Labor Unions

Transgender And Immigration Issues Convinced Gullible Working Class To Back Trump!

It is a sad reality that the working class of America–whether white, Latino, or African American– was bamboozled by Donald Trump to believe he was concerned about their lives and would promote labor causes, when nothing is further from the truth.

The high inflation that occurred under Joe Biden had nothing to do with Joe Biden and the Democrats, but was simply a reaction to the COVID 19 Pandemic, so would have occurred if Donald Trump had been reelected President.

But Republicans and Donald Trump used fear of transgender Americans and of a small number of undocumented immigrants who have committed crime to stir up the population of working class Americans, many of whom are not actively engaged in following public affairs, to convince them to vote Republican.

But now, working class Americans will pay for their decision to vote for Trump and a Republican Congress by facing the reality of a Presidential cabinet made up of multi millionaires who are promoting massive tax cuts for the extremely wealthy, and imposing of high protective tariffs.

This will lead to a massive increase in the national debt and surging prices for all kinds of imported items, causing a new wave of inflation.

The Republican Party and Donald Trump do NOT have the interests of working class people in their agenda, and labor unions will not be supported, as they have been under Joe Biden.

And Donald Trump will cut back on exixting regulations on corporations and banks, promoting more of a chasm between the working class and upper class.

Only the upper class will celebrate Donald Trump’s Presidency, once the working class becomes fully cognizant that they have been tricked into supporting someone who utilized emotional issues of transgender rights and immigration to promote their agenda of making the wealthy wealthier, and the working class and poor more exploited!

Joe Biden Outstanding On Labor, And On The Environment

When the history of the Joe Biden Presidency is written in the future, two things will stand out as particularly notable.

First, Joe Biden is, arguably, the most pro labor President since Franklin D. Roosevelt, more than any Democratic President since then, and easily more so than any Republican President! Many labor unions have endorsed his reelection, more so than any modern President.

Secondly, Joe Biden’s record on the environment and climate change is something to cheer, and it seems likely he will rank as one of the top few Presidents on that issue. Many environmental groups, including the Conservation Lands Foundation most notably, are cheered by his actions on this important area of government policy.

These are not minor matters, and are two of a multitude of reasons to do everything possible to insure that Joe Biden is reelected President, as Donald Trump has a horrendous record on both issues, along with a multitude of others!

Nikki Haley Backed By Koch Right Wing “Americans For Prosperity”–Makes Her Unacceptable!

“Americans For Prosperity”, the Charles Koch family libertarian right wing powerful network, has endorsed and is financially supporting Nikki Haley as the best alternative to Donald Trump for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024, choosing her over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Haley has sold her soul to an evil group, which had done so much damage for many years, most notably backing the Tea Party Movement that emerged under Barack Obama in 2010.

This evil group has opposed any action on global warming; the Affordable Care Act; labor union rights; assisted in the Republican gaining of the House of Representatives in 2010 and the Senate in 2014; is against raising of the minimum wage and supportive of “right to work” laws which undermine worker rights; against Medicaid expansion; opposes internet neutrality; and promotes loads of “dark money” which allows them to have a deleterious effect on all kinds of other social issues, including attacks on Social Security and Medicare.

Basically, it is the Barry Goldwater 1964 right wing assault on the New Deal and later on the Great Society. The fact that Nikki Haley accepts their support, while certainly is common sense for her, it shows that she has no basic principles, is inconsistent in her outlook, and runs the risk of “being owned” by this extremist right wing group, in an attempt to overcome the advantage of Donald Trump as the Presidential campaign moves forward!

Marjorie Taylor Greene Promotes FDR, LBJ, Biden, Totally Unaware Of What She Is Doing!

Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene went on a rant at a right wing conference, making a total fool of herself, which she does on a regular basis!

She spoke about the “horrendous” actions of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society, and Joe Biden and “Build Back Better”, all three Democratic Presidents!

She compared Biden to FDR and LBJ, which is an endorsement of three Presidents who have done so much positive in domestic affairs, but she made it clear how terrrible it was that the nation has Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, labor unions, environmental laws, education, urban and rural poverty, infrastructure investments, and other so called “socialist” programs that make life better for Americans!

Biden and the Democrats are using what Greene said to tout their own accomplishments, and are proud to be connected to LBJ and FDR, as any sane person would be!

Labor Day Should Remind Us Of Significance Of Labor Unions In American History!

Monday is Labor Day, a celebration of the contributions and sacrifices of generations of workers who struggled to honor the efforts of working people, who had to combat the power of corporations and commit themselves to reform and humane treatment.

The first national holiday came about in the Presidency of Grover Cleveland in 1894, just as we had the Pullman Strike, which led to the imprisonment of Socialist Eugene Debs, but led to the growing success of organized labor over the next decades.

