they pay each others' salaries, they go to conferences in Davos, and they fund campaigns for both parties. They are willing to invest in substantial sums - like hundreds of millions of dollars - and make alliances with right-wing Christian groups to eviscerate the power of the Federal government and progressive policies to be effective.

The 2001 tax cuts, for instance, aside from giving billions to the wealthy, destroyed the capacity of the government to do much affirmative good work. By crippling governance, these elites are pushing the public to accept private goods in lieu of what should be public services. Private schools, bottled water, health food, private and chartered travel, elite medical institutions - these are all part and parcel of building what John Edwards calls the 'Two Americas'. It really is quite stark. If you are in the business or political elite, compared to normal Americans, you live in different areas, have different crime rates, eat different food and drink different water, send your kids to different schools, travel more efficiently, are subject to a different set of laws, and have access to superior medicine. The public at large responds to this in different ways - liberals get despondent and cynical, and blue collar ethnic whites begin to rely on right-wing church networks for what had been public services.

The key to building and sustaining this reactionary America is allowing individuals like Thomas Donahue to act above the law for personal profit, while lobbying to weaken agencies that might hold them accountable. It fits perfectly into this destruction of the public sphere, and allows bad actors to profit from doing bad. We will not and cannot build a progressive America as long as we have an economy that incentivizes people like this to steal from investors and use that money to lobby against us.

I would encourage you to read this article by Jeffrey H. Birnbaum on the power of the Chamber of Commerce, and the revolution in business lobbying that Donahue helped to usher in. Long story short, the Chamber of Commerce used to be a trade association that advocated in a bipartisan manner for narrowly tailored policies to benefit its members. Since 1997 or so, it has become a fully functional part of the partisan Republican machine, with Donahue raising its budget to $150M a year from corporate chiefs satisfied with his ability to move policy through a Republican Congress.
<MORE>

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/12/13/14220/862

[lonestarnot]

9. We do.

Thanks for asking.

[Skidmore]

10. No, we don't. We talk about business as if it is a separate and

detached entity with separate mechanisms that are alien to human group experience. The CC is always spoken of in hushed tones and given the homage of an institution. It is a labor union. You know, one of those icky upstart organizations that are protectionistic and support political agendas?