Former Labor Secretary Reich Facebook Statement on Obamas Walmart Visit.

[rsmith6621]

Source. Facebook


DEPARTMENT OF ILL-ADVISED PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES. Tomorrow, President Obama is scheduled to do a press event at a Walmart store in Mountain View, California, to highlight the company’s purported energy efficiency, according to the White House. What numbskull in the White House arranged this? Walmart may be one of the retail industry's leaders in the use of renewable energy in its stores, but its greenhouse emissions grew 2 percent last year to nearly half a million metric tons, and it lags badly behind other large companies on renewable power, with only 3 percent of electricity from these sources.

More to the point, Walmart is one of the nation’s largest and worst employers – low wages, unreliable hours, few benefits, discrimination against women, and anti-union. The NLRB is investigating charges it discriminates against workers who speak out. And most of the rest of us are subsidizing Walmart by paying for the food stamps and Medicaid its workers need because Walmart doesn't pay them enough to keep them out of poverty.

Obama should use this opportunity not to praise Walmart but to condemn it for its irresponsible labor practices, to call for it to allow its workers to unionize, and meet with Walmart workers to hear first-hand about how they’re treated. (I'd also urge him to decide against being hosted this weekend by Walmart board member Marissa Mayer for a political fundraiser.)

[Brickbat]

1. K&R for the truth.

[oneofthe99]

2. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, do I need to say anything else

[Jesus Malverde]

27. Someone mentioned he attended a fundraiser with Marisa Mayer Yahoo ceo

at 38K a pop per invitee. She's on the board of walmart.

Knowing that it seems obvious.

[djean111]

3. Well, the big campaign money does not come from poorly paid Walmart workers, ya know.

Also triple bullshit that he spoke at Walmart in order to shine a light on it.
Wonder how many workers lost pay due to the store closing for the visit.

[L0oniX]

40. Well that's how it works.

The more poor people are ...the more that politicians go to the rich for campaign money ...and more people become poor because of the rich. The dysfunction expands geometrically.

[november3rd]

4. Thanks, Robert.

You may be short, but you're usually the only one who can give us the real bird's-eye view.

Will Obo say anything like what you recommend?

Probably not, because, in my opinion, he's more interested in having the Walton heirs think he's a legitimate President after all.

[RufusTFirefly]

5. Yeah, but he's short and he supported NAFTA

I'll bet he's even got boxes in his garage.

Haters gotta hate.
If he's not an outright racist, he's probably taking money from Karl Rove.

What other possible reason could he have for saying such a thing?!

[closeupready]

16. Oh, I see - has DU gone L.A. now? Flash some cleavage, jiggle

some flesh, and all your sins will be forgiven?

(lol Sorry for interrupting the serious political discussion here.)

[Jesus Malverde]

26. did he support NAFTA?...nt

[RufusTFirefly]

36. Yup.

Reich: Labor `Plain Wrong' On Nafta
July 14, 1993|By William Neikirk.

WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Robert Reich said Tuesday that labor unions are "just plain wrong" in opposing the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada and predicted it would result in adding jobs to the U.S. automobile and steel industries.

Chicago Tribune

Reich, like Krugman to some extent, has always been sort of an idealistic free-trader.

Of course, FDR initially supported a balanced budget, and Media Matters' David Brock was originally a hatchet man for the Right. People can learn from their mistakes.

[Jesus Malverde]

38. Strange how our "champions" always let us down where it really matters...nt

[RufusTFirefly]

44. That's why it's risky to rest our hopes on specific people instead of on movements and ideas

Although I admired FDR and Eleanor even more so and although Gandhi and Dr. King are two of my inspirations, I still don't believe in the "great man" approach to history.

[ProSense]

6. More on

More to the point, Walmart is one of the nation’s largest and worst employers – low wages, unreliable hours, few benefits, discrimination against women, and anti-union. The NLRB is investigating charges it discriminates against workers who speak out. And most of the rest of us are subsidizing Walmart by paying for the food stamps and Medicaid its workers need because Walmart doesn't pay them enough to keep them out of poverty.

...that.

NLRB accuses Wal-Mart of retaliating against protesting workers

by Christian Dem in NC

Earlier today, the National Labor Relations Board filed a formal complaint against Wal-Mart for retaliating against workers who took part in protests on Black Friday 2012.

