Labor Day: Obama Returns to Union Heartlands

ST. PAUL -- Barack Obama will return to the traditional heartlands of the American trade union movement on this Labor Day, marching in and speaking at the close of the annual Labor Day Parade in Detroit and then flying later to a huge LaborFest celebration in Milwaukee.

The Detroit appearance brings the Democratic nominee back to the spot where the party's presidential candidates historically began their fall campaigns.

It was in Detroit in 1960 that a young John Kennedy, who had defeated labor-favorite Hubert Humphrey in that year's Democratic primaries, won over union members with a speech that embraced the union movement with a passion and a precision that helped him to win the confidence of working-class voters.

"I welcome the support of working men and women everywhere and I am proud of the endorsement of the AFL-CIO," JFK told a crowd of 100,000 in the city's Cadillac Square. "For the labor movement is people. The goals of the labor movement are the goals for all Americans and their enemies are the enemies of progress."

Kennedy followed in the footsteps of Democratic nominees Harry Truman and Adlai Stevenson in choosing to open his campaign in Detroit with a warm embrace of the labor movement.

As the years passed, however, Democratic nominees sought to distance themselves from unions.

Jimmy Carter chose not to launch his 1976 presidential campaign in Detroit – in part out of respect for the fact that his Republican rival, Gerald Ford, was from Michigan. But Walter Mondale, Mike Dukakis, Bill Clinton and, most recently, John Kerry, had no similar excuse when they chose to dodge Detroit.

Obama, who is battling Republican John McCain for the votes of the still reasonably-heavily unionized states of Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, is returning to the labor heartlands with his Detroit and Milwaukee campaign stops. (Huge crowds are expected at both gatherings; in fact, tickets for the Milwaukee event were grabbed up days ago.)

And Obama will be echoing Kennedy's embrace of trade unionism.

The 2008 Democratic nominee says in his Labor Day message that, "It's time you had a president who honors organized labor, who has walked on picket lines, who doesn't choke on the word ‘union,' who let's our unions do what they do best and organize our workers and who will finally make the Employee Free Choice Act (legislation that would remove barriers to organizing) the law of the land."

He also says, "America was built by its laborers, but today our workers are struggling just to get by in an economy thatno longer works for them. That's why we cannot afford four more years of the failed George Bush economic policies – policies that Senator McCain has proudly embraced and promises to continue."

The statements echo Obama's newly-populist message – debuted in his acceptance speech at last week's Democratic National Convention. "The struggles facing working families working families can't be solved by spending billions of dollars on more tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs," says Obama, who will be promising policies that eschew tax breaks for companies that move jobs out of the U.S. and promises to redirect them to companies that create jobs in states such as Michigan and Wisconsin.

For his part, John McCain will won't be speaking at Labor Day events. Instead, he'll be taking a bus tour through Toledo, a community devastated by manufacturing job cuts since the enactment of trade policies that favor the outsourcing of factory work.

McCain is making his way to St. Paul, where the Republican National Convention formally opens today – in somewhat constrained form because of concern about holding a party when Hurricane Gustav is slamming into Gulf Coast communities that were so damaged three years ago by Hurricane Katrina and a slow response to the storm on the part the Bush administration.

The biggest event in the Twin Cities this Labor Day will not be the Republican convention, however.

It will be a "Take Back Labor Day" festival at Harriet Island in St. Paul, featuring Steve Earle, Billy Bragg, Mos Def, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and other musicians as well as speeches by Service Employees International Union president Andy Stern and other top labor leaders who are ardent Obama backers.

An estimated 20,000 people are expected at the event, which is not expected to be on-message for the GOP's convention week.

Comments (19)

1. Nice ... while the GOP bails on its own convention.

   Posted by leftofcenter at 09/01/2008 @ 06:16am

2. >>>The statements echo Obama's newly-populist message – debuted in his acceptance speech at last week's Democratic National Convention.<<<

   This is not a NEW message at all.

   Obama has never been the elitist that he was portrayed to be in the MSM, who merely parroted Hillary's talking points.

   Obama being raised by a single mother on food stamps is miles away from Hillary being raised by a wealthy businessman father in the affluent suburbs of Parkridge, Illinois.

   Obama has been talking about and fighting for issues facing the working poor HIS ENTIRE LIFE, not just during the campaign.

   Posted by Metteyya at 09/01/2008 @ 06:31am

3. Does Obama support the Employee Free Choice Act? Harry Truman tried to veto the Taft-Hartley Act in the 1940s. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune seems to have moved right since The McClatchy Company sold it to Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in NYC and Houston, Texas. The paper recently ran an editorial opposing the Employee Free Choice Act.

