by Mark Silva
Vice President Joe Biden has gone around the block several times, and labor unions have been there with him. Today, they came around together again, at the AFL-CIO's annual executive council meeting in Miami Beach.
"I tell you what, it's like visiting Jimmy Williams in Philadelphia,'' Biden said at the old but renovated Fontainebleau hotel - the place where Sean Connery once filmed that scene about getting cheated at poolside Gin Rummy with Goldfinger with the help of a telescope.
"Hey, it's good to be -- at least in my best comfort zone, man,'' Biden said today. "The best place for me to be my whole career is surrounded by organized labor. And I know how to say 'union.'
"You know, you go home with them that brung you to the dance,'' Biden said. "Well, you all brought me to the dance a long time ago. And it's time we start dancing, man. It's time we start dancing.''
Applause.
You know he was in his element, because he went on to talk for a full 43 minutes at the union conference in the old resort hotel - with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today declining to bite on questions about the luxury surroundings in which union labors are convening. (Truth is, however, if you haven't been there lately, the Fontainebleau is no longer the queen of the Beach resorts, though the old Copa Cabana ballroom has been replaced with a more modern "DJ-driven atmosphere named "Liv.'')
"In this campaign... the fact of the matter is we couldn't have made it without all of you,'' the vice president said. "You weren't with me just in spirit, which a lot of you -- some of you around this table are very old and dear friends, some of my closest friends in political life, and some of you became just my plain old close friends. And so if you excuse the familiarity, for some of you I don't know as well, it's because I've been hanging out with you all for so long. You've never let me down, and I hope I've never let you down.
(Photo above of Vice President Joe Biden listening as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Republican from Peoria, speaks at the Miami Intermodal Center in their Miami-area tour today, by Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
"And here's the deal,'' Biden told the AFL-CIO's leaders. "The deal is that we understand that -- and I understood that when this -- when I got picked on the ticket, how enthusiastically you all supported that effort, and it was genuinely appreciated,'' he said. "I mean, all this gets down to personal relationship sometimes, and the personal support that you each gave -- as they say in southern Delaware, the testimony you gave for me -- was a big deal. You weren't just with me in spirit.''
It wasn't just the leaders, Biden said.
In St. Clair, Mich., it was Bill Alford, president of the UAW local. And it was workers, such as a steelworker named Gregory Hinds in Green Bay, Wis., Patrick Hosey, an electrical contractor in Fort Myers, Fla., Marie Williamson, a laid-off autoworker in St. Louis....
"Every time during our campaign when it started to seem pretty hard, or the days seemed pretty long, or things didn't go all that well that day, I met one of your people and it -- all kidding aside -- reminded me why I'm doing this, why the president is doing this,'' Biden said. "All you got to do is talk to them, just like you do. Everybody thinks we're kind of jaded. But I know you guys, I know you -- you care about your constituencies. You care about these people who elected you.''
All kidding aside, he said, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has told him that, during the last administration "the only time that he was invited to the White House was when his Holiness Pope Benedict requested he be invited. Well, I'm here to tell you in our White House, it will not take divine intervention to get you invited back.
"The fact of the matter is, as President Obama said -- and he means it -- you can't have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement,'' Biden said. "And you heard what we said, what I said independently and what we said together: We will judge the success or failure of our administration at the end of our four years based on whether or not the standard of living of the middle class has increased, or not. That's the bottom line measure. And guess what. Neither one of us believe it can get better without you getting stronger....
"Our objective -- and I mean this sincerely -- is to put every American in the spot before we leave office to be able to look their kid in the eye and say, 'Honey, it's going to be Okay.' For those men and women who want to work, which is the vast, vast, overwhelming majority of the American people, that's the least we should provide to them. And you all have been the best platform in the world to put them in a position to be able to say that....