The complaint, filed Tuesday and circulated Wednesday by union representatives, details times when Wal-Mart allegedly illegally threatened "reprisal" against workers who protested on November 22, 2012, both on national television and to employees directly.

The agency also said Wal-Mart stores in 14 states unlawfully threatened or disciplined workers who participated in legal strikes and protests.

The complaint involves more than 60 employees, 19 of whom were allegedly fired as a result of their participation in the protests. It also named more than 60 Wal-Mart supervisors and one corporate officer.

Wal-Mart has until January 28 to file a response. A date for a hearing before an NLRB administrative law judge hasn't been set yet.

The NLRB's general counsel had actually greenlighted the filing of complaints back in November, but held off on formally filing one so the board could try to work out a settlement. Specifically, it charges that Wal-Marts in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington took unlawful reprisals against the protesters. It also charges that Wal-Marts in California, Florida, Missouri and Texas took illegal preemptive strikes--such as spying on them and threatening them--against those planning future protests.

Wal-Mart looks on the workers' actions as a lawful response to what it calls a "union-orchestrated PR move." That's hard to believe from a company that practices what I call "deadbeat capitalism"--locking its workers into poverty-level wages and encouraging its workers to enroll in Medicaid rather than make it easier for them to enroll in the company's insurance plan, while its owners are among some of the richest people in the world.

Stay tuned.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/15/1269930/-NLRB-accuses-Wal-Mart-of-retaliating-against-protesting-workers

[Fred Sanders]

7. Hold your friends close, hold your enemies closer, has always been Obama's very frustrating

to some strategy.

Demonizing an entity is a poor way to get them to change.

[Voice for Peace]

12. I agree with you, though it's not a popular point of view.

Obama is not a stupid, thoughtless selfish and greedy man.

Ergo, there is usually some practical method in his madness.

[Cha]

18. You're right, Voice for Peace.. here's what else the Obama admin is doing about Walmart..

Allan Brauer @allanbrauer
Follow
Oh, and here's what else the Obama administration is doing about WalMart: http://search.usa.gov/search?query=WalMart&affiliate=u.s.departmentoflabor&x=0&y=0 …

7:13 AM - 9 May 2014

12 Retweets 5 favorites

http://search.usa.gov/search?query=WalMart&affiliate=u.s.departmentoflabor&x=0&y=0

Pertinent Tweet..

NBC Bay Area ✔ @nbcbayarea

JUST IN: President Obama is done speaking at Walmart. He signed off with a big "Happy Mother's Day, Moms!" http://nbcbay.com/nlaPUtQ

JOBoomr @JOBoomr
Follow
@nbcbayarea TYVM, Pres. @BarackObama for shining light on Walmart, so #Unions could bring out their fairness-in-the-workplace concerns!

7:29 AM - 9 May 2014

5 Retweets
Reply
Retweet
Favorite

There's more thinking that goes into this than the short sighted view of those who knee jerk "walmart!"

TOD

[Armstead]

28. Wal Mart and the Oligarchs wont choose to change -- They have to be forced to change

Nicey nicey with the Oligarchy isn't going to work. They must be confronted by public and legal pressure.

Saying what a wonderful company they are just makes them look good, and further legitimizes the immoral and obscene value system of the Oligarchs who are destroying this country.

[L0oniX]

41. Only massive on going protest and civil disobedience will have a chance of changing this.

This is what Howard Zinn said ...and obviously I think he was right. Read all about it here:

http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html

[Doctor_J]

32. dumbest post of the year so far

Congratulations. I will admit that I avoid the BOG and the dungeon, so my view is a little narrow, and the year is young.

[JDPriestly]

8. If you like Hillary, you had better learn to like Walmart and its low wages and mooching off

government welfare. Because if we get Hillary, we get a new and bigger and . . . . Walmart. Hillary served on the Walmart board years ago and is supported by Walmart.

A pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC named several prominent Democratic donors on Friday in its push to build support for the former secretary of state to run for president in 2016.

Wal-Mart scion Alice Walton, financiers George and Robert Soros and the law firm of liberal megadonors Steve and Amber Mostyn all cut $25,000 checks to Ready for Hillary last year, the super PAC said in a public filing.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/george-soros-robert-soros-alice-walton-hillary-clinton-ready-for-hillary-102976.html

[elehhhhna]

21. THe current spokesmodel is making WM look more decent

to defuse the walmart mess that will surely be thrown at hilly , by us, when she runs

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

9. This is why Reich did such a bang-up job in Washington

Don't get me wrong. He's right on the issues and an effective spokesperson. But he sucks at the game of politics.

