by Mark Gruenberg
ORLANDO, Fla.--Even prior to Barack Obama’s inauguration, there was always the danger that his administration would take support from workers in general, and organized labor in particular, for granted.
That’s the kindest interpretation we can put on the outpouring of complaints about the Democratic president’s relationship with the nation’s unions.
And, looked at in cold calculated political terms, Obama’s correct in doing so.
The complaints erupted at the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting in Orlando, Fla. From Vice President Biden’s plea that not even God Almighty could quickly fix the economic carnage Obama found when he entered the Oval Office, to Obama siding with the Rhode Island school superintendent who summarily fired 74 unionized high school teachers who did not yield to her peremptory demands, the leaders were upset.
It didn’t help, some added, that the administration has given only verbal support to passing the Employee Free Choice Act -- the law designed to level the playing field between workers and bosses in organizing and bargaining -- or that Obama’s White House forced union leaders to swallow a 40% excise tax on high-cost health insurance, starting in 2018. The leaders were mad, and said their members are, too.
Some leaders muttered about “triangulation,” the Clinton tactic of positioning the president in the middle of the political playing field by deliberately ignoring the agenda of a loyal and vital constituency, or even picking a fight with it -- such as angering the American Federation of Teachers by espousing “merit pay” during the 2008 campaign,
and siding with the Rhode Island superintendent who fired those AFT members.
Others said that on high-profile issues, such as EFCA, Obama talks a good game with unionists, who were one-quarter of the electorate in 2008 and who voted
2-to-1 for him, but doesn’t follow through.
Meanwhile, one said, some leaders are happy when Obama “tosses them crumbs,” in the leader’s words: Pro-worker executive orders, pro-worker regulations, better enforcement, and some appointments.
And there’s no denying workers are aided by the $787 billion stimulus law. There’s no denying that Obama, over wide popular opposition, saved up to a million jobs in autos and related industries by approving loan guarantees, with tough conditions, for Chrysler and GM. He also helps workers through tougher enforcement.
But there’s also no denying that political calculus. The number of national GOP legislators who often side with organized labor can be counted on the fingers of two hands. And Obama’s GOP White House predecessors, especially George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, were dead set against unions. Bush wanted the U.S. union-free.
That leaves unions and their members -- even Republican-plurality unions such as the Fire Fighters and the American Federation of Government Employees -- with no other political place to go than the Democratic Party.
Sitting home, as some unionists threaten to do, would only make matters worse, and Obama knows it. So unions and members must find a way -- and haven’t yet -- to make sure the White House takes us for granted at its own risk. Otherwise, more “triangulation,” more complaints and more tension will occur. ###
