[Marxism] FOX Business News: SEIU action was in "the interest of all workers"

["Joaquin Bustelo" <jbustelo@xxxxxxxxx>]

If I were Andy Stern, I wouldn't go bragging about it, but Murdoch's Fox
Business News apparently considered the SEIU action at the Labor Notes
conference such exemplary unionism that they picked up the SEIU's entirely
self-serving press release on the matter and published it on the Fox
Business News web site, thereby giving it their editorial stamp of approval,
in other words, assuming editorial responsibility for it.

Despite cutesy wording, the press release pretty much admits a) this was a
concerted national effort by the SEIU as a national organization; b) they
invested very large resources in the action, bringing in more than 800
people from all over the country to carry out the "protest", and c) the
objective of the action was precisely to silence CNA Executive Director Rose
Ann DeMoro, who was forced to cancel her appearance in face of what the SEIU
scribbler who penned the press release disingenuously called "the scrutiny
her actions were expected to receive."

There is no claim made that the CNA is anything but a legitimate, bona-fide
labor organization. Indeed the official SEIU statement calls on the CNA to
help "build a stronger labor movement."

Having split the AFL-CIO, setting up the basis for countless raids and
jurisdictional disputes, the SEIU is hardly in a strong position to accuse
others of dual unionism. 

The statement also claims that "The Labor Notes Conference is the right time
and place to discuss our differences" -- a surprising statement given how
the SEIU celebrates DeMoro's being forced to cancel her appearance. Even
more troubling, however, is the sentence that follows: "Emergency room
hallways and days before contentious union elections are not." Given the
approach the SEIU appears to have taken at "the right time and place to
discuss our differences," I shudder to think what their behavior might be
during union elections.

*  *  *

http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/seiu-members-stand-future-labor-movement-
interests-workers_559320_1.html

Saturday, Apr. 12 2008 
SEIU Members Stand Up for the Future of the Labor Movement and the Interests
of All Workers
        
DEARBORN, Mich., April 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Hundreds of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members from across
the country joined in protest tonight, renouncing recent actions by the
California Nurses Association (CNA) to interfere in other unions' organizing
efforts. SEIU members made their voices heard during the Labor Notes
Conference in Dearborn, Michigan, where CNA Executive Director Rose Ann
DeMoro was scheduled to speak but cancelled at the last minute, anticipating
the scrutiny her actions were expected to receive. Below is a statement from
SEIU Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry:

"Tonight, SEIU members stood up for the future of the labor movement and
called on the California Nurses Association to stop fighting with other
unions and start helping us build a stronger labor movement to help all
workers reclaim the American Dream.

"At a time when the economy is in a downward spiral, when income inequality
and economic uncertainty are at record levels and when only 12.1 percent of
the U.S. workforce has union representation, we simply can not abide by
union-busting and member poaching between unions. Unions must stand united
for the interests of working people.

"The more than 800 SEIU members who traveled to Dearborn from all parts of
the country tonight would much rather be at home: holding their local state
and national representatives accountable; going door to door to elect
pro-worker candidates; and helping security officers, janitors, healthcare
workers, and other service workers unite to attain a voice on the job. But
CNA's recent actions threaten the future of the labor movement for all
workers -- and we cannot remain silent.

"Open debate serves an important role as we work to strengthen our movement.
The Labor Notes Conference is the right time and place to discuss our
differences. Emergency room hallways and days before contentious union
elections are not.

"Our ability as workers, progressives, and labor leaders to ensure that
unions play a role in mending the economic woes of our nation depends on our
ability to grow and our ability to work together. Tonight we call on CNA
Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro and the entire labor movement to take a
deep breath, to realize what is at stake, and to put the interests of
working people ahead of union differences."

SOURCE Service Employees International Union
http://www.seiu.org
Copyright C 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved


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