First, yours truly is supposed to be on CNBC today at 2:20 Eastern time debating the following: If Obama wins, unions will get a big boost.  Are unions bad or good for America?  You can come back here, if you see it, and keep the discussion going here (I emphasize "SUPPOSED TO BE" because these media slots can vanish as fast as a worker's pension)

   Since there isn't much drama in Denver--it's, in fact, kind of flat--one thing that keeps popping into view is the tremendous corporate influence everywhere you turn. I was at a media reception here and took a pic of a banner that listed the sponsors. Check it out:

Health care is in the air--and there are somewhat dueling camps here in Denver, which reflect what's happening day-to-day in labor. Last night, I attended a lively reception hosted by a variety of groups--the California Nurses Association and Progressive Democrats of America--who support HR676, the bill that would enact essentially a single-payer system. The bill's major champion  is Rep. John Conyers. Conyer was at the reception but I couldn't stay to here is remarks.

At the reception, besides Conyers, were CWA president Larry Cohen, Greg Junemann, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers and, though not officially on the program, Karen Ackerman, political director of the AFL-CIO. Readers here know that I don't quite understand why the labor movement isn't solidly behind single-payer...but, regardless, it's good to see some folks are ready for the fight. At least for the time I was there, nothing unusual was said other than to emphasize that the polls show that the people would embrace a single-payer system. So, you kind of wonder, "what the fuck is holding us back?" Pardon my french but this is a particularly annoying thing to me.

   Today, other pieces of labor will hold two rallies on health care. The first one will be a morning "parade the politicians" affair hosted by SEIU and Families USA at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.Besides Andy Stern and SEIU Secretary Treasurer Anna Burge (you can see her address to the convention last night here), other speakers include SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera and a slew of elected officials, including Hillary Clinton. Later on, at 3 p.m., there will be an outdoor rally and march, including Chuck D, Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie. That particular rally is sponsored by  SEIU, Healthcare United, Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the National Education Association (NEA), Colorado for Health Care, Families USA, the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), and Jobs With Justice.

   If you were to characterize this constellation of folks, you would say that they are not wedded to single-payer and would support some form of universal health care that kept the private insurance industry in the game. I think that's a mistake. BUT--I hope we can have a debate that doesn't pit slogans like "naive/unrealistic" versus "sell-outs"--it will just feel like the trade debate which falsely pits the debate as one between "free trade" and "protectionism". It doesn't shed much light on the topic.

   Anyway, I'll get some details on the rallies--might not be til later.

   No, I have not just been sleeping in bed. Yes, it was a long night--again...the hot party of the night was at The Samba Room, courtesy of Planned Parenthood, where a darn good DJ kept the place hopping (I, of course, participated in the close-contact sport of dancing). It's just hard to blog here first thing when you're running from one place to another (and also trying to comply with the very dumb DNC credentialing procedure, which requires that you get your ass over to a hotel to get a new credential each day...what a waste of time).

   Anyway, just came from a panel discussion on a new movie called "The Battle in Seattle". The flick describes the events in 1999 when tens of thousands of trade activists, mostly union members, shut down Seattle during the meetings of the World Trade Organization. It was a turning point in the fight against so-called "free trade", which culminated in the collapse of the trade talks in Doha. The panel brought together Teamsters president Jim Hoffa and Steelworkers president Leo Gerard, both of whom lead the labor protests in Seattle; the director, Stuart Townsend, and actress Charlize Theron, who is one of the cast in the film.

   To get to the activism part right away, if you go the film's website, you can actually arrange to have the film seen. Do it. People need to be reminded, as Gerard said, what happened in Seattle. As Gerard described it, the protests lifted the rock up that had covered up what the WTO was up to. Hoffa spoke positively about the "chaos" that was created--and essentially said we need more chaos these days to continue to shake up the status quo.

   One thing I liked about Townsend's perspective--he wanted to do a feature film, not a documentary, because he wanted people to be entertained and inspired at the same time. Jeez, if only progressives could understand that there is not a contradiction between entertainment AND politics.

   To really make sure the stake is driven through the heart of so-called "Free trade", this movie needs to get wide distribution. Hollywood did not want it made--the financing came from outside the country and it was filmed in Canada. So, it's up to union members. leaders anad activists to give it a home.

   Of course, in typical convention fashion, mojitos, margaritas and other drinks were served to the audience at the restaurant where the panel took place--at 11 a.m.!!! I declined to drink. I can't start at 11 and make it the whole day--not at my advanced age.

The LA Times reports that yet another SEIU leader has been implicated in the widening corruption scandal surrounding Andy Stern has been forced to step down. This time, the Michigan SEIU local is involved.

SEIU spending scandal spreads to Michigan

Rickman Jackson, former official in Los Angeles chapter, takes leave of absence from Michigan local. Action comes after Times reports of payments to firms owned by L.A. leader's family

By Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 26, 2008

A spending scandal at California's largest union local spread to a second state Monday as the head of the union's leading Michigan group stepped aside because of a widening financial inquiry.

The Service Employees International Union said that Rickman Jackson, who served as chief of staff at the Los Angeles organization, has taken a leave of absence from its biggest Michigan local less than a week after the president of the Los Angeles chapter relinquished his post.