"I'm genuinely optimistic. It's going to be a rough year. It's going to be rough until we climb out of this,'' he said of the economic climate in which the administration is operation. "But I think we've got a ladder long enough, and I think when we climb out of this hole, if we do this right, it's going to be -- we climb onto a platform that's clearer, sturdier, better, more competitive for America, and put us in a position where we're able to do in the 21st century what we did in the 20th century. I really, genuinely believe that.
"Our job in the meantime is to get as many people on that ladder as we can. It's going to take a while -- I mean, a year or more -- it's going to take a while. If you get them on the ladder, I promise you, I promise you, I'm absolutely certain the pieces we've put in place not only will take us back to where people are employed gainfully, but we'll be right at the bargain again, where we're more competitive with green jobs, more competitive with an energy policy, we're more competitive worldwide in the position we put people in...
"We got a shot here, folks,'' Biden said. "We got a shot like we haven't had for the last 30 years. And shame on us, shame on us if we squander it. I don't think we will. With your help, I'm absolutely convinced that over the next couple years we will make a better, brighter and stronger America. And you'll be the reason.''
Comments
Que Teresa and her union bashing for her rich Republican overlords in: 5...4...3..2...2 ding ding ding!
Posted by: Mullah Limbaugh = Leader of the Greedy Oil Party | March 5, 2009 3:47 PM
Tell the union to sell their private golf course.
The Secretary of Labor is the MOST dangerous cabinet appointment ever.
Can see businesses closing due to pressure from unions.
Since when does a person who takes a risk, borrows money, works hard to open and operate their business required to kneel down and acquiese to unions.
If it is their personal business and their personal risk then the people who the person has hired have no rights, other than normal safety rights.
Extreme unions are riding on the back of risk takers.
Posted by: Not business owner | March 5, 2009 3:52 PM
The unions didn't force the Bush Administration to leave office with $10 trillion in debt. $1 trillion+ in tax cuts to the top 5% given on credit. They didn't force the deregulation of the banking sector, they didn't turn Wall Street into a Vegas casino.
The 30 year Conservative Era that just ended has made unions practically irrelevant, meanwhile conservatives have destroyed the economy. Blame low income home buyers and unions if it justifies your beliefs but the rest of the country is waking up to the lies and failures of conservatism.
Posted by: An Inconvienient Fact | March 5, 2009 3:53 PM
Republicans are lying about the Employee Free Choice Act for their rich corporate overlords. They are purposely trying to mislead the public into thinking that it's wrong for unions to form.
Under the current system, workers sign cards indicating their desire to form a union and then must wait several weeks before the NRLB election, during which time employers often wage anti-union campaigns. When workers request a union election, 91 percent of employers force employees to attend one-on-one anti-union meetings with their supervisors.
The Employee Free Choice Act will level the playing field for employees and employers by strengthening penalties for companies that illegally coerce or intimidate employees in an effort to prevent them from forming a union, bringing in a neutral third party to settle a contract when a company and a newly certified union cannot agree after three months, and putting the choice of how to form a union in the hands of the workers through either majority sign-up or secret ballot election.
The fact that conservatives and big business and groups like the one you work for have dumped $100 million to prevent this legislation from getting out of the Senate only serves to underscore the ongoing attempts to prevent workers from organizing themselves to gain a little power in their relationships with their bosses.
Blue collar workers interested in forming a union are routinely intimidated, coerced and illegally fired trying to prevent them from bargaining collectively.
Posted by: Republicans hate blue collar workers | March 5, 2009 3:57 PM
Are these union bosses really spending their members' hard-earned on a fancy convention at the Fountainebleau? Have they no idea that members and non-members are suffering out there? Where is their sense of propriety?
Posted by: Jeff | March 5, 2009 3:58 PM
Opposition to labor rights is done on ideological (Republican) grounds, namely, that labor shouldn't have rights; that management is best when it is not fettered by input from workers (or other stakeholders, for that matter, but that's beyond the purview of EFCA).
