Hillary vs. Labor

A few weeks ago The Nation disclosed that Hillary Clinton's chief strategist and pollster, Mark Penn, leads a giant PR firm, Burson-Marsteller, that aggressively helps corporations stop union organizing drives. We cited the specific example of how B-M successfully assists the highly profitable and controversial uniform and laundry supply company Cintas in blocking union efforts to organize 20,000 of the company's garment workers and truck drivers.

The article and subsequent follow-ups prompted a lot of unease in labor circles. Now the heads of the two unions leading the organizing drive at Cintas, Bruce Raynor of UNITE-HERE and James Hoffa of the Teamsters, have gone public with their concerns, writing a letter to Hillary, highlighted in the New York Times today, expressing their displeasure with Penn's company and his role in her campaign. A copy of their signed letter is below:

Dear Senator Clinton:

It is with distress that we write you today. The Nation recently posted a story about Mark Penn, your pollster and chief strategist, detailing some of his firm's direct support for anti-union/anti-worker campaigns. His firm's activities in the effort to undermine workers right to organize at Cintas, a campaign our unions are involved in, is particularly disheartening.

We wanted to bring this to your attention since we value your positions on EFCA [Employee Free Choice Act] and many other workers issues and do not want to see you or the Democratic Party embarrassed.

We look forward to hearing back from you on this matter.

Sincerely,

James P. Hoffa Teamsters General President

Bruce S. Raynor UNITE HERE General President

A labor official told me that he expects Hillary to sit down with the two union heads and "placate us a little bit. But I don't think she'll cut Penn lose. He's her Rove."

Penn may eventually be forced take a formal leave of absence from Burson-Marsteller, a step he has thus far resisted. That might erase the political liability Penn has become for Hillary's campaign, but it hardly diminishes the underlying implications of his presence as her top strategist, the anti-union work Burson-Marsteller continues to do and the likelihood that if Hillary is elected Penn and his clients will greatly benefit, further blurring the distinction between the corporate and political world.

Perhaps in their private meeting Raynor and Hoffa will ask Senator Clinton why she elevated someone like Penn in the first place and chose to ignore his anti-labor ties.

Comments (17)

1. Easiest prediction in the world....

   Hillary buys off the union boys. They come out of the meeting saying it was "positive and productive", that "Senator Clinton is taking swift action to support EFCA" and that their concerns have been put to rest.

   The "behind the scenes" stuff will be some promise to push for another minimum wage hike as President, easier unionization laws, and nominating THEIR guy/gal for Secretary of Labor.

   Posted by Mask at 06/05/2007 @ 3:31pm

2. "further blurring the distinction between the corporate and political world."

   Does anyone (except MASK) dispute this hasn't already been blurred enough for the health and very viability of democracy?

   Posted by freedomplease at 06/05/2007 @ 3:33pm

3. OR Hillary "Fires" Penn and hires another firm...made up of the same underlings who do the heavy lifting anyway...solidarity forever...all the way...to..the bank..

   Go union...

   Posted by john maasch at 06/05/2007 @ 3:37pm

4. Posted by FREEDOMPLEASE 06/05/2007 @ 3:33pm

   FREE, given you've already said "nothing will change for 20 years"....are you going to be saying ANYTHING different than "I told ya so" for the next 20 years?

   Just curious?

   Posted by Mask at 06/05/2007 @ 4:33pm

5. Posted by JOHN MAASCH 06/05/2007 @ 3:37pm

   Doubt it, JOHN. Even that un-named labor official says that he/she doubts that Hillary will fire Penn.

   More likely, she promise goodies to Hoffa and Raynor "when she becomes President" and they'll realize that they need to keep their criticism close to the vest, else risk weakening the Dems in a year when the Republicans are crumbling.

   Posted by Mask at 06/05/2007 @ 4:35pm

6. Perhaps in their private meeting Raynor and Hoffa will ask Senator Clinton why she elevated someone like Penn in the first place and chose to ignore his anti-labor ties. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

   The answer is she wants to be president, not an 'also ran'.

   Business is business. If Hoffa can't figure that out, then he is a moron. Hoffa is pissed because he is getting screwed. Hillary cares about "labor" about as much as any good republican.

   If democrats cared about labor, then their experiment in Detroit would be a resounding success, and not a 20th century relic/ cesspool.

   Hillary will not fire Penn. She probably hired him because of his proven success AGAINST the unions.

   Or maybe the Dems want Shrum back... Any takers?

   Posted by WallStreet at 06/05/2007 @ 5:05pm

7. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt for now....---Posted by FRANKGRITS 06/05/2007 @ 6:22pm

   "for now", FRANK? Oh, come on. Unless Hoffa and Raynor come out and say "Hillary's screwing us", you'll ALWAYS give her the benefit of the doubt (maybe even if they DO).