Both departures followed reports in The Times that the local and a related charity paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to firms owned by the wife and mother-in-law of its president, Tyrone Freeman, and spent similar sums on a Four Seasons Resorts golf tournament, restaurants such as Morton's steakhouse, a Beverly Hills cigar lounge and a Hollywood talent agency.

The Times also disclosed that a housing corporation Freeman helped launch used the address of a Bell Gardens home that property records show is owned by Jackson. Freeman, the housing corporation and Jackson have declined to say whether he was paid for any use of his residence.

SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette would not say Monday whether the union's inquiry into Jackson's activities is focused on his home and the housing corporation. The corporation did not receive the tax-exempt status it sought and lost its right to do business in California for a time. Freeman and Jackson were appointed by SEIU President Andy Stern, one of the country's most influential labor leaders.

 

Complete story at
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-union26-2008aug26,0,5532516.story

The LA Times also reports an escalation in Stern's drive to crush all opposition to his centralized authoritarian control of the union. Stern has announced plans to trustee the 150,000 member United Healthcare Workers West SEIU local, which has lead the democratic resistance inside SEIU.

More after the fold.

   So, friends, here in Denver, I've finally gotten strapped to my chair after a very busy morning (okay, it was a groggy one given the...eh...number of margaritas that I was forced to consume last night--only in the service of talking to people to bring you the best info).

More after the jump...

   Yesterday, I wrote about whether Joe Biden was good for labor. Relatively speaking, the answer is yes. Relative speaking because Paul Wellstone is not alive and, compared to the other people being considered, Biden was a decent choice.

   In the analysis, I used a quick-and-dirty look at 12 years of the AFL-CIO's legislative scorecard. Several people who e-mailed me correctly pointed out that what I did not bring up was Biden's role in leading the push to pass the toxic and awful bankruptcy bill. No question about it: that was not his finest hour and, arguably, it was a piece of legislation that had in its cross-hairs many millions of working people.

   For folks with only a dim memory of the bill: the bill made debtors have to pay a lot more to creditors so that any bankruptcy filing would leave a family with a heavier debt load; and basically increased the paper work and barriers so that getting through bankruptcy would become more stressful, time-consuming and expensive. Organized labor fought hard to defeat the bill. The main forces behind the bill were a coalition of Visa, MBNA America, Mastercard, Citicorp and other major credit companes who poured millions of dollars into the effort. Biden wasn't the only Democratic champion of the bill--when a cloture vote came up to end a filibuster against the bill, Biden was joined by Tim Johnson (South Dakota), Tom Carper (Delaware), Ben Nelson (Nebraska), Mary Landrieu (Louisiana), Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas) and Bill Nelson (Florida), all voting to crush the filibuster.

   I talked yesterday to a labor lobbyist who was deeply involved in the fight against the bill. The lobbyist's take: Biden was really bad on the bill and its a black mark on his record. But, at least, from the lobbyist's perspective, Biden was arguing for the bill based on jobs, given that the credit card industry makes its home in Delaware. And, at the end of day, the lobbyist says union leaders and members in Delaware love Biden.

   So, take that info for what it's worth.

   As a whole, Joe Biden is considered a friend of labor. But, he doesn’t have a perfect voting record as far as labor is concerned. Lifetime, he has an 85 percent voting record on votes the AFL-CIO considers crucial over the past 12 years (that is the time period available on-line…and that’s the best you are going to get on a Saturday morning). You have to keep in mind that the AFL-CIO usually creates its scorecard, like many other organizations, based on specific votes deemed particularly crucial, not the hundreds of votes a Senator might cast in a given term.

If you want the specifics below, go for it—I mostly highlighted votes below where he and labor parted company, or where there are votes that indicate positions that are relevant to issues coming up in the future. But, for the lazy, and more sane people who want to have a life on Saturday morning, here’s what I would say generally. Throughout his career, Biden has been a strong supporter of labor rights here in the U.S., from union organizing rights to protecting prevailing wage laws. He is a co-sponsor of the number one priority for labor, the Employee Free Choice Act.

Where are the disagreements? Mostly over trade and immigration. Biden, initially, was a strong support of so-called “free trade” but he seems to have shifted his position a bit in the past few years. That could have been partly partisan—his votes for so-called “free trade” came during the Clinton Administration, but he tended to vote more against so-called “free trade” during the Bush Administration. But, it also may be a shift in overall philosophy—and his votes seem to indicate that he shares a similar view on trade with his potential boss. That is, that trade deals have to include enforceable labor and environment provisions (I’ve written repeatedly that this is not sufficient but I’ll not digress here).  It is also worth noting that so-called “free trade” bills have, generally, received more Democratic votes, proportionally, in the Senate than in the House.

On immigration, he has, on occasion, voted for increasing caps for certain immigration visas that the AFL-CIO has opposed. So, that will be something to keep an eye on since immigration will be back on the policy agenda in the new Administration.

Okay, for some specifics:

Disturbing story in today's "Inside Higher Ed"

Aug. 22

Did a Union Doublecross Its College Activists?

Student activists on several college campuses are speaking out against one of the

nation’s largest labor groups, claiming they were deceived and used as “pawns” by the

Service Employees International Union.

The students’ grievances, outlined in an open letter to SEIU leadership, allege a

“disturbing pattern” wherein SEIU undercut students’ efforts to help organize service

workers on at least four campuses.

rest at

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/08/22/seiu

including download links to the students' open letter and a summary

of SEIU's secret agreement with Aramark.