Emboldened Union Bosses Plan Protests and Strikes

Labor Spends Big To Elect President Obama, Now Undertakes “Union-Friendly Measures”

Big Labor Spends Heavily To Re-Elect Obama:

According To Center For Responsive Politics, President Obama Was Top Recipient Of Labor Money For The 2012 Campaign Cycle. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 12/5/12)

The Associated Press In Early 2012: “Unions Are Gearing Up To Spend More Than $400 Million To Help Re-Elect President Barack Obama And Lift Democrats This Election Year In A Fight For Labor’s Survival.” (Sam Hananel, “Unions Gearing Up To Spend Big In 2012 Election,” The Associated Press, 2/22/12)

Big Labor Says Obama Will Push For “Union-Friendly Measures” & “Payback”:

Before Election, Teamsters President Predicted Union-Friendly Second Term Actions By Obama, Including Card Check. “Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said in an interview that Obama would try to push through union-friendly measures like the Employee Free Choice Act in a second term.  ‘We’ve got to motivate people to get out and vote.  That’s what this is all about,’ Hoffa told Michigan delegates on Wednesday.” (David Shepardson, “Labor Gears Up For Fall Fight,” The Detroit News, 9/6/12)

“Gerald McEntee, President Of The Influential American Federation Of State, County And Municipal Employees, Told The Washington Times In An Interview That EFCA Was ‘Payback’ For The Labor Movement’s Massive Campaign Effort For Mr. Obama And The Democrats.” (David R. Sands, “Labor’s ‘Priority’ On Back Burner,” The Washington Times, 12/29/08)

Big Labor’s Post-Election Protests:

CNN: December 5th, 2012: “Over The Past Week, Port Workers In Los Angeles Went On Strike.  So Did Fast Food Workers From McDonald’s And Burger King.  And Last Month, It Was Wal-Mart Workers.” (Emily Jane Fox, “Behind The Strikes At Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Ports,” CNN, 12/5/12)

• November 21: Los Angeles Times Headline: “LAX Union Protesters Arrested; Delays Anger Travelers,” (“LAX Union Protesters Arrested; Delays Anger Travelers,” Los Angeles Times, 11/21/12)
•  Store Protests In Numerous States On Black Friday. “Wal-Mart faced not only a throng of shoppers on Black Friday but what a union-backed group said was the biggest wave of protests that the retailer had ever seen, a contention the company disputed.” (Steven Greenhouse, “Wal-Mart Dismisses Labor Protests At Its Stores,” The New York Times, 11/24/12)

Big Labor’s Recent Strike Hurt Hostess Costing Thousands Of Jobs:

 In October 2012, The Hostess CEO Continued To Say The Cuts Were Only Way For Company To Survive And Even The Teamsters Union Accepted Them. “And Rayburn is adamant.  There is no angel buyer waiting in the wings.  There will be no more bargaining.  ‘I think our employees want to keep their jobs.  They understand the position we’re in and that there’s not an option one, option two or option three here,’ Rayburn said.  ‘The Teamsters … accepted these cuts with the thought that they wanted to hold onto their jobs.  I just hope the message gets through now.’” (Phil Rosenthal, “Choices Not So Sweet For Hostess Brands Workers,” The Chicago Tribune, 10/7/12)

But In November 2012, The Bakers’ Union Went On Strike & Hostess Said The Strike Would Force Hostess To Liquidate The Company. “The tense relationship between Hostess Brands and its second-largest union deteriorated further when the bakers’ union launched a strike against the bankrupt snack maker, beginning Friday.  A news release issued late Friday by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union called the move ‘an inspiring display of courage and conviction.’  Hostess has said repeatedly that a prolonged strike would result in a ‘rapid’ wind-down of the company, which has been in bankruptcy court since January.  ‘A widespread strike will cause Hostess Brands to liquidate if we are unable to produce or deliver products,’ the maker of Twinkies said in a statement.” (Karen Robinson-Jacobs, “Bakers’ Union Goes On Strike Against Hostess Brands,” The Dallas Morning News, 11/10/12)

Hostess Said The Company Will Shut Down & Liquidate Because Of The Striking Union. “Hostess Brands Inc. announced early Friday that the company will shut down and sell its assets, blaming union bakery workers’ refusal to end a strike.” (“Hostess Says It Will Shut Down, Liquidate,” Kansas City Business, 11/16/12)

• Hostess Said The Union Strike “Crippled The Company’s Ability To Produce And Deliver Products At Multiple Facilities.” “‘The Board of Directors authorized the wind down of Hostess Brands to preserve and maximize the value of the estate after one of the company’s largest unions, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), initiated a nationwide strike that crippled the company’s ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities,’ Hostess said in the statement.” (“Hostess, Maker Of Twinkies And Ding Dongs, Says Closing Business,” NBC News, 11/16/12)

Editorial Boards & Columnists Note Big Labor’s Crippling Actions:

Investor’s Business Daily Editorial Board: “Union intransigence and unrealistic expectations at Hostess Brands have forced the bakery to shut its doors permanently and throw 18,500 people out of work.  So much for Big Labor caring about the little guy.  A down economy and two restructurings in three years left Hostess, maker of Twinkies and Sno Balls, in dire fiscal straits.  The company warned its workers, union and nonunion, to make concessions or everyone would go down in a liquidation.” (Editorial, “Manhandling Hostess, Big Labor Costs 18,500 Workers Their Jobs,” Investor’s Business Daily, 11/16/12)

“Is There Any Wonder (Pardon The Pun) That Big Labor Is At A Low Point In Membership And Public Support?  The Notion That It’s Better To Send 18,500 People To The Unemployment Lines And Dissolve – Not Merely Sell, But Break Up And Eviscerate – A Venerated Company Is The Sort Of Zero-Sum Mentality That Should Send American Workers Fleeing From Organized Labor.” (Jennifer Rubin, “Ding Dongs – Big Labor Strikes Again,” The Washington Post, 11/16/12)

LAX Protest: “The Tactics Being Used By The SEIU In This Marginal Labor Dispute Served No One And Only Hurt Travelers Trying To Get Home For The Thanksgiving Holiday.” (Opinion, “Another View: LAX Demonstration Not About Workers,” San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 11/23/12)

Port Protest: “A Protracted Strike Would Leave About 1 Million People Without Work In The Logistics Industry Across The Western United States.  The Fact That A Labor Dispute Involving A Few Hundred Clerical Workers Could Have Such A Wide Impact Is Mind-Boggling.” (Opinion, “Strike At Ports Would Be Clerical Error,” Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 11/22/12)