   Posted by Mask at 06/05/2007 @ 8:37pm

8. Isn't Hiliray great for labor! Just like her bo! . I hope the rest of Change To Win hammers her on this. The reality, though, is that even if she cuts loose this fellow, which is extremely unlikely, whoever she brings on will certainly share her corporate, anti-union underpinnings. Hiliray thinks supporting the EFCA is ALL she needs to do get enough support to win the nomination, and she's probably right.

   Posted by camco at 06/05/2007 @ 8:49pm

9. If HRC believes the latest polls showing Obama pulling essentially even, and Mark Penn has been a key strategist during these past 2~3 months, my HAPPY advice to her would be......

   Waive Mark Penn in exchange for the Teamsters' endorsement (though I don't know if they have already endorsed somebody or not). Of course, to get the Teamsters' endorsement, she needs to create the perception of Penn's high future value to her campaign!...."She was for Mark Penn before she was against him"!

   HRC made a major mistake to join the tiny minority that voted against the war funding, a bigger flop than Kerry! If Penn's advice to her was, Vote with Obama, it may become one of the major mistakes that will cost her either the Primary or the whole enchilada in the General!

   Posted by Happy at 06/05/2007 @ 10:02pm

10. These days The Nation wants to paint Hillary Clinton as a conservative. We just don't know this serves or diserves Hillary. But one thing is clear: Lots of unionized workers would be staying home come the election day. Why would these guys on the Nation stubornly want that. Isn't that better for them to go after Giuliani and McCain? In the end who you are for?

    Posted by Helen DAO at 06/05/2007 @ 11:38pm

11. Posted by HELEN DAO 06/05/2007 @ 11:38pm

    Short term situation, HELEN. Once Hillary has the nomination fairly locked up (a sweep of the first four, or more likely, winning California)....they'll turn 180 on her and start in with the "regretable, but necessary" endorsements. FREEDOMPLEASE, ZERO, and Empty SPENCE will go batty as the "lesser of two evils" articles start getting pumped out by John Nichols, Katrina vanden Heuvel, and Ari Berman....but other than that most realistic people will rally to her, rather than risk 4 more of a GOP Presidency as it concerns Iraq, the deficit, and judicial nominees.

    Posted by Mask at 06/06/2007 @ 09:34am

12. Posted by FREIHEIT 06/05/2007 @ 9:10pm

    You're so like 1960s. In the leftist coprotopia, we'll create a hamster wheel for their pacification by putting these guys to work in some resource poor backward nation building up evil oppressive dictators that develop a Potemkin competitive economy so that our irredeemable hawks will have grist for their military mill so that we can put them back to work so the hawks...

    Posted by canaar at 06/06/2007 @ 09:41am

13. Posted by CANAAR 06/06/2007 @ 09:41am

    "coprotopia"?!?!? That's a new one on me. I assume it comes from "copro-" a prefix meaning "dung, excrement" (as in "coprolites", fossilized dinosaur droppigs)...and "utopia" meaning "a world in which everything and everyone works in perfect harmony."

    So would it be a "a word in which everything and everyone is total shit"?!?!?

    Posted by Mask at 06/06/2007 @ 1:07pm

14. Penn, and anyone else with a history of actually helping Democrats win, is OK by me!

    Posted by JoeCHI at 06/06/2007 @ 8:41pm

15. I read with great dismay recently in the NYTimes about Hilary being on the board of Directors for Wal-Mart a company which activly supress its workers right to organize and form a union to negotiate wages and employment conditions. Having once been on the butt end of a slick union busting law firm opposing a union organizing campaign I am compelled to say--If she would be president she must speak out now on workers rights to a card check agreement and disassociate herself from Union Busters past present and future. What kind of a democracy can you have if workers have no voice or vote in the work place and a chance to negotiate fair wages and working conditions? How can any democrat remain silent while global corporate money fuels these professional hacks who chisel nickles and dimes from workers so the few elite can roll in their millions. Come on Hilary, time to speak up publicly! I know you were raised by Republicans but that is no excuse. Life is too short for more closet Republicans. Get with the people and speak up.

    Posted by mike Burns at 06/07/2007 @ 12:29am

16. Obviously Mrs. Clinton is anti-American "bluecollar worker" because she supports the Amnesty bill S.1348.

    Posted by tucanofulano at 06/07/2007 @ 8:27pm

17. Yeah, NAFTAs really working out swell. This crop of Dems in DC are really, really bad and HRC is at the top of the list. If Nader doesn't run in 08, I think I'll write him in.

    Posted by dkmich at 06/08/2007 @ 06:27am