Palin Blasts Labor Leader, Calls Conservatism a Better Fit for Union Workers

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: Economy ,; Domestic Issues

(Credit: AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday night responded to an attack from the president of the AFL-CIO, refusing to back down from her claim that union leaders behave like "thugs." While blasting union leadership for using "scare tactics" to promote a "big government agenda," Palin painted herself as a better representative of union members and blue collar workers.

Yesterday during a speech he delivered in Alaska, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called Palin "almost a parody of herself" who will "go down in history like McCarthy."

"In this charged political environment, her kind of talk gets dangerous," Trumka said at the Alaska AFL-CIO Biennial Convention. "'Don't retreat... reload' may seem clever, the kind of bull you hear all the time, but put it in context. She's using crosshairs to illustrate targeted legislators. She's on the wrong side of the line there. She's getting close to calling for violence. And some of her fans take that stuff seriously."

Trumka also criticized Palin for referencing "union thugs," a loaded term given the history of labor unions in the United States.

Palin initially responded via Twitter but wrote a longer response on Facebook. She said it was "ironic" that a union boss would accuse her of threatening violence, citing "attempts by SEIU to intimidate those who wanted to make their voices heard in last year's town halls," as well as Trumka's involvement in the 1990's in a union corruption case.

By contrast, Palin said, "I was just an ordinary, card-carrying union member, not one of the big shots who ended up, unfortunately, giving unions a bad name." Palin boasted she is "a former card-carrying IBEW sister married to a proud former IBEW and later USW member."

The former GOP vice presidential candidate implored her "hardworking, patriotic brothers and sisters in the labor movement" to disavow labor union "nonsense," such as backing the "government takeover" of the auto industry.

"There is a different home for you: the commonsense conservative movement," she said. "It cares about the same things you and I care about: a government that doesn't spend beyond its means, an economy focused on creating good jobs with good wages, and a leadership that is proud of America's achievements and doesn't go around apologizing to everyone for who we are."

Palin also blasted the so-called "card check legislation that some characterize as being unfair to workers, and even un-American, because of its insistence on stripping workers of their right to privacy with a secret ballot."

"Card check" refers to the Employee Free Choice Act -- legislation that would eliminate employers' ability to demand a secret-ballot election during the union-forming process, thereby streamlining the process of union organizing. Other main components of the bill include increased penalties on employers who violate labor laws in trying to dissuade employees from organizing. The bill is highly contentious, with most opposition coming from businesses, and appears to be making no progress in Congress.

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Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by MurdochSucks August 30, 2010 12:09 AM EDT: by retm-w August 27, 2010 12:28 PM EDT
skyk1

Just like obama thinks there are 57 States.

+++++
That is not what he said, he was speaking of US controlled territories.; Reply to this comment


by vivjaz August 30, 2010 12:09 AM EDT: Unions have help workers create a the middle class in this country. Sarah and her family are getting rich on the stupidity of the republican't. Why are there so many dumb people in America, tckle down did not work, will never work this country was build bottom up please do the research do not stay a blind idiot until the corporates bleed us dry. Anyway her father was a shool teacher I sure he was in a union all you Palin worshipper are so dumb to believe anything that come out of her lying lips. BLIND, DEAF and DUMB.; Reply to this comment


by vivjaz August 27, 2010 8:34 PM EDT: Unions in this country builded the middle class. The unions got you 8 hour days a lunch break and days off for the holiday, I see that as a good thing. The republican'ts only care about the big corporations that are sucking the blood our off the veins and our country. Palin and company that used to be middle class before they got all Sarah and Bristol hollywood on us. I can not believe all these Palin worshipper. Palin and company are getting rich off the stupidity of her followers, How can anyone believe anything that comes our of her lying lips; only the republican't. Tickle down economics did not work. This country was builded from the bottom up not the top down until you idiots wake up to the scam the big corporations are running on us, we all will fail republican'ts, democrats and independents. Sarah's father or mother was a techer I m sure they were in a Union. Wake UP, Wake UP stop drinking the kool-aid.; Reply to this comment


by Stainless-joe August 27, 2010 7:46 PM EDT: Why is anyone giving this dud any air time? Her Husbund was a Union member
until she stoled enough money from Alaska so he could quit
Go away Sara, if you don't like the US go to Russia; Reply to this comment


by formrusmcsgt August 27, 2010 7:06 PM EDT: "She's getting close to calling for violence. And some of her fans take that stuff seriously."
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Like provoking chants of "kill, kill, kill" at her rallies during the campaign........; Reply to this comment


by formrusmcsgt August 27, 2010 7:04 PM EDT: There is a different home for you: the common sense conservative movement," she said.
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There is no such thing.

Conservatives believe in imaginary beings and places.

