Labor's Revenge

[midnight]

Source: National Journal

Labor unions can only hope next year’s main event goes as well as Tuesday's dress rehearsal in Ohio.
The landslide defeat via referendum of a state law spearheaded by Republican Gov. John Kasich that curbed collective-bargaining rights of public employees instills hope in unions and their Democratic allies that they have found a template to defeat the GOP in 2012. Labor leaders say they will apply the lessons learned in the Buckeye State, a key political battleground, to a bevy of swing states that could determine the balance of power in Washington.
“Our work is just beginning this morning,” Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, told reporters on Wednesday. “Already, we’re moving into the next phase, where working people are mobilizing in Ohio and nationwide.”
Labor's takeaways from last night’s larger-than-expected 22-point victory: Voters were disappointed Kasich and his Republican allies committed ideological overreach instead of focusing on job creation. They also liked and trusted the men and women targeted by the reforms—public employees like teachers and police officers—more than the politicians who did the targeting.


Read more: http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/labor-s-ohio-win-could-pave-way-for-obama-20111109

[Plucketeer]

1. Yoo - HOO!!!

Scotty me boy. Those bells are a-tolin' fer you! LOL

[Demeter]

2. It's NOT Revenge---It's POWER---NAKED Power

Suck on it, GOP!

[TheOther95Percent]

3. Rousing Sleeping Giants

The republicans just cannot resist those fascist impulses with their "wedge issue" strategy. Demonizing working people in unions and proposing cuts to benefits, salaries and pension money turned off a good chunk of the rank and file. Big Labor's known for years that a sizeable portion of the membership was voting republican. Hell, I know teachers in my town that voted Republican every election year until now. Not any more.

[SoCalDem]

4. What's needed is an HOURLY- WORKER'S union

for ALL occupations.. For all people who get a paycheck signed by a boss....For all people who do not get to choose their work schedules, vacation schedules, bathroom breaks/lunchtimes, etc.

[midnight]

5. Someone that gives hourly workers a voice....I'm all for that...

Some of the nurses that I have talked with said they go a whole shift without eating because they are so understaffed...

[Major Hogwash]

6. Kasich has a black eye this morning. And it was a union guy that gave it to him!!!

After Kasich sucker punched the unions in Ohio.
Man, they need to recall that Hitler-like azzhole.

[Hotler]

7. k&r n/t

[NYC_SKP]

8. Recommended.

:patriot:

[pampango]

9. "A strong, populist progressive message combined with old-fashioned retail politicking can defeat

big money and corporate Astroturf."

Ohio was one of several states that passed suspiciously similar union-busting legislation in 2011. Gov. Kasich, like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, is an alumnus of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group that brings state legislators and corporate leaders together to draft "model bills" that advance the right-wing corporate agenda. According to Common Cause, Kasich and other Ohio Republicans who supported SB 5 received at least $563,000 in campaign contributions from ALEC corporations in 2010 (not counting contributions from the Republican Governor's Association, to which some ALEC supporters also donated -- notably including $1 million from David Koch (as examined by the Center for Media and Democracy in the article "Scott Walker Runs on Koch Money").

As right-wing front groups with names such as "Building a Better Ohio" poured millions of dollars into protecting SB 5 and as Kasich campaigned on behalf of the law, organized labor led a grassroots pushback that successfully collected more than 900,000 certified signatures to put SB 5 before the voters for their final verdict.

"Ohio’s working people successfully fought back against lies pushed by shadowy multi-national corporations and their anonymous front groups that attempted to scapegoat public service employees and everyone they serve by assaulting collective bargaining rights," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the AFL-CIO blog. "Ohioans from all backgrounds and political parties rejected the crazy notion that the 99 percent — nurses, bridge inspectors, firefighters,and social workers — caused the economic collapse, rather than Wall Street."

In Mississippi, the push for a personhood amendment was to be the leading edge of what supporters hoped would be a national law that would totally remove a woman's right to choose, even in cases of rape and incest, and could have even subjected women who have miscarriages to a criminal investigation. Mother Jones is tracking similar efforts in other states.

http://www.truth-out.org/people-power-wins-ohio-and-beyond/1320936246