Huffington Post: GOP's Blind Hate of Labor Union Members

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leo-w-gerard/gops-blind-hate-of-labor_b_6778702.html

Leo W. Gerard
International President, United Steelworkers

Posted: 03/02/2015 7:54 am EST Updated: 03/02/2015 8:59 am EST

To Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, America's labor union members are the same as murderous, beheading, caged-prisoner-immolating ISIS terrorists. Exactly the same.

That's what he told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last week. The governor said that because he destroyed public sector labor rights in Wisconsin after 100,000 union supporters protested in Madison he could defeat ISIS as President of the United States.

That sums up all the GOP hate and vitriol against labor union members in recent years. It would appear that Republicans can't discern the difference between suicide bombers and working men and women who band together to collectively bargain for better wages and safer conditions. Republicans, it seems, can't see that a foreign extremist group that kidnaps 276 schoolgirls is not the same as an American labor organization seeking to improve the lives of families and communities. This GOP blindness explains the relentless campaign by GOP leaders to renege on contractual obligations to workers, squash labor rights and slash the pay and benefits of union members.

That Gov. Chris Christie believes New Jersey’s unionized teachers, snow plow drivers and child welfare caseworkers are evil explains how he could negotiate a plan to resolve a massive shortfall in funding for their pensions, brag about it as an accomplishment, then refuse the state funds he’d pledged to make it work. A Republican, Christie felt no obligation to keep his word to public servants who he perceives as the enemy.

FULL story at link.

[AZ Progressive]

1. You know exactly why

#1: Labor unions are seen as the enemy of Corporate America, because they stand in the way of the board having total dictatorial power over a corporation, and they stand in the way of a Corporation squeezing as much profit as possible in order to please Wall Street.

#2: Labor unions had been big supporters of the Democrats.

#3: Labor unions represent the most powerful force of the 99%.

[kelliekat44]

2. Labor unions have many minorities and women. nt

[DesertDawg]

4. As well as

#4: ever since Ronnie Reagan started his assault on working Americans the Republicans have been able to successfully brand Unions as evil, greedy and corrupt, dancing around their Union Halls with $100 bills they robbed from the poor business owner and the Union members alike. If "those dang Unions" would just get out of the way, the GOP claims, business owners would be able to shower us with money and benefits, making us wealthy like our bosses.

Despite being demonstrably false, the fact being our standards of living, our wages and benefits being frozen at 1970's levels the avatar GOP voter eats the rhetoric up, fully believing that their $10/hr non-Union job with no benefits will become a $25/hr job with a buffet of benefits once their boss no longer has the threat of Unions hanging over his head.

That's their view and why they are all gushing over Scott Walker. They honestly believe that if non of us have Unions or the power to Unionize they will THEN have a piece of the pie trickling down into them and they too will have lots of money.

[neverforget]

3. I belong to a union and I can't believe the amount of Republicans

in the union. They like the union but hate Democrats.

[DesertDawg]

5. I know what you mean

I have seen that myself. Even moreso, it seems like every "Government is the problem" hardcore conservative I have ever met is a Government worker, which usually means a Union worker as well. Yeah, shrink Government.... Just not my job fellas. The hypocrisy goes over their heads.

True story: I know one of the type you're talking about. Union member but hardcore Teabagger conservative. The guy used to constantly bleat on that under his Union he made $25/hr with benefits and a pension and that it was too much! That he and his coworkers were bleeding his poor employer(a large, global tire manufacturing corporation) dry. According to him he and the rest should have been making 75% less(the job "wasn't worth" what they received according to him) than they made. When the tire plant closed to move to China who did he blame? The Union. According to his logic had they all made $10 an hour instead of $25 an hour they would all still be employed and their poor employer wouldn't have been forced at gunpoint no doubt to choose $.25 per hour Chinese children to manufacture his tires and they could have all kept their jobs.

Never argue logically with a right winger.

[Fumesucker]

7. They like *their* union..

I know three like that I can think of fairly easily, union members who love their own pay, protections and benefits and hate that anyone else has them, vote Republican.

[neverforget]

9. Yep. That's them.

[Populist_Prole]

10. I hear you

Same thing where I work, only I see this more:

"They like the union but hate Democrats"

What I see is they like being in their union, but hate Democrats and are indifferent to other members of other unions. Selfish "me me me" jerks.

[ladjf]

6. It's all about greed and domination. nt

[jwirr]

8. But there was hate for Unions long before raygun. In the 50s southern churches were against

Unions. In fact most southern states were anti Union. In the north it was businesses and corporations that were anti-Union. What I would be interested in knowing is the basis for these hatreds.

What was the theology the churches and states used to justify their hate of Unions? I can understand the businesses and corporations but the churches?

Where did this organized hatred begin at?

Could it be the idiot idea that Unions are communists?