Nothing common sense about that at all, unless you're 3 years old and playing "tea"......; Reply to this comment


by WhoItBe August 27, 2010 7:00 PM EDT: For those of you that have no idea about Unions, they are set up pretty much just like our military. Everyone begins at the bottom, works their way from Apprentice to Journeyman (time and grade and education - once journeyman the education is normally yearly). The supervisors(usually a foreman) supervise 10 journey/apprentice; the general foreman supervises 10 foreman, and so on up the line. If you people think that these people mentioned here have a lot to do with who runs the union, you are sadly mistaken. Yes, they vote on wage increases, benefit changes, work hours, holidays. Also if their union is found guilty of some type of charge against their leg of the union, it is the members that are eventually the ones that have to pay an additional sum besides their dues. Yes, they might have something to vote on with who their resident business manager is, or training officer; but heads of Unions are not local to most average every day workers. Does anyone remember Hoffa? Did they ever find him and his cement shoes? Union personnel need to take it upon themselves just like Tea Parties to ensure that the people that are running their industry are performing the way they want them to perform. Government needs to listen to the people.; Reply to this comment

by Robertreloaded August 27, 2010 6:51 PM EDT

The point here is she's right on target! The unions are run by white collar thugs and vote buyers and lawyers are the modern day muscle they use to force their will on the public. Say like SEIU members bused to Arizona to rally in support of unlawful invaders or hundreds of belligerants to someone's residence front yard for instance. Palin is just using common sense and if we don't start too we are going to lose our country in the end.

Reply to this comment


by Stainless-joe August 30, 2010 12:09 AM EDT: U are nuts

by ibsteve2u August 27, 2010 5:48 PM EDT

by Nmmrng August 27, 2010 5:42 PM EDT: "Like it or not, they own or control the company. Outside of obeying any regulations of doing business, they can do whatever they want. Just like you can do what you want with things you control. And there is no way to adjust all currencies unless all nations came together on a single currency like the Euro."

So you DO believe that those who own and operate corporations are entitled to use weapons such as currency exchange rates against the American people - as long as the law permits that.

Hence, my belief that the American people vote for the right - the Republicans or "Tea Partiers" - at their own peril, for if the right is allowed to have any power at all, they will continue to use weapons that are outside of the control of the American worker against that worker and her family.

The fact is the right, as Nmmrng so ably emphasizes, thinks of the American worker - the American PEOPLE - as their enemy, and they ARE using weapons like currency exchange rates against the American people, and they believe that is their RIGHT.

I do not. I call for booting all of the right - the Republicans, "Tea Partiers", whatever - completely out of our government.

And out of America, if at all possible; Americans should not tolerate the presence of those who unabashedly claim the right to abuse them. Let them go to the nations where they send the jobs of our people.

Reply to this comment


by 34sender August 27, 2010 6:45 PM EDT: It is not total crap. Though it is an extreme position -- booting the entire right wing of American politics isn't a real viable solution. However, TODAY's Republican/conservative and more conservative lockstep party is very dangerous for the rule of law staying [Constitutionally]established by "we the people" and not "we the money lenders and holders".

You just can't handle the truth Nmmrng.

by ibsteve2u August 27, 2010 5:17 PM EDT

by Nmmrng August 27, 2010 4:09 PM EDT: "I certainly want to keep all safety and environmental regulations and want wages to be as high as possible. But after wages and benefits and pensions, our companies can't afford $50 bucks an hour for someone on an assembly line. Not when they don't pay that per day in other countries."

That last sentence is why the few who own and operate our corporations purchased inequitable free trade. Once "flood-up/trickle-down" economics had unleashed their greed by making the penalty for excessive greed only more money, of course they looked around for what restrained their ability to divert more of America's wealth into their own pockets.

Financial laws that protected the American people were an obvious choice, so we got deregulation.

And the American worker himself...his care and feeding were expensive, when currency exchange rates made it possible to pay offshore workers 1/10th or less...so Voila! Inequitable free trade.

Me, I could fix that FAST. Just adjust all currency exchange rates to reflect what living space, food, medical care, and the other necessities of life cost nation to nation. I.e., the price of a meal in America would buy you a meal in China - not 20 meals in China as it does now.

That is why the American worker "seems" expensive; the exchange rates are way out of whack. And the few - the right - are using those artificial differences to force the American people out of their jobs. Their goal is indeed to make the pay of an American worker equivalent to what they pay "per day in other countries" - but WITHOUT dropping the prices that they charge us for the goods and services that they sell us.

The end effect would be that the American worker would be far, far worse off than his artificially-advantaged offshore competition, because the right - the Republicans - want to pay American workers Chinese wages while forcing American workers to pay American prices for food, utilities, housing, etc. etc. etc.

The choice before the American people is simple and remains the same: Do you want to help to secure a future for America's children, or do you want to help the right - whether they call themselves "Republicans", or "Tea Partiers" - to steal it?

Reply to this comment


by MurdochSucks August 27, 2010 5:52 PM EDT: SNAP! Excellent post. Very well stated, and oh so true. The corporate-sponsored right-wing wants us to compete with foreign labor and be happy to accept the lower wages because at least we have a job, I guess. It's sickening. Unfortunately, the Dems are getting bought now, too. So you have corporatist moderates (D) and corporatist extremists (R). It's a ******* shame, man!


by WhoItBe August 27, 2010 6:42 PM EDT: OK Steve, this is a much better post. Personally, the US needs to get back to making everything we need. We need import fees to balance out commodities so we can afford to re-tool America. We don't need foreign companies on our soil or owning our land.