The ultimate triumph of organized labor came in the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and while much of the nation, particularly the Southern states, worked against unionization, there was expansion of labor union membership nationally.

Sadly, the Presidency of Ronald Reagan saw labor union growth come to a halt, and has only recently started to increase once again.

But membership in labor unions is only in the midteens in number right now, when it once was about a third to 40 percent.

President Joe Biden, however, is a champion of organized labor, and will speak on Labor Day tomorrow in Pittsburgh, to commemorate labor, and call for the further expansion of unions for workers!

In the Presidential Election of 2020, Biden gained the backing of 56 percent of union households, crucial to his victories in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in particular!

The Public Utterances Of Larry Elder, Potential California Governor, After Recall Election On September 14!

Larry Elder, the right wing talk show host, and an African American, seems likely to be the major threat to the tenure of California Governor Gavin Newsom in the upcoming Gubernatorial Recall election on Tuesday, September 14.

What is his record of beliefs and statements?

He is an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, regularly praising him on Twitter.

Elder has argued Trump is not responsible for the January 6, 2021 Insurrection.

In a 2000 book, he called for:

abolishing the Internal Revenue Service
creating a national sales tax
reduce government by 80 percent
end welfare and entitlements
abolish the minimum wage
eliminate corporate taxes

Also, he has condemned Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty”; thinks the ideal minimum wage is ZERO; has condemned labor unions, and said many teachers are incompetent and should be fired; and prefers charter and private schools to public schools.

Elder also is anti abortion; anti gay; thinks California is “soft on crime”; and is a denier of climate change and the dangers of second hand tobacco smoking.

He is also against mandates on COVID 19 and masks; and sees no problem with mass rallies held by Donald Trump. Additionally, he has made highly controversial remarks on women, very misogynistic in nature.

So Elder would be a nightmare for California, and could gain the power to select the replacement for Dianne Feinstein, who might leave soon due to dementia, and that would change the political balance in the US Senate!

Republicans Are A Dinosaur, Only Representing White Rural Areas, Wealthy, Bigots, In Nation Rapidly Changing

The Republican Party has become a shell of its old self, and is no longer truly representative of conservative ideology.

It no longer is concerned about deficits and increase in the national debt, except when the Democratic opposition is in power.

It no longer concerned about national defense, as many of its present officeholders have attacked the military leadership for standing up to insurrectionists who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, including General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff being criticized by the likes of Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Fox News Channel talk show hosts.

It is no longer concerned about truth and facts, as it attacks science knowledge and historical knowledge, and is unconcerned about global warming and climate change.

It is no longer concerned about racial equality and fairness, part of its founding principles under Abraham Lincoln.

It no longer appeals to millions of African Americans, Hispanic-Latino Americans, college educated suburbanites, urban areas, the middle class, women voters, and the younger generation.

They are more concerned about rural areas, where most people are whites, but can wield power due to gerrymandering, and the ability to control the Electoral College and the US Senate, where democracy has been under attack, and favors fewer voters nationally.

They are more concerned about representing those who hate immigrants, and people of color, and want to control women’s reproductive choices.

They are appealing to the extremely wealthy and powerful corporations, while working to undermine workers’ rights and labor unions.

They want to promote mind control and dictate to educators how science and history are taught.

They represent a dwindling white population stirred to fear by bigots in the Republican Party, who wish to resist the rapidly changing population which in 2045, will be a majority minority, with people of color together being the majority, and particularly so with people with Hispanic-Latino heritage.

Labor Day, Honoring Workers, Totally Ignored By Donald Trump

Yesterday was Labor Day, which has been a federal holiday since 1894.

It honors the work, sacrifices, and contributions of American workers.

However, labor unions have been in rapid decline since the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, ironically himself the only President to be a labor union leader, as head of the Screen Actors Guild in the 1940s and early 1950s.

If it was not for workers in all fields of industry and business, plus public government workers, America would not have accomplished its economic greatness over the generations.

And yet, not one word from President Donald Trump, who has spent his life exploiting workers in his real estate businesses, and often not paying contractors or workers the pay they are due, and avoiding it in court cases.

Labor Unions have brought about the following (no special order):

Weekends off for most workers

Paid Vacations

Paid Sick Leave

Family and Medical Leave

Child Labor Laws

Social Security

Minimum Wage

8 Hour Work Day

Overtime Pay

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Health Care, Dental, and Vision Coverage

Collective Bargaining Rights

Work Breaks

Wrongful Termination Laws

Age Discrimination Laws

Raises in Wages

Sexual Harassment Laws

Americans With Disabilities Act

Holiday Pay

Military Leave

Equal Pay Act

Workers Compensation

Civil Rights Laws

Federal Holidays Off

Sadly, less than ten percent of all workers now have the benefits of being members of a labor union, while in the 1960s and 1970s, one out of three workers were labor union members. The Northeast and the Pacific Coast are the areas of most labor unions that are doing well, while so called “right to work” laws keep workers in the South and much of the center of the nation relatively poor by comparison, as we have a new “Gilded Age” of business running rampant over workers, reminding us of the late 19th century.