Seriously, does he really think that Obama is going to waltz into Wal-Mart and lambaste them in front of their employees and the media like that? That's the sort of bush-league, douche canoe thing a Republican would do.

Should Obama's people have schedule the event in the first place? No, they should not. But that's another matter altogether

[Armstead]

23. The other matter is what its about

If Team Obama is so dense that they don't realize the symbolic implications of a pat-on-back visit to Wal Mart, they they are not as smart as they are cracked up to be.

If they know the implications and decided to do it anyway, then shame on them.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

34. Somebody clearly thought this was a good idea

Somebody clearly needs a performance review....STAT!

[Armstead]

35. The worrisome part is that President Obama can say "yes" or "no"

and he said yes to this harebrained idea

[DeSwiss]

10. Robert, Robert, Robert.....

...how many times do I have to remind you? We're an oligarchy now. He has to go and bow down at the altar of mammon. It's expected.

- And it does no good to hang on to the past and the good 'ol days.......

K&R
[center]



[/center]

[zeemike]

13. See?...it's already old news

So why worry about it...He's got this. As a pragmatist you have to work within the system you have, not the one you wish you had.
When rape is inevitable it is best to lay back and enjoy it...

[Fred Sanders]

14. Robert seems to be frustrated that Obama does not hate Walmart as much as him, but when you

have to work with people rather than simply write about them, it is not the same thing.

[zeemike]

15. Obama has to work with Walmart and the Walton's?

Hell I thought he worked for us...but I guess not in an oligarchy...so we can drop the illusion of by and for the people now.

[Fred Sanders]

19. "With" and "for" are not opposites.

[progressoid]

22. "Hell I thought he worked for us"

Sprayed water out of my nose with that one!!!

"I thought he worked for us"

psst, I know you were being sarcastic

[zeemike]

30. I didn't think it needed to be labeled.

at least for most.

[Ikonoklast]

17. And said nary a peep about WalMart when on Team Clinton.

Got religion only after he was finished contributing his part to the Third Way agenda and selling out American Labor.

[Armstead]

24. At least he got religion

[ProSense]

47. "I've known Hillary Rodham Clinton since she was a college freshman 48 years ago

Post from 2013:

I've known Hillary Rodham Clinton since she was a college freshman 48 years ago (Hillary Rodham, then). I have no doubt she'll run for president in 2016, nor do I have any doubt that she'd make a fine president. Regressive Republicans will, of course, do everything in their power to prevent her from becoming president. Their continued obsession with the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, news stories now being floated about State Department disarray under her watch, rumors of Department officials consorting with prostitutes -- all of this, and much more can be expected over the next three years. Our presidential campaigns are almost permanent, the regressives' venom is unfathonable, and their scorched-earth partisanship is worse than ever. But HRC is by now well-accustomed to their attacks. Her skin is much thicker than it was when they began going after her in the Clinton Administration (remember Whitewater? Vince Foster?). She knows how and when to respond forcefully. She will not formally announce until she absolutely must, which will help, but she will be a visible and compelling presence between now and then nonetheless. I hope she takes good care of herself. The nation needs her.

https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/620347554644511

[Armstead]

48. And I dont have to agree wiht RR on everyhing to agree with him on much

[ProSense]

50. Do you believe saying the "country needs" Hillary shows that "he got religion"? n/t

[Armstead]

52. In some ways yes, in some ways no

[ProSense]

53. He didn't offer it as a yes or no. Either the "country needs" her or not. Still,

"In some ways yes, in some ways no"

...in what "ways" does saying the "country needs" Hillary demonstrate the "he got religion"?

[Armstead]

54. Oh quit playing silly word games

Let me put it real simply. It is possible to agree with someone on some things, but not on others.

But you already knew that.

[ProSense]

55. You're the one "playing silly word games." You can't say why you think the "country needs" Hillary.

n/t

[Armstead]

56. Before I wlk away from this ridiculous exchange....

I think much of what Reich has said in recent years about economic issues is correct.

I disagree with his stated belief that Hillary Clinton will actually do anything to advance those views if she gets elected.

It is absolutely impossible to make it any simpler or clear than that.

But you knew that already.

[ProSense]

57. You could have

"I disagree with his stated belief that Hillary Clinton will actually do anything to advance those views if she gets elected. "

...said that before, but instead you stated: "In some ways yes, in some ways no."