   Posted by Moosehead at 09/01/2008 @ 06:36am

4. Posted by Metteyya at 09/01/2008 @ 06:31am

   I think many perceive "eleoquent" = "elite" which is why rich-ass, mealy-mouth Dubya is viewed so positively by the core GOP. Same thing with McCain and the beauty queen. The ignorant many think "I don't trust that there O-bomber fella. Cain't unnerstand that hifalutin city-talk.) And when they hear McCain war-thumping they buy into that "Yee-haw, let's go kick them Iraqi / Iran / (or other generic towelheads) that got us on 9/11" or when they hear about Missus Mooseburger they drool and go "Sure wish I had a woman could hunt like her...yesirree, we'd never leave the tree stand - I'll tell you whut"

   Posted by leftofcenter at 09/01/2008 @ 06:42am

5. Posted by Moosehead at 09/01/2008 @ 06:36am |

   Heh heh - what a great piece of propaganda that name is - the 'Employee free choice'. The nutjobs in the Democratic Party rob workers of the right to a secret ballot, and they call it 'Free Choice'! You folks would have been snapped up by Goebbels.

   Posted by pontificus at 09/01/2008 @ 07:14am

6. I hope that Obama succeeds in being elected and further carries through with his promise to put a halt to outsourcing overseas of American jobs!

   Not only is American money being sent to non-Americans, but so is all of our personal data. Our medical records are being transcribed overseas by non-English speaking individuals.

   I recently lost a good paying medical transcription job that I've had for 2 years. I did not lose it because of quality or being late in returning the reports, I lost it because Pakistan was cheaper! The reports Pakistan returns to the company are of horrible quality and full of errors.

   Is this who we really want handling our medical care? Lets say your medical report is typed in Pakistan or even India and you are allergic to PENICILLIN, but the overseas non-English speaking typist puts down PENTOXIFYLLINE. You could potentially die. Keep American jobs in America. Keep American money in America. Keep all American data in AMERICA.

   Posted by FlansMI at 09/01/2008 @ 07:33am

7. To answer "pontificus": Secret ballots are used by labor unions only when electing officers. Open voting, as done in our legislatures, Congress etc. serve to prevent false voting. When people openly voice their vote, there is less chance that the ballot box has been stuffed. . The corporate media spouts the same BS as "pontificus" stated, in an effort to force a wedge into the issue. Corporations simply don't want to pay their workers decent wages nor provide basic benefits and care little about worker safety. When managers talk about the "squeeze" on costs, they really mean the squeeze on their profits, their wages, and their benefits. Unionism is not about the mafia getting rich, it's about the average American worker getting their fair share!

   Posted by Bullet at 09/01/2008 @ 08:42am

8. ...despite that 40% union workers vote against the dems..it will be interesting to see what the percentage of unions workers wander off the reservation this time.... Posted by JOMAMMA at 09/01/2008 @ 08:22am Why would there be any more this time?

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 09/01/2008 @ 08:43am

9. damn,

   obama's gonna ruin the jazz fest.

   http://www.detroitjazzfest.com/monday.html

   Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 09:20am

10. Posted by Cccomfo1 at 09/01/2008 @ 08:43am

    Recent studies, done by the Pew Center and the University of Chicago have shown that in major voting trends over the last 30 years....

    that male union household voters are really hot for former Alaskan beauty pageant contestants!

    heheh

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/01/2008 @ 09:50am

11. A response to the comment by "Pontificus" on the Employee Free Choice Act. Minesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman and an ironically-named Coleman support group "Coalition for a Democratic Workplace" have been attacking Democratic candidate in November Al Franken for supporting the act which would help workers organize unions free from intimidation by management. A July 11, 2008 statement issued by the Franken campaign office, notes: "The (Coleman support group) ad accuses Al of wanting to eliminate the secret ballot. This,of course is an outright lie--The Employee Free Choice Act does nothing of the sort." The Franken statement includes a link to a local Minneapolis television station's "Reality Check" of the pro-Coleman ads.The Franken statement was issued by Andy Barr of Al Franken for Senate in July.

    Posted by Moosehead at 09/01/2008 @ 12:45pm

12. that male union household voters are really hot for former Alaskan beauty pageant contestants!

    heheh

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/01/2008 @ 09:50am

    ah,

    the joys of electronic voting!