There is no economic reason to treat employers as if they are authoritarian, semi-sovereign governments. In fact, much of the economic literature assumes as a fundamental premise ideas like costless bargaining and perfect information and that all actors are price takers. Some of Adam Smith's most direct and impassioned language occurs when discussing the dangers of unchecked industrialists, and that's long before the rise of the modern corporation. He was worried about their influence on Parliament back in the 18th century.
The corporate structure (that Republicans cater to) has to be either subservient to or master of our political process. There is no in between because this process is precisely how we allocate the resources of society, how we decide how much of our productivity goes to the workers doing the work. Either capital gains are taxed at a different rate from other types of income, or they're not. Either children are allowed to work, or they're not. Either whistleblowers can be retaliated against, or they can't. Either workers are allowed to bargain collectively, or they aren't.
Posted by: PalinbotsACTIVATE!....please? | March 5, 2009 4:07 PM
Why does anyone even pay attention to his blathering old fool.
Posted by: vla | March 5, 2009 4:10 PM
The ever narrowing list of places where Obama can send Biden without having to worry about him putting his foot in his mouth. Looks like it's still safe to send him to union gatherings.
"Republicans hate . . ." where do you get that 91% figure? Do you have a cite for that? I would appreciate it. Also, you are quick to point out the dangers of employers using undue influence to deter union membership. Can you also recognize the danger of unions using undue influence on prospective members if they are deprived of the protection of a secret ballot? Shouldn't the goal be to inform the workers the best we can and let them make their own decision free from undue influence from either side?
Posted by: Herbie H. | March 5, 2009 4:22 PM
Someone better have a serious chat with the UAW.
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport ☯ | March 5, 2009 4:37 PM
If unions were the root of all evil (like the Republican party and their rich corporate overlords claim) then why is Toyota failing?
If you don't work in tech, you really haven't seen the situation. The fundamental problem here is that technical companies have never wanted to deal with unions, so for years they fostered an environment, (high pay, good benefits, etc) where unions arguably weren't needed. This led to an environment where Randian Reaganite ideas about 'pulling yourself up' took root, and did so very deeply. Any mention of organization brings up stereotypes that you rarely if ever hear in other industries.
"One of the primarily reasons why our current recession endures is that workers do not have the purchasing power they need to drive our economy. Even when times were relatively good, workers were getting squeezed. Income for the median working age household fell by about $2,000 between 2000 and 2007, and it could fall even further as the economy continues to decline. Consumer activity accounts for roughly 70 percent of our nation’s economy, and for a while workers were able to use debt to sustain their consumption. Yet debt-driven consumption is not sustainable, as we are plainly seeing. What is sustainable is an economy where workers are adequately rewarded and have the income they need to purchase goods. This is where unions come in."
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/02/efca_factsheets.html
Posted by: R U Kidding | March 5, 2009 4:59 PM
Obama put Joe Biden in charge of helping the middle class. The unions help the middle class. The meeting between Joe and the unions was a good thing. I like the way Joe talks. He is the non-Stepford politician. Don't want perfect and practiced BS. Want the real thing. Good for Biden.
Posted by: Vivian | March 6, 2009 12:00 AM
The gutless little whining cowards that run the AFL-CIO would not even allow cameras in their meeting at a luxury hotel. Why isn't the media outraged over being shut out of this event? If Bush had done something like this...the media would claim to be outraged at the secrecy of the Bush administration. Unions and the media are the two most corrupt organizations in American history!!!! What pay back promises did Biden make? Isn't this the same reason why the governor of Illinois was arrested? I guess we will never know???
Posted by: Joe | March 6, 2009 10:23 AM
Unions are not the problem with the economy, it was Wall St. who started default credit swaps. If not for unions then most people would be working $10- to $12 an hour jobs still. The automakers problem is the design and lack of quality of the cars, that is the bigwigs' fault. Biden has always been a big backer of unions and is being true to himself. As far as the hotel goes, its far from fancy anymore and its not taxpayer money, its union dues. The Republican's answer to everything is to blame the little guy. Guess what? The little guy had nothing to do with the economy tanking.
Posted by: Jenny | March 8, 2009 9:47 AM