Cross-posted from Minnesota Progressive Project
The recent attacks against worker's rights have spurred debate in the labor movement about whether or not anti-union politicians should be allowed to participate in Labor Day events. In a bold move, organizers of the Wausau Labor Day parade have refused to let Republicans walk in the parade. Tea Party Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI) kicked up a fuss about not being allowed to participate:
(I) was hoping that for a moment, we could set our differences aside and simply have some fun in a family-friendly event.
Apparently the anti-union Duffy thinks Labor Day is like St Patrick's Day, and everyone can claim to be labor.
Not so, says Randy Radtke, president of the Marathon County Labor Council AFL-CIO:
The Wausau Labor Day Parade is a time to celebrate the working men and women of Wisconsin. It is not a political event or stop on the campaign trail. It is a time for working families to come together to celebrate their hard work and a time where we recognize the labor movement for all they have given us -- the weekend, the 40 hour work week, child labor protection, a safe work environment. It should come as no surprise that organizers choose not to invite elected officials who have openly attacked worker’s rights or stood idly by while their political party fought to strip public workers of their right to collectively bargain.
Radtke is not the only union leader who is taking a get tough stance with elected officials.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka made headlines last spring when he announced that the organization would no longer blindly support Democrats, endorsing instead only those who will fight in the trenches alongside trade unions:
More than ever, we need to be a labor movement that stands by our friends, punishes its enemies and challenges those who, well, can't seem to decide which side they're on. I'm talking about the politicians who always want us to turn out our members to vote for them, but who somehow always seem to forget workers after the votes are counted.
Trumka and Radtke are urging a return to the days when unions were strong and the labor movement's leaders had backbones. And they are wise to do so. By allowing politicians who vote against working people to participate in Labor Day activities, unions are aiding and abetting the slick-talking Tea Party Republicans in their deception of the electorate. It is this implicit endorsement by organized labor that has emboldened the right wing to launch the worst assault on worker's rights in modern history. If the labor movement is to survive, complacency must be replaced by action. Previous generations fought hard for the rights many workers take for granted today. Refusing to allow anti-union politicians to hide behind a day dedicated to celebrating those accomplishments is a step in the right direction.
In northern Minnesota, the roots of trade unionism run deep. The early miners on the Iron Range fought a long, hard and sometimes bloody battle against the Steel Trust for the right to organize. Louis Oberstar, father of former congressman Jim Oberstar, was one of those brave workers and proudly held union card #1. Those very same United Steel Workers won the battle to include health care benefits in union contracts. It is a slap in the face to the families of those early trade unionists that the current 8th district congressman, Chip Cravaack (who sees health care as a privilege, has co-authored legislation to make it more difficult for workers to unionize and opposes the Employee Free Choice Act) is being allowed to walk in Labor Day parades in northern Minnesota.
Bud Malone, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry under Governor Wendell Anderson, summed it up quite nicely (via Facebook):
Cheers to Randy Radtke and the union members he represents. Let bygones be bygones my a**. The Republicans and those that write cute little anti union comments should hold their own little promenade.
Amen, Brother!