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 2:58pm

13. Posted by Bullet at 09/01/2008 @ 08:42am Posted by Moosehead at 09/01/2008 @ 12:45pm

    "Coleman support group "Coalition for a Democratic Workplace" have been attacking Democratic candidate in November Al Franken for supporting the act which would help workers organize unions free from intimidation by management."

    More propaganda from the pro-union goon lefties. Saddam Hussein would be proud of you guys.

    So you're absurd position is that when workers have the right to a secret ballot they're free from management intimidation? What patent horseshit. The fact is, union goons will be free to harass and intimidate workers when they are forced to vote in public, for or against a union. Anyone who has ever worked in a unionized workplace, especially you folks, of course know that if someone's right to a secret ballot is taken away, ala Saddam's Iraq, Castro's Cuba, or North Korea, harassment and intimdation become rampant. This is of course what you folks are banking on, and pretty much everyone sees through your lies.

    Posted by pontificus at 09/01/2008 @ 3:44pm

14. Posted by pontificus at 09/01/2008 @ 3:44pm

    you hate america:

    As was typical in the industry of that day, miners were paid by tons of coal mined and not reimbursed for "dead work," such as laying rails, timbering, and shoring the mines to make them operable. Given the intense pressure to produce, mine safety was often given short shrift. More than 1,700 miners died in Colorado from 1884 to 1912, a rate that was between 2 and 3.5 times the national average during those years. Furthermore, the miners felt they were being short-changed on the weight of the coal they mined, arguing that the scales used for paying them were different from those used for coal customers. Miners challenging the weights risked being dismissed.

    Most miners also lived in "company towns," where homes, schools, doctors, clergy, and law enforcement were provided by the company, as well as stores offering a full range of goods that could be paid for in company currency, scrip. However, this became an oppressive environment in which law focused on enforcement of increasing prohibitions on speech or assembly by the miners to discourage union-building activity. Also, under pressure to maintain profitability, the mining companies steadily reduced their investment in the town and its amenities while increasing prices at the company store so that miners and their families experienced worsening conditions and higher costs. Colorado's legislature had passed laws to improve the condition of the mines and towns, including the outlawing of the use of scrip, but these laws were poorly enforced.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 4:27pm

15. Despite attempts to suppress union activity, secret organizing continued by the UMWA in the years leading up to 1913. Once everything had been laid out according to their plan, the UMWA presented, on behalf of coal miners, a list of seven demands:

    Recognition of the union as bargaining agent

    An increase in tonnage rates (equivalent to a 10% wage increase)

    Enforcement of the eight-hour work day law

    Payment for "dead work" (laying track, timbering, handling impurities, etc.)

    Weight-checkmen elected by the workers (to keep company weightmen honest)

    The right to use any store, and choose their boarding houses and doctors

    Strict enforcement of Colorado's laws (such as mine safety rules, abolition of scrip), and an end to the dreaded company guard system

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 4:28pm

16. After Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I), the former John D. Rockefeller, Jr., holdings in Colorado, went bankrupt in 1990, it became apparent that the company had systematically spied upon, disrupted, and sought to discredit the union during the 1927 strike.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 4:30pm

17. At least two, and possibly three machine guns were available at the mine and miners later claimed their ranks were decimated by a withering crossfire from the mine tipple – a structure where coal was loaded onto railroad cars – and from a gun on a truck near the water tank. John Eastenes, 34, of Lafayette, married and father of six children, died instantly. Nick Spanudakhis, 34, Lafayette, lived only a few minutes. Frank Kovich of Erie, Rene Jacques, 26, of Louisville and 21 year old Jerry Davis died hours later in the hospital. The American flag Davis carried was riddled with seventeen bullet holes and stained with blood. Mike Vidovich of Erie, 35, died a week later of his injuries.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 4:30pm

18. these people fought to give you a middle class you could sit you fat bottom upon.

    you owe them, sir.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 4:31pm

19. They also conveniently forget that unionization was a European and Canadian phenomenon as well, and is about to explode in both China and India as they become more acutely aware of the inequities being developed off the labours they are toiling. Both of those societies are developing middle classes it's true, yet the benefits are not being shared across their societies. There has been an argument that unions are no longer necessary in the 21st Century economy, and as unions used to be that may be true. But to say that there is no place for organizations that represent the interests of workers against the upper management/executive levels is a specious arguement when human resource departments treat employees like disposable parts. The era of the enlightened corporation goes out the window when all their interests go to moneyed shareholders often at the expense of long-term goals and strategies. When it all falls on its face (as it inevitably must) either coroprations learn to adapt or they get torched by a dissatisfied populace who are stretched to their limits.

    Posted by yutsano at 09/01/2008 @ 4:51pm