Mitch McConnell wants more than your
jingtingler. He’s after your union card.
Bah, humbug. Forget the cute socks hanging by the fireplace and the stomach-churning eggnog. ‘Tis the season to go after the Grinch.
This year, there are many options.
First up: “The Mitch Who Stole Christmas.” The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) is running a great action featuring one of this year’s worst anti-worker lawmakers, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Most recently, McConnell killed an emergency loan to keep afloat the nation’s automakers, along with 3 million to 5 million U.S. jobs. Jane, Emptywheel and others have amply documented his role in quashing the bailout, a blatant attack on unions and the middle class.
CNA/NNOC Co-President Geri Jenkins, RN, says McConnell may have been after UAW members and their union this time,
but tomorrow it will be other working people’s wages and benefits.
The campaign (click here) invites people to send a message to McConnell and sign up for public protests and other actions to protect America’s working families.
Next, there’s the annual Jobs for Justice Grinch of the Year contest. Anti-worker nominees predominate. Among them: notorious PR sleaze lobbyist Richard Berman, a hired gun for the alcohol, tobacco and fast-food industries. Jane gives some of his ugly details here. Berman has mounted campaigns to gut drunken driving laws, downplay the public health impact of obesity and indoor tanning and prevent an increase in the minimum wage.
But he’s reserved his greatest venom for attacks on unions and working people. He is spending millions in corporate cash on a deceptive and outright false ad campaign to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act. Berman has multiple front groups that channel corporate cash and millions of dollars from the likes of the Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association and the National Association of Manufacturers.
The other nominee for the Grinch award is "Wall Street executives." No need for further description of why they belong on the Grinch list.
You can cast your vote for these deserving nominees here.
The only items the Grinch stole from the good folks of Whoville were some jingtinglers, trumtookas and gardookas, along with their roast beast. But this year’s Grinch nominees who tried to steal Christmas from workers are after a lot more serious loot—like health care, wages and their union cards.
Each of these Grinch nominees deserves a lot worse than recognition, of course, because each all will remain, in the immortal words of Dr. Seuss: a three-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich, with arsenic sauce.
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Aloha, Tula!
Nice Post, Tula. Thank God for the change of topic. I noted that Bushwhackoed is now looking at an “orderly” bankruptcy of the Automakers. He must be hell bent on destroying America, that is the only logical conclusion once could draw.
Tula, everybody seems to be duking it out with all the new commenters that Jane’s appearance on CNN has attracted downstairs…! I did let them know you’re here…
It’s not a coincidence all these car companies are shutting down until Jan 19. New management takes over on Jan 20.
Yep. He wants an orderly destruction of the UAW, workers’ pensions and health care, and the principle of workers earning enough money to actually buy what they make.
I hope some of the *ahem* fine religious folks visiting us today will stick around for a substantive discussion of labor, an issue that, unlike someone else’s marriage, actually affects each and every one of them personally.
Do not, under any circumstances, encourage that.
Ya know,if these weasels hate unions so much,I have an idea that would eliminate the need for unions to exist at all:
Pay people a living wage,there’s no excuse for a person to work 40 hours a week and be unable to provide for themselves and a family. Don’t expose workers and the communities where businesses reside to toxic shit from doing the company’s business. Make sure people have care when they’re sick. It’s not damned rocket science.
If companies did the right thing when no one was looking there’d be no need for unions or regulation. But,integrity(that thing you do when no one’s watching)isn’t exactly the strong suit of this capitalist society. Hence the need for unions and regulations. Company after company,over and over again have proven they won’t do the right thing unless they are FORCED to.
Hey Tula,
I’d rather not go for the Gringch.
This morning’s early posts were enough for me to go take a 5 mile walk.
There’s enought anxiety here already, for me to feed into the dark side.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the Kewl Kids Sanark is too much for my sensitive, in which case, I apologize.
Took me four hours for the 5 mile walk…I live in hills…up and down.
Just know that I see a lot of people feeling the Holiday Angst.
Bless you all. That’s the best I can offer at this point.
Heh. It would be for their sake, not ours. They clearly need some good information.
Aloha welcome to the Lake! What a quaint notion… A living wage! Next you’ll be preaching a livable wage for one breadwinner to provide shelter and food for the whole family…! *g*
Here’s from a grinch!
Hey! wasn’t it Ford who decided that every man should be able to support his family with one job? The same guy who’s legendary business is going to be forced into orderly bankruptcy so that workers have to have multiple wage earners per family? Ho progress!
Ian upstairs on California’s budget crisis
That he did… In fairness to Ford, tho, EW pointed out that Ford is not in the same dire straits as GM and Chrysler… Here’s the post…
Sorry, Tula
I was brawling downstairs. I’ll read your excellent post, end to end, I promise, cross my heart.
I’m not always here to comment, but I’m really glad that you write your weekly posts here!
XXOO
FunnyDiva