The Republican Party And The Promotion Of Death In So Many Forms

The Republican Party of 2018 and Donald Trump is clearly the Party of Death!

Of course, many reading this will protest that the Republican Party is the Party of Life, since they insist every fetus must be born, and that the pregnant woman has no say over her future, even if it is rape, incest, or drug addiction or alcoholism involved in the pregnancy.

But the point is that is the ONLY time the Republican Party is for life, and it has made perfectly clear that it is not concerned about any human being in America once such person is born!

The Republican Party believes in the death penalty, and would like to see it used on a large scale.

The Republican Party supports the National Rifle Association, which has no concern about the massacres that have taken place in schools, outdoor concerts, churches, nightclubs, work places, shopping malls and other public places. The vast majority of Americans want to ban all assault weapons, have background checks, prevent mentally ill people and terrorists from gaining access to weapons, and raise the age of ability to buy any firearm to 21, but the Republican Party has consistently done the bidding of the NRA, and shows no willingness to take action on guns, because they claim it is the “wrong time”, as they have consistently said after each of multiple massacres. So they are Pro Death and believe the right to firearms is more important than preservation of life.

The Republican Party believes no one is entitled to health care, and has no issue with millions of Americans having no or limited health care, as they believe health care is NOT a right. So they destroy ObamaCare without any alternative for those who have lost health care.

The Republican Party believes there is no need for protection of workers conditions, as through the Occupational Safety And Health Administration, and want to destroy what is left of the labor movement, and bring us back to the Gilded Age.

The Republican Party is working to loosen safety and pollution standards on automobile manufacturers, making for possible increased deaths caused by lack of regulation and health standards, and also wants to privatize airports and get the government out of railroad and truck transportation regulation, insuring more accidents and dangerous undermining of safety for passengers on all kinds of transportation.

The Republican Party believes that industry should have total control over the environment, and is out to destroy all environmental regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency, and promotion of healthful conditions in areas where there is coal mining, oil drilling, and natural gas exploration, including lack of concern about earthquakes caused by natural gas exploitation in Oklahoma, as an example.

The Republican Party is not concerned about consumer safety, and wishes to decimate the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Republican Party is not concerned about the health and safety of the disabled and the elderly in our society, and wish to cut back massively on Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security Disability programs.

The Republican Party is not concerned about keeping the public up to date on weather conditions as it moves to cut back on the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which will cause more deaths from hurricanes, tornadoes, Tsunamis, and other weather conditions, as without knowledge, it leads to demise of people who could be saved.

The Republican Party wishes to impoverish the masses, so that the wealthy gain massive tax cuts, in effect helping to undermine the health, safety, and lives of tens of millions of Americans.

The Republican Party is out to undermine science and health research, setting back the leadership position of America in previous generations, and instead promoting fake science and refusing to accept the reality of climate change and global warming, which will cause long term the deaths of millions of Americans who are endangered by the reality of changes in the environment worldwide.

And Donald Trump and most Republicans are ready to got to war against either North Korea or Iran, with no concern as to the mass loss of life of American soldiers, and of the people of Asia and the Middle East. It is all part of their macho to show they are men, and willing to sacrifice our youth for their wars to dominate in the name of evil, greedy capitalism. Having former generals in key positions–John Kelly, James Mattis, H. R. McMaster–and with a crazed President, who is clearly as mentally ill as the gunman in Parkland, Florida, clearly demonstrates their worship of death.

So a clear conclusion is that the Republican Party and Donald Trump are Pro Death, and have no regard for human life, other than fetuses, and worship the profit motive and wealth over anything else.

Most Significant Issue Of Entire Campaign: The Supreme Court Future And A Democratic Majority US Senate!

No more important issue is on the plate for this election year than the Supreme Court future, tied into a Democratic Majority US Senate!

The Republicans have made it clear that if Hillary Clinton wins the Presidency, but the Republicans retain the control of the Senate, that NO Supreme Court nominee will be confirmed, and in fact, not even considered in hearings.

This is totally unacceptable, and cannot be allowed to occur for the next four years, as effectively, that is destroying the whole purpose of the separation of powers and constitutional government!

The Supreme Court has been Republican majority since 1972, and finally, the tipping point to a Democratic and more progressive/liberal Court is in the offing.

Such issues as the following could end up before the Court in the next four years:

Abortion
Affirmative Action
Campaign Finance
Class Action Suits
Climate Change
Contraception
Gun Rights
Immigration Reform
LGBTQ Rights
ObamaCare
Redistricting
Unions
Voter ID Laws
Voting Rights