Now, you're saying no.

Thanks.

[WillyT]

11. K & R !!!

[yallerdawg]

20. Shame, shame, shame...

on anyone who thinks Walmart should be credited for this PR move. Our Democratic president should not be going to the Great Satan of the destruction of the Middle Class of America praising them for using some cheap outsourced LED lites!

Hyperbole? Ask hundreds of thousands of American workers about the dignity of work when every moment of your work existence is dependent on one issue, problem, tardiness, illness, accident -- living in fear for subsistence wages because nothing else is left.

Wake up and open your eyes!

Robert Reich is the Democrat.

What is Obama thinking?

[Jesus Malverde]

25. Curious the focus of his ire conveniently leaves out the Chinese worker.

As if the retail and not manufacturing component of the business is rotten. Walmarts greenhouse emissions start in china, where they make all that plastic crap.

[flvegan]

29. Good point.

One of the first things I thought of. Thanks for making it.

[Jesus Malverde]

31. You can't complain about the state of the American worker or Walmart

Without looking at the disaster that "Free Trade" has had in gutting the american economy.

Free Trade is the ability to pollute freely, free trade is the ability to leverage workers against each other, Free trade is the ability to work with extremely corrupt government partners. Free trade is anything but free.

[stillwaiting]

45. Free trade means giving the corrupt oligarchy the freedom to do whatever they want.

It absolutely does give THEM that freedom. They become less and less encumbered by regulations and oversight with the passage of these agreements.

However, it makes things much more difficult for average and ordinary people.

For THEM though, THEY are the only ones who matter.

[RufusTFirefly]

46. Read "Bad Samaritans:The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism"

By Ha-Joon Chang. It's an excellent, surprisingly entertaining book by a former World Bank consultant that reveals the hypocrisy of the countries, such as the U.S. and the U.K., who supposedly champion free trade but gained their positions of power and global economic dominance primarily through protectionism.

His next book, "23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism" is even more entertaining, informative, and easy to read due to the nature of its structure.

Here's an excerpt (via Truthout)

Thing 1: There is No Such Thing as a Free Market

What They Tell You

Markets need to be free. When the government interferes to dictate what market participants can or cannot do, resources cannot flow to their most efficient use. If people cannot do the things that they find most profitable, they lose the incentive to invest and innovate. Thus, if the government puts a cap on house rents, landlords lose the incentive to maintain their properties or build new ones. Or, if the government restricts the kinds of financial products that can be sold, two contracting parties that may both have benefited from innovative transactions that fulfil their idiosyncratic needs cannot reap the potential gains of free contract. People must be left ‘free to choose’, as the title of free-market visionary Milton Friedman’s famous book goes.

What They Don’t Tell You

The free market doesn’t exist. Every market has some rules and boundaries that restrict freedom of choice. A market looks free only because we so unconditionally accept its underlying restrictions that we fail to see them. How ‘free’ a market is cannot be objectively defined. It is a political definition. The usual claim by free-market economists that they are trying to defend the market from politically motivated interference by the government is false. Government is always involved and those free-marketeers are as politically motivated as anyone. Overcoming the myth that there is such a thing as an objectively defined ‘free market’ is the first step towards understanding capitalism.

More

Free trade is a race to the bottom. Workers and the environment will suffer in the cause of making the rich even more obscenely wealthy than they already are.

As Jim Hightower puts it, "Where are we going? And what am I doing in this handbasket??"

[dotymed]

33. The store will be closed for the Kings visit.

No employees to talk to. What did you expect?
President Obama in aisle 3 ?

[Le Taz Hot]

37. I would like to see Robert Reich consider

running for the nomination in 2016. I could easily get behind him, Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders. Goddess forbid our "choices" are between Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden.

[grasswire]

51. he might not win...

....but at least he could pull debates to the left.

[L0oniX]

39. Do they use "clean coal (quote - Obama)" too???

[Octafish]

42. And who made Walmart that way?

The late Jackson Stephens, investment guru of Arkansas.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, attorney for the Rose Law Firm.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4630396&mesg_id=4631257

Others, as well, but money and the law were the start of making the local enterprise go global.

Come the campaign, the very mention of the word "Walmart" should send everyone involved straight to the vomitorium.

[840high]

43. k/r

[Fearless]

49. At what point will people realize he's in the corporations pockets

Just like most of Congress and the judiciary.