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<A href="http://www.alternet.org/story/151289/afl-cio%27s_trumka_calls_for_labor_movement_separate_from_parties%3A_%27i%27ve_had_a_snootful_of_this_shit%21%27?akid=7108.16102.O2xXet&rd=1&t=13">http://www.alternet.org/story/151289/afl-cio%27s_trumka_calls_for_labor_movement_separate_from_parties%3A_%27i%27ve_had_a_snootful_of_this_shit%21%27?akid=7108.16102.O2xXet&rd=1&t=13</A><BR>
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<H1>AFL-CIO's Trumka Calls for Labor Movement Separate from Parties: 'I've Had a Snootful of This Shit!'</H1></DIV><!-- end: headline --><!-- start: teaser -->
<DIV class=teaser>AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sent his strongest signal yet about the labor movement’s frustration with the dysfunctional politics of the moment. </DIV><!-- end: teaser --><!-- START BODY -->
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<DIV class=story-date><EM>June 13, 2011</EM> | </DIV>
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<EM>The following article first appeared in </EM><A href="http://www.thenation.com/"><EM><FONT color=#d5ae12>The Nation</FONT></EM></A><EM> magazine. For more great content from the Nation, sign up for their</EM><EM><A href="http://www.thenation.com/nation-email-subscription-center"><FONT color=#d5ae12> email newsletters here.</FONT></A></EM><BR>
<DIV>AFL-CIO President <A style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,85,136); FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial" href="http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/blog/entry/remarks-of-afl-cio-president-richard-trumka/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Richard Trumka</A> sent his strongest signal yet about the labor movement’s frustration with the dysfunctional politics of the moment—where Republicans go to extremes on behalf of big banks and multinational corporations, Democrats compromise and working families are left out of the equation.</DIV>
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<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">Speaking last Tuesday to the <A style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,85,136); FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial" href="http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/" rel=nofollow>National Nurses United </A>conference in Washington, where more than one thousand nurses from across the country rallied to begin the push to replace the politics of setting for less with a unapologetic demands for a new economic agenda, Trumka found a plenty of takers for his agressively progressive message.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">“We want an independent labor movement strong enough to return balance to our economy, fairness to our tax system, security to our families and moral and economic standing to our nation,” declared Trumka, who in recent months has been repositioning the AFL-CIO as a force that will hold Republicans and Democrats to what he describes as “a simple standard: “Are they helping or hurting working families?”</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">“We can’t simply build the power of any political party or any candidate. For too long we’ve been left after the election holding a canceled check and asking someone to pay attention to us. No more! No more!” the federation president, a former United Mineworkers union chief, shouted above the cheers of the nurses.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">Then he described a scenario all too familiar to union activists: that of trying to get officials who are supposed to be allies of the working Americans to act on their behalf with the same energy that Republicans bring to aiding corporations.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">“For too long, we’ve been left after Election Day holding a canceled check, waving it about—‘Remember us? Remember us? Remember us?’—asking someone to pay a little attention to us,” recalled Trumka, who like many union leaders was frustrated with the failure of the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and other needed labor law reforms. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a snootful of that shit!”</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">There was no way to misread Trumka’s message for Democrats who have strayed on issues ranging from EFCA to trade policy to mounting an absolute defense of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">“When it comes to politics, we’re looking for real champions of working women and men. And I have a message for some of our “friends.” It doesn’t matter if candidates and parties are controlling the wrecking ball or simply standing aside—the outcome is the same either way,” he explained. “If leaders aren’t blocking the wrecking ball and advancing working families’ interests, working people will not support them. This is where our focus will be—now, in 2012 and beyond.”</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">Trumka chose exactly the right setting in which to deliver that message. The NNU (which also welcomed this writer as a speaker at its gathering) has long advocated for a more miltant stance when it comes to politics, as evidenced this week by <A style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,85,136); FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial" href="http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/news/entry/nurses-rally-for-health-care-funding/" rel=nofollow>the union’s mass protest outside the headquarters of the US Chamber of Commerce.</A> As the nurses blocked traffic, NNU executive director Rose Ann DeMoro led the crowd in chanting “Our street!” and then pointing at the Chamber building and shouting “Wall Street!”</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">That determination to take the fight to Wall Street is at the heart of the <A style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,85,136); FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial" href="http://nurses.bluestatedigital.com/affiliates/entry/msc1" rel=nofollow>NNU’s new “Main Street Contract for the American People”</A> that, among other things, demands that elected officials take a “Which Side Are You On?” pledge.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">The pledge contrasts Wall Street’s push for “tax cuts for the rich and powerful” and “replacing Medicare with vouchers” with a Main Street Contract that seeks:</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">1. Jobs at living wages to reinvest in America.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">2. Equal access to quality, public education.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">3. Guaranteed healthcare with a single standard of care.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">4. A secure retirement with the ability to retire in dignity.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">5. Good housing, and protection from hunger.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">6. A safe and healthy environment.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">7. The right to collectively organize and bargain.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">8. A just taxation system where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">9. Restoring the promise—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.</P>
<P style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 13px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">As Trumka speaks about that “simple standard” to demand of elected officials, politicians and their parties, he and the rest of the labor movement could find few better places of beginning than that pledge to support the NNU’s “Main Street Contract for the American People.”</P>
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<DIV class="bio-new body_vision">John Nichols is The Nation's Washington correspondent.</DIV></DIV>
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